Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton and 5th Duke of Brandon KT

Order of the Thistle

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...

 (24 July 1756 – 2 August 1799) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 peer

Peerage of Scotland

The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...

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Hamilton was born at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the son of the 6th Duke of Hamilton

James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton

James Douglas-Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Duke of Brandon, KT was a Scottish peer.-Early years and Education:...

 and his wife, Elizabeth Gunning

Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Hamilton

Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll & 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon was a celebrated Irish belle and society hostess.- Early life :...

. He attended Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 from 1763 to 1767 and on the death of his brother in 1769, he succeeded to the title of Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...

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Between 1772 and 1776, he lived in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 with Dr. John Moore

John Moore (Scottish physician)

John Moore was a Scottish physician and writer.He was born at Stirling, the son of a clergyman. After taking his medical degree at Glasgow, he served with the army in Flanders during the Seven Years' War, then proceeded to London to continue his studies, and eventually to Paris, where he was...

 and on 5 April 1778, he married Elizabeth Anne Burrell (a sister of the future 1st Baron Gwydyr

Peter Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydyr

Peter Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydyr PC featured in English politics at the end of the 18th century but he was best known for his involvement in cricket, particularly his part in the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787...

, the Duchess of Northumberland and the Countess of Beverley) in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Hamilton's mother disapproved of the match and was of the opinion that 'the daughter of a private gentleman, however accomplished, was not qualified to be allied to her' and the couple eventually divorced, by Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 in 1794 without children. He had also previously inherited his mother's title of Baron Hamilton of Hameldon

Baron Hamilton of Hameldon

The title Baron Hamilton of Hameldon, of Hambledon in the County of Leicester, is a title created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1776. It was created for Elizabeth Hamilton , Duchess of Hamilton, wife since 1752 of James Douglas-Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton...

 when she died in 1790.

Hamilton died in 1799, aged 43 at Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...

 and was buried in the family mausoleum at Hamilton, Scotland. Without legitimate issue, his ducal title passed to his uncle, Archibald

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton

Archibald Douglas-Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon was a Scottish peer and politician.Hamilton was the eldest son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton and his third wife, Anne, and was educated at Eton...

 and his barony passed to his half-brother, George

George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll

George William Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll GCH, PC , styled Earl of Campbell from 1768 to 1770 and Marquess of Lorne from 1770 to 1806, was a Scottish Whig politician and nobleman.-Background:...

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