Douglas Cause

The Douglas Cause was a cause célèbre and legal struggle contested in Great Britain during the 1760s. The main parties were Archibald Douglas (1748-1827) and James Douglas-Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton (1755-1769). The affair gripped the nation, leading to death threats and rioting.

Archibald Douglas, 3rd Marquess and 1st Duke of Douglas (1694-1761) owned vast tracts of land and perhaps the greatest fortune in Scotland, but was otherwise undistinguished. He had been raised to the dukedom by Queen Anne in 1703 at the age of nine in order to secure the loyalty of the powerful Douglas family to her new regime. The duke was virtually illiterate and took no part in the affairs of the nation. He lived largely as a recluse and may have suffered from insanity.

The duke remained unmarried until late in life and had no issue. His sister Lady Jane Douglas (1698-1753) was his putative heir. In the event of her remaining childless, most of the duke’s fortune along with a string of titles and ancient honours would pass to his kinsmen, the Dukes of Hamilton, who were descended in the male line from William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas.

Until 1748, all looked set fair for the Hamiltons. The duke was unmarried, and although in 1746 Lady Jane had secretly married the unsuitable Colonel John Stewart, a penniless soldier of fortune, she was by then aged 48, and Colonel Stewart (described by the duke as a 'wore-out old rake') was 60. The marriage seemed unlikely to produce children.

Following their marriage, Colonel and Lady Jane Stewart travelled to the Continent to escape their creditors under the assumed name of "Gray". Two years later in the summer of 1748, Lady Jane admitted the marriage and gave out that she was heavily pregnant. It was subsequently reported that on 10th July at the house of Madame Le Brun in Faubourg Saint-Germain in Paris, she had given birth to twin sons – Archibald and Sholto. Lady Jane was 50 years old.

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