William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus

William Douglas
Earl of Angus
Tomb of the 10th Earl of Angus
Predecessor	William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus
Successor	William Douglas, 11th Earl of Angus
Spouse(s)	Lady Elizabeth Oliphant
Father	William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus
Mother	Egidia Graham
Born	1552
Died	3 March 1611 Paris, France
Buried	Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés

William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus (1552 – 3 March 1611) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus (1533–1591). He was a direct descendant of King James I through his paternal grandmother, Lady Agnes Keith, a daughter of William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal.

He studied at St. Andrews University and joined the household of the Earl of Morton. Subsequently, while visiting the French court, he became a Roman Catholic, and was in consequence, upon his return, disinherited and placed under restraint.

Nevertheless, he succeeded to his father's titles and estates in 1591, and though in 1592 he was disgraced for his complicity in Lord Bothwell's plot, he was soon liberated and performed useful services as the King's Lieutenant in the north of Scotland. In July 1592, however, he was asking for help from Queen Elizabeth in a plot with Erroll and other lords against Sir John Maitland, the Chancellor, and protesting his absolute rejection of Spanish offers, but in October he signed the Spanish Blanks, and upon the discovery of this treason was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle on his return in January 1593.

He succeeded on the 13th in escaping by the help of his Countess, joining the Earls of Huntly and Erroll in the north. They were offered an Act of "oblivion" or "abolition" provided they renounced their religion or quit Scotland. Declining these conditions they were declared traitors and "forfeited."

They remained in rebellion, and in July 1594 an attack made by them on Aberdeen roused James's anger. Huntly and Erroll were subdued by James himself in the north, and Angus failed in an attempt upon Edinburgh in concert with the Earl of Bothwell.