Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton
Robert was the first of ten children of
Sir
William, 7th Earl of Morton. He succeeded to the Morton title upon his
father's death in 1648. Robert married Elizabeth Villiers, daughter of Sir
Edward Villiers of Brakesby.
He was a direct descendant of King James II through his great-great
grandmother Lady Margaret Crichton, the daughter of the Princess Margaret of
Scotland.
After his father's death, Robert acted in a high-handed way in
Orkney, overriding udal law, to raise money for the royalist cause.
The
Morton interest in Orkney was a royal grant of Charles I, to compensate
the 7th Earl for his subsidies and losses in the royal cause. At this
point of the War of the Three Kingdoms the Morton control of Orkney
assumed importance, because the forces of James Graham, 1st Marquess of
Montrose intended in 1649 to land there and re-open the fighting in
Scotland.
Death: He died at Kirkwall, November 12, 1649.
Father: William
(7th Earl of Morton) Douglas b: 1582
Mother: Ann
(of Marischal) Keith
Marriage 1 Anne Villiers*
Children
- • William
(9th Earl of Morton) Douglas
- •
Robert
Douglas
- Master of the Horse to Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans; lieutenant of gens
d'armes in France; lieutenant of the Horse Guards of Charles II (dsp. 1661)
(1)
- •
Anne
Douglas
- •
Margaret
or Mary Douglas = Sir Donald Breac Macdonald, 3rd Bt of Sleat
-
*
 |
Anne Villiers was the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers (c. 1574 – 7 September
1626) and his wife Barbara St. John, a daughter of Sir John St. John. She was
the niece of the Duke of Buckingham, who was her father's half-brother. Anne
Villiers' nieces were Elizabeth Villiers, mistress to William III, and Barbara
Villiers, who was the mistress of Charles II of England and would be made
Duchess of Cleveland in her own right.
Anne Villiers (c. 1610 – 15 December 1654) was an English noblewoman and
Countess of Morton. She was famed for her beauty, bravery and loyalty to the
throne. The first half of the 17th century closet drama Cicilia and Clorinda was
dedicated to her.
Lady Dalkeith, as she was styled at the time, was the godmother of Princess
Henrietta. During the civil war, the infant princess, less than one month old,
was left in Lady Dalkeith's care. After being besieged in Exeter by
Parliamentary forces in April 1646, she was forced to expend her own funds to
care for the princess. She refused to take the child to St. James Palace,
endeavoring instead to convey her to France to be united with her mother, Queen
Henrietta Maria. She disguised herself and the princess as peasants and fled to
Dover and then France. Apparently, during the journey, the princess nearly
revealed their identity by innocently informing the townspeople that she was not
accustomed to dressing in such a shabby fashion. Nevertheless, they arrived
safely. Lady Dalkeith's actions were well received and highly praised upon her
arrival. Shortly after, her father-in-law died, making her Countess of Morton.
Despite efforts of conversion to Catholicism by the princess' mother and the
child herself, Lady Morton remained a staunch Protestant throughout her time as
Princess Henrietta's governess. Lady Morton lived in France as the princess'
governess until 1651, when her husband, the Earl, died. She herself died in
Scotland on 15 December 1654, of a sudden bout of fever.
Robert Douglas, Lord of Dalkeith - 10th April 1622.
THE SAME DAY ROBERT, LORD OF DALKEITH, IS ADDED TO THE NUMBER OF
THE BURGESSES OF DUNDEE.
WILLIAM DOUGLAS, eighth EARL OF MORTON, was the son of ROBERT
DOUGLAS of Lochleven, and JEAN LYON, daughter of JOHN, eighth
LORD GLAMIS. His grandfather was that WILLIAM DOUGLAS of
Lochleven who had charge of QUEEN MARY whilst imprisoned in
Lochleven Castle, and who, after a life of strange vicissitudes,
had become seventh EARL OF MORTON. The latter was succeeded in
1606 by his grandson, whose name is here enrolled. The eighth
EARL OF MORTON was one of the foremost politicians of his time,
and held the elevated position of Lord High Treasurer of
Scotland.
It is stated that before the Civil War broke out he was (one of
the richest and greatest subjects in the Kingdom. "Unfortunately
for himself he cast in his lot with the Royalist party, and was
repeatedly applied to for money to enable them to carry on the
war. For this purpose he disposed of his extensive and valuable
property of Dalkeith, together with several of his minor
estates, thus depriving himself of an annual rental estimated at
100,000 pounds Scots. As an offset for this great sacrifice on
his part, he received a Royal charter, dated 15th June, 1643,
granting him the Islands of Orkney and Shetland in absolute
right, with all their jurisdictions, redeemable only by the
Crown upon payment of £30,000 sterling.
This charter, though apparently exact in all its terms, was
ultimately repudiated by CHARLES II, and the Islands were once
more annexed to the Crown by special Act of Parliament, in 1669.
The EARL OF MORTON died in 1648, and was succeeded by his eldest
son ROBERT, the issue of his marriage with LADY ANN KEITH,
daughter of GEORGE, fifth EARL MARISCHAL (vide page 65). This
son was the "ROBERT, LORD OF DALIKEITH," whose name appears on
the Burgess Roll beside that of his father, and who became ninth
EARL OF MORTON on the death of his father. This dignity he only
enjoyed for one year, as he died in 1649, leaving a son,
WILLIAM, who succeeded him, and who was made a Burgess of Dundee
on 7th March, 1663.
|
Notes:
1. In Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, it is stated that Robert Douglas 2nd son of the 3rd Earl of Morton " was a lieutenant of the gensdarmes
in Prance, under the Duke of York, master of horse to Princess Henrietta,
Duchess of Orleans, and lieutenant of King Charles II. 's horse guards under the
Earl of Newburgh. He died without issue anno 1661."
See also:
• The Earls of Morton
• Silver Arrow medals
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