James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran

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For other persons named James Hamilton, see James Hamilton (disambiguation).

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (c. 1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman.

He was the eldest son of James, 2nd Earl of Arran, who was next in line for the Crown of Scotland after Mary, Queen of Scots.

In 1558, with the support of John Knox, he became a pawn in his father's aspirations when he tried to negotiate his marriage to Elizabeth I of England to seal an Anglo-Scottish alliance.

After his father became a Catholic in 1543, he was held prisoner by his father's enemies, before going to France where he became Commander of the Scots Guards in France. Following the death of Francis II of France in 1560, his father tried to arrange for his marriage to the widowed Mary Queen of Scots. All the manoeuvrings upset the balance of his mind and in 1562, after accusing the Earl of Bothwell of conspiring to abduct Queen Mary, he was judged insane and confined for the rest of his life.

In 1575 he inherited his father's estate, but because of his insanity he was placed under the care of his brother John. In 1581 his Earldom was taken by James Stewart (d. 1595), but later restored in 1585.