William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas
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| William Douglas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Earl of Douglas | ||
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| Arms of the 6th Earl of Douglas | ||
| Titles | Duke of Touraine(de jure) Earl of Wigtown Lord of Galloway Lord of Bothwell, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest, Eskdale, Lauderdale, Liddesdale and Annandale Count of Longueville (de jure) Seigneur de Dun-le-Roi (de jure) |
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| Born | 1424 | |
| Scotland | ||
| Died | 1440 | |
| murdered at Edinburgh Castle | ||
| Buried | St Bride's Kirk Douglas, South Lanarkshire | |
| Predecessor | Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas | |
| Successor | James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas | |
| Dynasty | Douglas | |
| Father | Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas | |
| Mother | Euphemia Graham | |
William Douglas (c.1424–24 November 1440) was a short-lived Scottish Nobleman. He was Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Lord of Bothwell, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest, Eskdale, Lauderdale, and Annandale in Scotland, and de jure Duke of Touraine, Count of Longueville, and Sire of Dun-le-roi in France. He was the eldest son of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas and Eupheme Graham.
He married Janet Lindsay, daughter of David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford, and succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father, who had served as regent of James II. Following Douglas' death, Sir William Crichton, Sir Alexander Livingston of Callendar, and James Douglas, Earl of Avondale shared power. Together they conspired to break the power of the late Earl's family, and summoned William and his younger brother David to Edinburgh. The so-called 'Black Dinner' which followed saw the two boys summarily beheaded on trumped up charges, in the presence of the young King.
The lordships of Annandale and Bothwell fell to the crown, Galloway to Margaret Douglas, the 6th Earl's sister, and the Douglas lands and earldom passed to William's great-uncle James Douglas, the Earl of Avondale, who was accordingly seen later as the main perpetrator.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- thepeerage.com
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Archibald Douglas |
Earl of Douglas 1439–1440 |
Succeeded by James Douglas |
