William IV, Lord of Douglas

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Seal of William, Lord of Douglas

William, Lord of Douglas (d. 1333) was a short-lived Scottish Nobleman.

The son of Sir James Douglas and an unknown mother. Little is known of Lord Douglas except that he was under the guardianship of Sir Archibald Douglas.

There are records of transactions occurring in the Exchequer accounts of the Lord Chamberlain of Scotlandin 1331 that refer to Willelmus dominus de Duglas. There is also a complaint by the Monks of Coldingham Priory to David II against the Lord of Douglas and his uncle Sir Archibald in respect of certain manorial lands at Swinton, Berwickshire. In this they claimed that they had been given to Lord Douglas' father, Sir James illegally and with prejudice against the House at Coldingham.

William of Douglas accompanied his uncle, who had been appointed Guardian of the Realm, to the field of Halidon Hill. There with his Uncle, Six belted Earls, countless knights and commonalty, was slain.

William, Lord of Douglas died unmarried and a minor. The title and privileges of the Lordship of Douglas passed to another uncle, Hugh "the Dull", a Canon of Glasgow and parson of Roxburgh who turned much of the Douglas patrimony over to his cousin William Douglas of Lothian.

In 1778, excavations at the Auld Kirk at North Berwick uncovered the matrix of the Seal of William, Lord Douglas. This Seal stamp shows the first representation of the Heart of Bruce in Douglas heraldry, and shows that it was assumed immediately after the death of Sir James Douglas.