10th Earl of Angus William Douglas

10th Earl of Angus William Douglas

Male 1552 - 1611  (59 years)

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  • Name William Douglas 
    Title 10th Earl of Angus 
    Born 1552 
    Gender Male 
    Reference Number 4265 
    Died 3 Mar 1611  Paris, Île-de-France, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Paris, Île-de-France, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
    Person ID I4265  Thompson-Milligan
    Last Modified 12 Apr 2018 

    Father William Douglas, IX,   b. 1532,   d. 1 Jul 1591, Glenbervie, Kincardineshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 59 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother Gille Egidia Graham,   b. 1534,   d. 1609  (Age 75 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Family ID F1338  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elizabeth of Oliphant,   b. 1571,   d. 1622  (Age 51 years) 
    Married 1585 
    Children 
     1. William Douglas,   b. 1589,   d. 19 Feb 1660, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 71 years)  [natural]
     2. Mary Douglas  [natural]
     3. James Douglas  [natural]
    Last Modified 12 Apr 2018 
    Family ID F1718  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsDied - 3 Mar 1611 - Paris, Île-de-France, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Paris, Île-de-France, France Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    William Douglas
    William Douglas

  • Notes 
    • WILLIAM DOUGLAS, tenth Earl, who became a Roman Catholic, and, in conjunction with the Earls of Errol and Huntly, disturbed the peace of the country and perilled its safety by their treasonable intrigues with the King of Spain. They were implicated in the conspiracy of the ‘Spanish Blanks,' as it was called in consequence of certain blank sheets of paper, having at the bottom the seals and signatures of the Popish lords, being found in the possession of George Kerr, a brother of the Abbot of Newbattle, who was about to proceed on a secret mission to Spain. Kerr, on being put to the torture, confessed the whole affair.

      It appears that the King of Spain was to land an army of thirty thousand men on the west coast of Scotland, where they were to be joined by the Popish lords with all the forces they could muster. Fifteen thousand of the Spanish troops were to march across the Border and assist in raising an insurrection in England, while the remainder, with the assistance of the Romish faction, were to overthrow the Protestant Church in Scotland. This nefarious plot against the independence of the country and the national religion was repeatedly renewed by the three Popish lords; but James, who was unwilling to proceed to extremities against them, contrived to delay the infliction of the punishment which their crime deserved. The lenity shown by the King seemed only to embolden them to open resistance against the royal authority. They were at length declared guilty of high treason, and excommunicated as obstinate Papists, their estates and honours were forfeited, and a commission was given to the young Earl of Argyll to pursue them with fire and sword. Huntly and Errol collected their retainers, and, after a stubborn conflict, defeated the royal forces at a place called Glenlivet, 3rd October, 1594.

      The King, indignant and alarmed at this disaster, marched at the head of a powerful army to the north, and laid waste the estates of the insurgents and destroyed their strongholds. Angus was not present at the battle of Glenlivet, but he shared the fate of his associates, and implored the King's permission to leave the kingdom, which was granted on condition that he would not return without the royal sanction, nor during his exile make any attempt to injure the Protestant religion or the peace and liberties of his native country. He returned secretly in 1595 and was suffered to remain in Scotland on giving assurance that he would henceforth conduct himself like a loyal and peaceful subject. In the following year he was formally ‘released' from the bond, and in 1597, along with Huntly and Errol, was publicly absolved from his excommunication and reconciled to the Kirk at Aberdeen, in the presence of a great assembly of persons of all ranks. He subsequently retired to the Continent, and died at Paris, 3rd March, 1611, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.