Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton, 5th Duke of Brandon and 2nd Baron Hamilton of Hameldon, KT (24 July 1756 – 2 August 1799) was a Scottishpeer, nobleman, and politician.
Hamilton's mother disapproved of the match, possibly because she had hoped for a better match for her handsome son. The Duchess of Argyll was of the opinion that "the daughter of a private gentleman, however accomplished, was not qualified to be allied to her" even though she herself had been a mere Miss Gunning and Irish at that.
Marriage breakdown
Hamilton Palace
The Duke gradually sank into dissipation. In 1794, the couple eventually divorced, by Act of Parliament after 16 years of marriage. The Duchess initiated the divorce on the grounds of his adultery with actress Mrs. Esten since 1793, but also previous adultery with an unnamed lady (Frances Twysden, wife of the Earl of Eglinton and sister of the Countess of Jersey) since 1787.[2][3] Lord Eglinton had divorced his wife 6 February 1788[4] on grounds of her adultery with the Duke, after she had borne a child, possibly Lady Susannah Montgomerie (1788–1805) supposed to be the Duke's. Thus, the Duchess could have used the Eglinton divorce to support her own case. However, she did not, and used a later dalliance with a virtually unknown actress. The 1794 divorce is a curious one, and apparently one agreed on beforehand, according to Lawrence Stone in his book Alienated Affections: Divorce and Separation in Scotland 1684–1830.[5] The Duke did not defend, and the Duchess obtained her divorce since she had left her husband a year earlier.
The Duchess remarried one year after his death, to the 1st Marquess of Exeter (d. 1804) as his third wife. She had no children, and died on 17 January 1837.
Hamilton died in 1799, aged 43 at Hamilton Palace and was buried in the family mausoleum at Hamilton, Scotland. Without legitimate issue, his ducal title passed to his uncle, Archibald and his barony passed to his half-brother, George. The Duke however left the contents of Hamilton Palace to his illegitimate daughter by Mrs. Esten, Anne Douglas-Hamilton, later Lady Rossmore (died without issue). The new Duke was forced to buy them back.[7]
The Duke is also noted for being an early patron of the future Sir John Moore, hero of Corruna, whose parliamentary and military career was sponsored by the Hamiltons from 1779.[8] The dance "Hamilton House" is also said to be named for the 8th Duke and his Duchess, with the changes of partner echoing the infidelities of both.[9] Finally, the Duke was the first Duke of Hamilton to be seated in Parliament as Duke of Brandon (a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that entitled him to a seat in the House of Lords, not as a Scottish representative peer).
^It could be argued that the Duchess and Duke set the precedent for later divorces through the mid-20th century where the adultery was always with an unnamed party or a person of low class, rather than the actual party.
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