View source for Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton

{{Short description|Scottish nobleman and sailor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox peer
| honorific-prefix = [[His Grace]]
| name = The Duke of Hamilton
| image = 
| post-nominals=[[Territorial Decoration|TD]], [[Deputy Lieutenant|DL]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1862|3|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Shanklin]], [[Isle of Wight]], England
| death_date = {{dda|1940|3|16|1862|3|6|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Ferne House]], [[Dorset]], England
| title = 13th [[Duke of Hamilton]]
| tenure = 1895–1940
| other_titles = 10th Duke of Brandon<br>9th Earl of Selkirk
| predecessor = [[William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton]]
| successor = [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Nina Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton|Nina Mary Benita Poore]]|1901}}
| issue=[[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton]]<br>Lady Jean Douglas-Hamilton<br>[[George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk]]<br>Lady Margaret Douglas-Hamilton<br>[[Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton]]<br>[[Lord David Douglas-Hamilton]]<br>Lady Mairi Nina Douglas-Hamilton
| parents = Captain Charles Douglas-Hamilton
}}

[[Lieutenant (naval)|Lieutenant]] '''Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and 10th Duke of Brandon''' [[Territorial Decoration|TD]], [[Deputy Lieutenant|DL]] (6 March 1862 – 16 March 1940) was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] nobleman and [[sailor]].

==Early life==
Hamilton was born at [[Shanklin]], [[Isle of Wight]], in 1862, the son of Captain Charles Douglas-Hamilton (1808–1873). His grandfather, Augustus Hamilton, was a son of [[Charles Powell Hamilton]], himself a grandson of [[James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton]]. As a young man, Hamilton was commissioned into the [[Royal Navy]], and held the rank of lieutenant.<ref name=Debrett/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25485|page=3002|date=30 June 1885}}</ref> He gained the reputation for being able to dive under the keels of the battleships on which he served, without any equipment, reappearing on the opposite side of the ship to the amazement of his crewmates. In 1888, his fourth cousin, [[William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton]], persuaded him to leave the navy. By then, he was the [[heir presumptive]] of the Duke, who had no son.

==Inheritance==
There was a serious possibility that Alfred Hamilton would provide a good match for the twelfth duke's daughter, Lady Mary, but such hopes were dashed in 1890, when Hamilton was partially paralysed by a rare tropical disease he had caught while overseas on his last tour of duty. Hamilton recovered and succeeded to the dukedom in 1895. 

While the new duke inherited all [[Fee tail|entail]]ed property and assets from his cousin, as well as a £1&nbsp;million debt secured on them, most of the unentailed Hamilton estates went to Lady Mary, who in 1906 married [[James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose]]. The properties that left the Hamilton family at this time included [[Brodick Castle]] on [[Isle of Arran|Arran]], which had been owned by the Hamiltons for 500 years.

One property that did not leave the family was [[Hamilton Palace]], the main [[family seat]]. The new Duke was also hereditary keeper of the [[Palace of Holyroodhouse]].<ref name=Debrett/> However, the Duke offered Hamilton Palace to the Royal Navy during the [[First World War]] for use as a hospital. Following the end of the war it was considered necessary to demolish it due to subsidence, blamed on the family's own coal mines. Hamilton lived instead at [[Dungavel House]], which had previously been a Hamilton [[shooting lodge]] on moorland close to [[Strathaven]].

Hamilton was honorary [[lieutenant-colonel]] of the 4th Battalion, [[Highland Light Infantry]].

He was also honorary [[colonel]] of the 6th Battalion, the [[Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)]].

Hamilton died shortly after his 78th birthday, on 16 March 1940 at the family's property in [[Dorset]], [[Ferne House]].

==Family==
On 4 December 1901, at the [[Church of England parish church|parish church]] of [[Newton Tony]], [[Wiltshire]], Hamilton married [[Nina Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton|Nina Mary Benita Poore]], a daughter of Major Robert Poore.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court circular |date=5 December 1901 |page=6 |issue=36630| }}</ref> She was later the founder of the [[Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society]]. They had four sons and three daughters:<ref name=Debrett/>
* [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton]] (1903−1973)
* Lady Jean Douglas-Hamilton (1904−1987)
* [[George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk|George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk]] (1906−1994)
* Lady Margaret Douglas-Hamilton (1907–1993), mother of [[Anneli Drummond-Hay]]
* [[Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton|Malcolm Avondale Douglas-Hamilton]] (1909−1964) 
* [[Lord David Douglas-Hamilton|David Douglas-Hamilton]] (1912−1944)
* Lady Mairi Nina Douglas-Hamilton (1914−1927)

Hamilton's sons made [[RAF]] history by all being of the rank of [[Squadron Leader]] or above at the outbreak of the Second World War.

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=<ref name=Debrett>{{ harv | Hesilrige | 1921 | page=435 }}</ref>}}
===Works cited===
*{{cite book | last=Hesilrige | first=Arthur G. M. | date=1921 | title=Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy | url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeeraget00unse/page/435 | location=[[London]], UK | publisher=[[Dean & Son]] | page=435 }}
* {{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/hamilton/hamilton20.html |title= Hamilton 20<!-- bot-generated title --> |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}{{Better source|date=August 2012}}
* [http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/hamilton/family15.html Hamilton Palace: the Hamilton family<!-- bot-generated title -->] at www.rcahms.gov.uk
* ''[[Burke's Peerage and Baronetage]]''{{page needed|date=November 2021}}

==External links==
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-alfred-douglas-hamilton | the Duke of Hamilton }}

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg|sct}}
{{s-bef| rows   = 2 | before = [[William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton|William Douglas-Hamilton]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Duke of Hamilton]]
       | years  = 1895–1940 }}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Douglas Douglas-Hamilton]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Earl of Selkirk]]
       | years  = 1895–1940 }}
{{s-aft| after  = [[George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk|George Douglas-Hamilton]] }}

{{s-reg|gb}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton|William Douglas-Hamilton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Brandon]]|years=1895–1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Douglas Douglas-Hamilton]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke Of}}
[[Category:1862 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from South Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Dukes of Hamilton|113]]
[[Category:Dukes of Brandon|110]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Douglas|10]]
[[Category:House of Douglas and Angus|Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton]]
[[Category:People from Shanklin]]