Count Selkirk

The title of Count Selkirk was created on August 4, 1646 for Lord William Douglas (1634–1694), the third son of William Douglas, 1st Marquis of Douglas (1589–1660). On April 29, 1656, he married Ann Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton (1631-1716), and in 1660 he officially changed his name to Hamilton and received the title of Duke of Hamilton at the request of his wife.

On October 6, 1688, William Galmiton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, renounced the titles of Count Selikirk and Lord Daer in favor of his third son, Lord Charles Hamilton (1663-1739), who became 2nd Earl of Selkirk and changed his surname to “ Douglas".

After the death of the childless 2nd Earl of Selkirk in 1739, the title was inherited by his younger brother, John Hamilton, 1st Earl of Raglen (1664-1744), who became the 3rd Earl of Selkirk. His son and heir, Captain William Hamilton, Lord Daer (1696-1741), died during his father's lifetime. In 1744, Raglen County received his eldest daughter, Ann Douglas, Countess March (1698-1748). She was succeeded in 1748 by her son William Douglas, 3rd Earl of March (1725-1810), who later became the 4th Duke of Queensberry.

The title of Count Selkirk and his auxiliary titles were inherited in 1744 by Dunbar Hamilton (1722-1799), the grandson of Lord Basil Hamilton, the sixth son of the 1st Earl of Selkirk. He, as 4th Earl of Selkirk, changed his surname to Douglas. After his death in 1799, the count's title was received by his only surviving son - Thomas Douglas, Lord Daer (1771-1820) - who became the 5th Earl of Selkirk. His only son in 1820 was his only son, Dunbar James Douglas, 6th Earl of Selkirk (1809–1885).

After the death of the childless 6th Earl of Selkirk in 1885, the count title passed to his distant cousin (five-cousin nephew: a descendant of the 1st Earl along the lines of his eldest son - the 4th Duke of Hamilton ) - Charles George Hamilton, 7th Earl of Selkirk ( 1847-1886), the younger brother of the 12th Duke of Hamilton. He died childless in 1886 (his wife was the Russian noblewoman Sukhanova-Podkolzina Evdokia Gavrilovna (1846–1887)), and the title was inherited by his elder brother, William, 12th Duke of Hamilton (1845–1895). He had no sons, and the count's title in 1895 passed to his distant cousin - Alfred Douglas-Hamilton (1862-1940), who became the 13th Duke of Hamilton and the 9th Earl of Selkirk.

In 1940, after his death, the ducal title was inherited by his eldest son, Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Marquis Clydesdale (1903-1973), who became the 14th Duke of Hamilton, and the title of Count Selkirk was received by his second son - Lord George Douglas-Hamilton, 10- 1st Earl Selkirk (1906-1994).

In 1994, after the death of the childless 10th Earl of Selkirk, the titles were inherited by his nephew - Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, 11th Earl of Selkirk (born 1942 ), second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton and younger brother of Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15- Duke of Hamilton . This continuity was disputed by Alasder Douglas-Hamilton (born 1939 ), the eldest son of Lord Malcolm Douglas Hamilton (1909-1964), another brother of the 10th Earl Selkirk.

At the time of the adoption of the title of count, James Hamilton was a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain from West Edinburgh (1974-1997). He renounced the peers' title in order to maintain a seat in the House of Commons . He later became a member of the House of Lords (a lifetime peer with the title Baron Selkirk of Douglas ) and was a member of the Scottish Parliament . His heir is his eldest son, John Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Daer, master of Selkirk.

• 1646-1688: William Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Selkirk, de jure 3rd Duke of Hamilton (December 24, 1634 - April 18, 1694), the eldest son of William Douglas, 11th Earl of Angus from his second marriage with Mary Gordon ( 1600-1674)
• 1688-1739: Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk (February 3, 1663 - March 13, 1739), third son of the previous
• 1739-1744: John Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Selkirk (January 1664 - December 3, 1744), younger brother of the previous
• 1744-1799: Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk (December 1, 1722 - March 26, 1799), son of Basil Hamilton (1696-1742), grandson of the Honorable Basil Hamilton (1671-1701), great-grandson of the 1st Earl of Selkirk
• 1799-1820: Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk (June 20, 1771 - April 8, 1820), the seventh son of the previous
• 1820-1885: Dunbar James Douglas, 6th Earl of Selkirk (April 22, 1809 - April 11, 1885), the only son of the previous
• 1885-1886: Charles George Hamilton, 7th Earl of Selkirk (May 18, 1847 - May 2, 1886), second son of the 11th Duke of Hamilton , younger brother of the 12th Duke of Hamilton, the fifth cousin of the previous
• 1886-1895: William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, 8th Earl of Selkirk (March 12, 1845 - May 16, 1895), older brother of the previous
• 1895–1940: Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton, 9th Earl of Selkirk (March 6, 1862 - March 16, 1940), son of Captain Charles Henry Douglas-Hamilton (1808–1873) and Elizabeth Ann Hill (1828– 1867), the cousin of the previous one.
• 1940-1994: George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk (January 4, 1906 - November 24, 1994), second son of Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton, and Nina Benita Pur, daughter of Major Robert Pur, younger brother 14th Duke of Hamilton
• 1994 - present: James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 11th Earl of Selkirk (born July 31, 1942), second son of Douglas Douglas-Hamilton (1903-1973), 14th Duke of Hamilton (1940-1973), and Elizabeth Ivy Percy (1916-2008), younger brother of the 15th Duke of Hamilton
  • Heir: John Andrew Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Daer (born February 8, 1978), the eldest son of the previous one.

• Duke of Hamilton

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). - N. Y .: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• thepeerage.com