William Montagu Douglas Scott
Duke of Buccleuch
William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch and 8th Duke of Queensberry (9 September 1831 – 5 November 1914) was a Scottish Member of Parliament and peer. He was the paternal grandfather of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and the maternal great-grandfather of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Born at Montagu House, Whitehall, Westminster, London, into a family of four boys and three girls, William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott was the eldest son of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch & 7th Duke of Queensberry and Lady Charlotte Anne Thynne, daughter of Sir Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath, and the Hon. Isabella Elizabeth Byng. He was educated at Eton College and at Christ Church, Oxford. He sat as Conservative Member of Parliament for Midlothian from 1853–1868 and from 1874–1880. He was also lieutenant colonel of the Midlothian Yeomanry from 1872, as well as serving as Justice of the Peace (JP) for Selkirkshire, Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Selkirkshire, and Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Roxburghshire. The Political Achievements of the Earl of Dalkeith was a political pamphlet that was published and circulated in Edinburgh during the 1880 United Kingdom general
election. It was well presented but inside the neatly printed cover, there were just thirty-two blank pages, making it an early empty book. The publication was thought to be an effective attack on William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch, who lost the seat to William Gladstone by 211 votes. On Tuesday 22 November 1859, he married Lady Louisa Jane Hamilton in London, England. Lady Louisa was the third daughter of Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn and Lady Louisa Jane Russell (daughter of Sir John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford). As heir apparent to his father's title, William was already "Earl of Dalkeith" by courtesy, and thus his new bride was immediately styled "Countess of Dalkeith".
The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The Royal Company of Archers has a long history in Scotland as a body that celebrated both the recreation and talent of local archers. As a body established by the Monarch, the company has a long history of unique prizes, influential supporters, and ceremonial roles. It has an associated charity, the Royal Company of Archers Charitable Trust, dedicated to helping disadvantaged individuals with their health and wellbeing in Scotland. During the 17th and 18th centuries in Scotland, a muster or military rendezvous, called a "wapinschaw" (a weapon show - Scot’s dialect wapen (weapon), shaw (show)) was held at least twice a year. Men were summoned by the sheriff and other civil magistrates to attend a muster in their respective counties at least 20 days in advance of the meeting. The civil magistrates, in conjunction with commissioners appointed by the King, supervised this body of militia, divided it into companies, and appointed captains. People of all stations were obligated to play their part in each rendezvous and to show up equipped in military kit that conformed to their respective ranks. The Lords and Barons were required to provide a list of the
members of their company and the weapons they brought with them to the civil magistrates and King's commissioners. The commissioners then compiled a list of the whole muster, which was presented to the King. By using the old laws of wapinschaw, the Jacobites formed a plan to institutionalise a military corps, under a pretext of sports and recreation, that could be assembled by an authority as occasion offered. A society for encouraging and exercising archery had already been formed in 1676, as a private archery club. This society sought and acquired the patronage of the Scottish Privy Council, which provided a prize that was shot for by the company's members. The company consisted of distinguished nobles and gentlemen of the day. The Marquis of Athole was the company's Captain-General in 1670; and they held frequent meetings during the reign of the royal brothers. No traces of this company exist for some time after the Glorious Revolution. Upon the accession of Queen Anne, and death of the Marquis of Athole, they appointed Sir George Mackenzie, then Lord Tarbat and Secretary of State, and afterwards Earl of Cromarty, their Captain-General. Having chosen a new leader, the society obtained from Queen Anne a charter under the Great Seal of Scotland, establishing it as a corporation by Letters Patent, dated 31 December 1713 into a Royal Company. These letters of patent: revived and ratified, on their behalf, the old laws and acts of Parliament that favored archery; gave them power to admit members, chose a President and council, appoint commanding officers, and to meet and act under their officers' supervision in military form for weapon-shawing as often as they should think convenient; and prohibited the civil magistrate from interrupting their activities. These rights and privileges were designed after the mode of feudal tenure, and to hold them in blanch fee (reddendo) of Her Majesty and her successors, therefore annually acknowledging a pair of barbed arrows. The society received these rights and privileges in its charter from Queen Anne in 1704. In return for being endowed with "perpetual access to all public butts, plains and pasturages legally allotted for shooting arrows", the Royal Company is required to present to the Sovereign three barbed arrows on request. The first such weapon-shawing was held on 14 June 1714, with the Marquis of Athole as the company's Captain-General, even though he was in his 80s by this time, and the Earl of Wemyss as Lieutenant-General at the head of about 50 archers. On that occasion, the society shot a silver arrow, presented to them by the City of Edinburgh, at Leith. By the following year, the company had doubled in number and was led by David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss after the death of the Marquis of Athole. After the Jacobite rising of 1715 no parade was held for nine years, but they resumed under James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton on 4 August 1724 at Musselburgh. However, after 1734 public parades were discontinued until the Napoleonic Wars were over.
Duke of Buccleuch, formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II, was attainted after rebelling against his uncle King James II and VII, but his wife's title was unaffected and passed on to their descendants, who have successively borne the surnames Scott, Montagu-Scott, Montagu Douglas Scott and Scott again. In 1810, the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch inherited the Dukedom of Queensberry, also in the Peerage of Scotland, thus separating that title from the Marquessate of Queensberry. The substantial origin of the ducal house of the Scotts of Buccleuch dates back to the large grants of lands in Scotland to Sir Walter Scott of Kirkurd and Buccleuch, a border chief, by King James II, in consequence of the fall of the 8th Earl of Douglas (1452), but the family traced their descent back to a Sir Richard le Scott (1240–1285). Sir Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch (died 1552) distinguished himself at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (1547). His great-grandson Sir
Walter was created Lord Scott of Buccleuch in 1606. Other subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of Buccleuch are: Earl of Buccleuch (1619), Earl of Dalkeith (1663) and Lord Scott of Whitchester and Eskdaill (1619) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The Duke also holds the two subsidiary titles of the attainted Dukedom of Monmouth, namely Earl of Doncaster (1663) and Baron Scott of Tindale (1663) (both in the Peerage of England), and several subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of Queensberry, namely Marquess of Dumfriesshire (1683), Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar (1682), Viscount of Nith, Tortholwald and Ross (1682) and Lord Douglas of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock (1682) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The Earldom of Doncaster and Barony of Scott of Tindale had been forfeit at the time of the first Duke's attainder, but the titles were restored to the 2nd Duke of Buccleuch in 1742. Until 1835, the Dukes also held lands in the West Riding of Yorkshire and the ancient title of Lord of Bowland. The Duke of Buccleuch is the hereditary chief of Clan Scott.
Awards: Collar, sash and star of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, star of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
