Portrait of James, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658-1712)

Portrait of James 4th Duke of Hamilton, eldest son of Anne Duchess of Hamilton.
Painted by Ferdinand Voet.

Until his mother, Duchess Anne, resigned her honours in his favour in 1698, James was still styled Earl of Arran after the death of the 3rd Duke in 1694. He married (1) Lady Anne Spencer and (2) Elizabeth Gerard in 1698, by whom he had seven children.

The story of the Duke's relations with James VII and King William and of his political activities in and outside the Scottish Parliament, after the ID of Queen Anne, in relation to the Union of Parliaments demands full study.

Created K.T. 1687 and unprecedentedly, Knight of the Garter in 1712, he was appointed ambassador to France after the Treaty of Utrecht, but just before leaving he was killed in a duel (described in Thackeray's "Henry Esmond") with Lord Mohun.