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Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton
- Birth: 3 OCT 1767
- Death: 18 AUG 1852
Father: Archibald (9th
Duke of Hamilton) Douglas-Hamilton b: 15 JUL 1740
Mother: Harriett (of Galloway) Stewart
Marriage 1 Susan Euphemia Beckford b: 14 MAY 1786 in Chateau La
Tour, Vevay, Switzerland
Children
William (11th Duke of Hamilton)
Douglas-Hamilton b: 19 FEB 1811- Lady Susan Harriet Catherine Douglas-Hamilton, *9.6.1814, +28.11.1889;
1m: Hamilton Palace 27.11.1832 (div 1850) Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton,
Earl of Lincoln (later, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne) (*London
22.5.1811 +18.10.1864); 2m: 2.1.1860 M.Opdebeck
Douglas Alexander Hamilton believed himself to be the
true heir to the Scottish throne. The great British public of the time believed
him to be the most arrogant man in existence.
In recognition of his own importance, the Duke
commissioned an imposing mausoleum for his final resting-place. It was his
intention to build "the eighth wonder of world" as a fitting tribute
to his own status.
The final flourish was his coffin. This was the
sarcophagus of an Egyptian princess, which had been purchased by the Duke for £11,000,
an absolute bloody fortune at the time.
Unfortunately, this is where ego and sanity part
company.
When the old boy kicked the bucket, it became apparent
that there was a considerable difference in height between the good Duke and the
unfortunate princess who was to give up her coffin for him.
The only way that they could stuff the old bugger into
the available space was to cut his legs off at the knees. And so they did!
The final irony however occurred later.
In 1927, during a re-examination of the coffin of the
"Egyptian Princess, it was discovered that it had in fact been constructed
for use by an Egyptian court jester.
Source: http://www.firstfoot.com/Great%20Scot/10thduke%20of%20hamilton.htm
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Duke Hamilton Is Dead!: A Story of Aristocratic Life and Death in Stuart Britain
by Victor Stater
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Using the famous Mohun-Hamilton duel as a focal point, Victor
Stater re-creates the desperate aristocratic world of
late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century Britain. Mohun
and Hamilton stood at opposite ends of a bitterly divided
political spectrum, but politics was not the only cause of their
quarrel. A decade-long battle over a disputed inheritance was a
crucial element, and Stater shows how, amid the luxury and
ostentation of the aristocratic lifestyle, something very like
moral anarchy reigned. The result is a stunning narrative of
life and death in a tumultuous time, an era in which incivility
and moral turpitude ruled beneath a thin veneer of aristocratic
manners. |
- Hardcover: 288 pages ; Dimensions (in
inches): 1.25 x 9.00 x 6.00
- Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub;
(February 1999)
- ASIN: 0809040336
- Average Customer Review:
Based on 5 reviews. Write
a review.
- Amazon.com Sales
Rank: 402,388
(Publishers and authors: improve
your sales)
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