PEERAGE
Last updated 22/07/2024
     Date Rank Order Name Born Died  Age
DORMAND OF EASINGTON
13 Oct 1987 B[L] 1 John Donkin Dormand 27 Aug 1919 18 Dec 2003 84
to     Created Baron Dormand of Easington
18 Dec 2003 for life 13 Oct 1987
MP for Easington 1970-1987
Peerage extinct on his death
DORMER
30 Jun 1615 B 1 Sir Robert Dormer,1st baronet 26 Jan 1551 8 Nov 1616 65
Created Baron Dormer 30 Jun 1615
8 Nov 1616 2 Robert Dormer,later [1628] 1st Earl of Carnarvon 1610 20 Sep 1643 33
20 Sep 1643 3 Charles Dormer,2nd Earl of Carnarvon 25 Oct 1632 25 Nov 1709 77
25 Nov 1709 4 Rowland Dormer 1651 27 Sep 1712 61
27 Sep 1712 5 Charles Dormer 22 Apr 1668 2 Jul 1728 60
2 Jul 1728 6 Charles Dormer 7 Mar 1761
7 Mar 1761 7 John Dormer 2 Jun 1691 7 Oct 1785 94
7 Oct 1785 8 Charles Dormer 30 Apr 1725 30 Mar 1804 78
30 Mar 1804 9 Charles Dormer 10 Jan 1753 2 Apr 1819 66
2 Apr 1819 10 John Evelyn Pierrepont Dormer Mar 1771 9 Dec 1826 55
9 Dec 1826 11 Joseph Thaddeus Dormer 1 Jun 1790 5 Jul 1871 81
5 Jul 1871 12 John Baptist Joseph Dormer 22 May 1830 22 Dec 1900 70
22 Dec 1900 13 Roland John Dormer 24 Nov 1862 9 Feb 1920 57
9 Feb 1920 14 Charles Joseph Thaddeus Dormer 24 Feb 1864 4 May 1922 58
4 May 1922 15 Charles Walter James Dormer 20 Dec 1903 27 Aug 1975 71
27 Aug 1975 16 Joseph Spencer Philip Dormer 4 Sep 1914 21 Dec 1995 81
21 Dec 1995 17 Geoffrey Henry Dormer 13 May 1920 10 May 2016 95
10 May 2016 18 William Robert Dormer 8 Nov 1960
DORSET
c 1070 E 1 Osmund,Count of Sées 3 Dec 1099
to     Created Earl of Dorset c 1070
3 Dec 1099 Lord Chancellor c 1070-1078. Bishop of Salisbury 
1078-1099. Canonized as St. Osmund 1457
Peerage extinct on his death
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29 Sep 1397 M 1 John Beaufort,Earl of Somerset 21 Apr 1410
to     Created Marquess of Dorset
6 Oct 1399 29 Sep 1397
KG 1396
He was degraded from the title in 1399
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5 Jul 1411 E 1 Thomas Beaufort c 1377 30 Dec 1426
to     Created Earl of Dorset 5 Jul 1411
30 Dec 1426 and Duke of Exeter for life 18 Nov 1416
Peerages extinct on his death
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24 Jun 1442 M 1 Edmund Beaufort c 1406 23 May 1455
Created Earl of Dorset Aug 1441,
Marquess of Dorset 24 Jun 1442 and
Duke of Somerset 31 Mar 1448
KG 1436
23 May 1455 2 Henry Beaufort Apr 1436 3 Apr 1464 27
to     He was attainted and the peerages 
3 Apr 1464 forfeited
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18 Apr 1475 M 1 Thomas Grey,1st Earl of Huntingdon 1451 26 Apr 1501 49
Created Marquess of Dorset 
18 Apr 1475
KG 1476
26 Apr 1501 2 Thomas Grey 22 Jun 1477 10 Oct 1530 53
KG 1501
10 Oct 1530 3 Henry Grey by 1520 23 Feb 1554
to     Lord Lieutenant Leicester and Rutland 1549
23 Feb 1554 KG 1547
He was created Duke of Suffolk (qv) in 1551
but was attainted and executed and the 
peerages forfeited
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13 Mar 1604 E 1 Thomas Sackville,1st Baron Buckhurst 1527 19 Apr 1608 80
Created Earl of Dorset 13 Mar 1604
MP for East Grinstead 1557-1563 and 
Ailesbury 1563-1567. Lord High Treasurer
1599-1608.  KG 1589
19 Apr 1608 2 Robert Sackville 1561 27 Feb 1609 47
MP for Lewes 1588 and Sussex 1592-1608.
Lord Lieutenant Sussex 1608
27 Feb 1609 3 Richard Sackville 28 Mar 1589 28 Mar 1624 35
Lord Lieutenant Sussex 1612
28 Mar 1624 4 Edward Sackville 1590 17 Jul 1652 62
MP for Sussex 1614 and 1621-1622. Lord
Lieutenant Middlesex 1620-1622 and 1628-
1642 and Sussex 1624-1642. KG 1625
17 Jul 1652 5 Richard Sackville 16 Sep 1622 27 Aug 1677 54
MP for East Grinstead 1640-1646. Lord
Lieutenant Middlesex 1660-1662 and Sussex 
1670-1677
27 Aug 1677 6 Charles Sackville 24 Jan 1638 29 Jan 1706 68
MP for East Grinstead 1661-1675. Lord Lieutenant
Sussex 1670-1688 and 1689-1706 and Somerset
1690-1691  KG 1692  PC 1689. He was created 
Earl of Middlesex (qv) in 1675
29 Jan 1706 7 Lionel Cranfield Sackville 18 Jan 1688 10 Oct 1765 77
17 Jun 1720 D 1 Created Duke of Dorset 17 Jun 1720
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1708-1712
and 1714-1717. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 
1730-1737 and 1751-1755. Lord President
of the Council 1741-1751. Lord Lieutenant
Kent 1746-1765.  PC 1714  KG 1714
10 Oct 1765 2 Charles Sackville 6 Feb 1711 6 Jan 1769 57
MP for East Grinstead 1734-1742 and 1761-
1765, Sussex 1742-1747 and Old Sarum 1747-
1754. Lord Lieutenant Kent 1765-1769.  PC 1766
5 Jan 1769 3 John Frederick Sackville 25 Mar 1745 19 Jul 1799 54
MP for Kent 1768-1769. Lord Lieutenant
Kent 1769-1797. PC 1782  KG 1788
19 Jul 1799 4 George John Frederick Sackville 15 Nov 1793 14 Feb 1815 21
For information on the death of this peer,see
the note at the foot of this page
14 Feb 1815 5 Charles Sackville-Germain,2nd Viscount Sackville 27 Aug 1767 29 Jul 1843 75
to     PC 1821  KG 1826
29 Jul 1843 Peerages extinct on his death
DOUGLAS
26 Jan 1358 E[S] 1 Sir William Douglas c 1327 May 1384
Created Earl of Douglas 26 Jan 1358
May 1384 2 James Douglas c 1358 19 Aug 1388
19 Aug 1388 3 Archibald Douglas c 1325 24 Dec 1400
24 Dec 1400 4 Archibald Douglas c 1370 17 Aug 1424
17 Aug 1424 5 Archibald Douglas c 1390 26 Jun 1439
26 Jun 1439 6 William Douglas c 1424 24 Nov 1440  
For further information on the death of this peer,
see the note at the foot of this page
24 Nov 1440 7 James Douglas 1371 24 Mar 1443 71
He had previously been created Earl of Avandale
(qv) in 1437
24 Mar 1443 8 William Douglas,2nd Earl of Avandale c 1425 22 Feb 1452
For further information on the death of this peer,
see the note at the foot of this page
22 Feb 1452 9 James Douglas,3rd Earl of Avandale 1426 1488 62
to     KG 1463
1455 He was attainted and the peerage forfeited
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14 Jun 1633 M[S] 1 William Douglas,11th Earl of Angus 1590 19 Feb 1660 69
Created Lord Abernerthy and Jedburgh
Forest,Earl of Angus and Marquess of
Douglas 14 Jun 1633
19 Feb 1660 2 James Douglas 1646 25 Feb 1700 53
25 Feb 1700 3 Archibald Douglas 15 Oct 1694 21 Jul 1761 66
10 Apr 1703 D[S] 1 Created Lord Douglas of Bonkill.
Prestoun and Robertoun,Viscount of
Jedburgh Forest,Marquess of Angus
and Abernethy and Duke of Douglas
10 Apr 1703
All of the above peerages extinct on his
death
For information on the Douglas Inheritance Case
which followed the death of this peer, see the
note at the foot of this page
21 Jul 1761 4 James George Hamilton 18 Feb 1755 7 Jul 1769 14
He had previously succeeded to the Dukedom
of Hamilton (qv) with which title this
peerage then merged
DOUGLAS OF AMESBURY
21 Aug 1786 B 1 William Douglas 16 Dec 1735 23 Dec 1810 85
to     Created Baron Douglas of Amesbury
23 Dec 1810 21 Aug 1786
Peerage extinct on his death
DOUGLAS OF BAADS
6 Jul 1911 B 1 Aretas Akers-Douglas 21 Oct 1851 15 Jan 1926 74
Created Baron Douglas of Baads and Viscount
Chilston 6 Jul 1911
See "Chilston"
DOUGLAS OF BARLOCH
11 Apr 1950 B 1 Sir Francis Campbell Ross Douglas 21 Oct 1889 30 Mar 1980 90
to     Created Baron Douglas of Barloch
30 Mar 1980 11 Apr 1950
MP for Battersea 1940-1946. Governor of
Malta 1946-1949
Peerage extinct on his death
DOUGLAS OF BONKILL
10 Apr 1703 B[S] 1 Archibald Douglas 15 Oct 1694 21 Jul 1761 66
Created Lord Douglas of Bonkill.
Prestoun and Robertoun,Viscount of
Jedburgh Forest,Marquess of Angus
and Abernethy and Duke of Douglas
10 Apr 1703
See "Queensberry"
 
DOUGLAS OF DOUGLAS
8 Jul 1790 B 1 Archibald James Edward Douglas 10 Jul 1748 26 Dec 1827 79
Created Baron Douglas of Douglas
8 Jul 1790
MP for Forfar 1782-1790. Lord Lieutenant
Angus (Forfar) 1794-1827
For further unformation on this peer, see the
note on the Douglas Inheritance Case at the
foot of this page
26 Dec 1827 2 Archibald Douglas 25 Mar 1773 27 Jan 1844 70
27 Jan 1844 3 Charles Douglas 26 Oct 1775 10 Sep 1848 72
MP for Lanarkshire 1830-1832
10 Sep 1848 4 James Douglas 9 Jul 1787 6 Apr 1857 69
to     Peerage extinct on his death
6 Apr 1857
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11 Jun 1875 B 1 Cospatrick Alexander Douglas-Home, 27 Oct 1799 4 Jul 1881 81
11th Earl of Home
Created Baron Douglas of Douglas
11 Jun 1875
See "Home"
DOUGLAS OF ETTRICK
9 Mar 1675 B[S] 1 Lord George Douglas c 1635 20 Mar 1692
Created Lord Douglas of Ettrick and
Earl of Dunbarton 9 Mar 1675
See "Dunbarton"
DOUGLAS OF HAWICK
1 Apr 1628 B[S] 1 William Douglas 8 Mar 1640
13 Jun 1633 B[S] 1 Created Lord Douglas of Hawick and
Viscount of Drumlanrig 1 Apr 1628,and
Lord Douglas of Hawick,Viscount of
Drumlanrig and Earl of Queensberry
13 Jun 1633
See "Queensberry"
DOUGLAS OF KINLOCH
11 Feb 1682 B[S] 1 William Douglas 1637 28 Mar 1695 57
3 Nov 1684 B[S] 1 Created Lord Douglas of Kinmont,
Viscount of Nith,Torthorwald and
Ross,Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar
and Marquess of Queensberry
11 Feb 1682,and Lord Douglas of
Kinmont,Viscount of Nith,Torthorwald 
and Ross,Earl of Drumlanrig and
Sanquhar,Marquess of Dumfriesshire
and Duke of Queensberry 3 Nov 1684
See "Queensberry"
DOUGLAS OF KIRTLESIDE
7 Feb 1948 B 1 Sir William Sholto Douglas 23 Dec 1893 29 Oct 1969 75
to     Created Baron Douglas of Kirtleside
29 Oct 1969 7 Feb 1948
Marshal of the RAF 1946
Peerage extinct on his death
DOUGLAS OF LOCHLEVEN
11 Aug 1791 1 George Douglas,16th Earl of Morton 3 Apr 1761 17 Jul 1827 66
to     Created Baron Douglas of Lochleven
17 Jul 1827 11 Aug 1791
Peerage extinct on his death
DOUGLAS OF NEIDPATH
20 Apr 1697 B[S] 1 Lord William Douglas c 1665 2 Sep 1705
Created Lord Douglas of Neidpath
and Earl of March 20 Apr 1697
See "March"
DOUGLAS-MILLER
15 Dec 2023 B[L] 1 Robert Peter Douglas-Miller, OBE 15 Jan 1965
     Created Baron Douglas-Miller
  for life 15 Dec 2023
DOUGLASS OF CLEVELAND
22 Sep 1967 B[L] 1 Sir Harry Douglass 1 Jan 1902 5 Apr 1978 76
to     Created Baron Douglass of Cleveland
5 Apr 1978 for life 22 Sep 1967
Peerage extinct on his death
DOUNE
24 Nov 1581 B[S] 1 Sir James Stewart 20 Jul 1590
Created Lord Doune 24 Nov 1581
20 Jul 1590 2 James Stewart 7 Feb 1592
He had previously assumed the title of Earl
of Moray (qv) in the right of his wife in
1580 with which title this peerage then
merged and so remains
DOURO
4 Sep 1809 B 1 Arthur Wellesley 1 May 1769 14 Sep 1852 83
11 May 1814 M 1 Created Baron Douro and Viscount 
Wellington 4 Sep 1809,Earl of
Wellington 28 Feb 1812,Marquess of
Wellington 3 Oct 1812 and Marquess 
of Douro and Duke of Wellington
11 May 1814
See "Wellington"
DOVER
8 Mar 1628 E 1 Henry Carey,4th Baron Hunsdon c 1580 13 Apr 1666
Created Viscount Rochford 6 Jul 1621
and Earl of Dover 8 Mar 1628
13 Apr 1666 2 John Carey 1608 26 May 1677 68
to     He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of
26 May 1677 Acceleration as Baron Hunsdon 27 Nov 1640
Peerage extinct on his death
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13 May 1685 B 1 Henry Jermyn,later [1703] 3rd Baron Jermyn c 1636 6 Apr 1708
to     Created Baron Dover 13 May 1685
6 Apr 1708 Lord Lieutenant Cambridge 1686-1689
PC 1686
Peerage extinct on his death
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26 May 1708 D 1 James Douglas,2nd Duke of Queensberry 18 Dec 1672 6 Jul 1711 38
Created Baron of Rippon,Marquess of
Beverley and Duke of Dover 26 May 1708
These creations contained a special remainder to
his second surviving son Charles and his younger
sons successively in tail male. The wisdom of 
the action of excluding his eldest son James can
be seen by reading the note regarding James
Douglas, 3rd Marquess of Queensberry
6 Jul 1711 2 Charles Douglas,3rd Duke of Queensberry 24 Nov 1698 22 Oct 1778 79
to     Peerage extinct on his death
22 Oct 1778
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18 Sep 1788 B 1 Sir Joseph Yorke 24 Jun 1724 2 Dec 1792 68
to     Created Baron Dover 18 Sep 1788
2 Dec 1792 MP for East Grinstead 1751-1761, Dover
1761-1764 and Grampound 1774-1780. PC
1768  Field Marshal 
Peerage extinct on his death
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20 Jun 1831 B 1 George James Welbore Agar-Ellis 17 Jan 1797 10 Jul 1833 36
Created Baron Dover 20 Jun 1831
MP for Heytesbury 1818-1820, Seaford
1820-1826, Ludgershall 1826-1830 and
Okehampton 1830-1831.  PC 1830
10 Jul 1833 2 Henry Agar-Ellis,later [1836] 3rd Viscount Clifden 25 Feb 1825 20 Feb 1866 40
 
20 Feb 1866 4 Henry George Agar-Ellis,4th Viscount Clifden 3 Sep 1863 28 Mar 1895 31
28 Mar 1895 5 Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis,
to     5th Viscount Clifden 13 May 1829 10 Sep 1899 70
10 Sep 1899 Peerage extinct on his death
DOVERCOURT
18 Jan 1954 B 1 Sir Joseph Stanley Holmes 31 Oct 1878 22 Apr 1961 82
to     Created Baron Dovercourt 18 Jan 1954
22 Apr 1961 MP for Derbyshire NE 1918-1922 and
Harwich 1935-1954
Peerage extinct on his death
DOVERDALE
6 Jan 1917 B 1 Sir Edward Partington 1836 5 Jan 1925 88
Created Baron Doverdale 6 Jan 1917
5 Jan 1925 2 Oswald Partington 4 May 1872 23 Mar 1935 62
MP for High Peak 1900-1910 and Shipley
1915-1918
23 Mar 1935 3 Edward Alexander Partington 25 Feb 1904 18 Jan 1949 44
to     Peerage extinct on his death
18 Jan 1949
DOWDING
5 Jul 1943 B 1 Sir Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding 24 Apr 1882 15 Feb 1970 87
Created Baron Dowding 5 Jul 1943
15 Feb 1970 2 Derek Hugh Tremenheere Dowding 9 Jan 1919 22 Nov 1992 73
22 Nov 1992 3 Piers Hugh Tremenheere Dowding 18 Feb 1948
DOWNE
16 Oct 1628 E[I] 1 Sir William Pope,1st baronet 15 Oct 1573 2 Jun 1631 57
Created Baron Pope and Earl of
Downe 16 Oct 1628
2 Jun 1631 2 Thomas Pope 16 Dec 1622 28 Dec 1660 38
28 Dec 1660 3 Thomas Pope 1598 11 Jan 1668 69
11 Jan 1668 4 Thomas Pope 29 Sep 1640 18 May 1668 27
to     Peerages extinct on his death
18 May 1668
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19 Jul 1675 V[I] 1 Sir William Ducie,3rd baronet c 1612 9 Sep 1679
to     Created Baron of Cloney and Viscount
9 Sep 1679 Downe 19 Jul 1675
Peerage extinct on his death
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19 Feb 1681 V[I] 1 Sir John Dawnay 25 Jan 1625 1 Oct 1695 70
Created Viscount Downe 19 Feb 1681
MP for Yorkshire 1660 and Pontefract
1661-1690
1 Oct 1695 2 Henry Dawnay 7 Jun 1664 21 May 1741 76
MP for Pontefract 1690-1695 and Yorkshire
1698-1700 and 1707-1727
May 1741 3 Henry Pleydell Dawnay 8 Apr 1727 9 Dec 1760 33
MP for Yorkshire 1750-1760
9 Dec 1760 4 John Dawnay 9 Apr 1728 21 Dec 1780 52
MP for Cirencester 1754-1768 and Malton
1768-1774
21 Dec 1780 5 John Christopher Burton Dawnay 15 Nov 1764 18 Feb 1832 67
MP for Petersfield 1787-1790 and Wootton
Basset 1790-1796
18 Feb 1832 6 William Henry Dawnay 20 Aug 1772 23 May 1846 73
23 May 1846 7 William Henry Dawnay 15 May 1812 26 Jan 1857 44
MP for Rutland 1841-1846
26 Jan 1857 8 Hugh Richard Dawnay 20 Jul 1844 21 Jan 1924 79
Created Baron Dawnay 24 Jul 1897
21 Jan 1924 9 John Dawnay 23 May 1872 1 Dec 1931 59
1 Dec 1931 10 Richard Dawnay 16 May 1903 8 Dec 1965 62
8 Dec 1965 11 John Christian George Dawnay 18 Jan 1935 15 Mar 2002 67
15 Mar 2002 12 Richard Henry Dawnay 9 Apr 1967
DOWNES OF AGHANVILLE
10 Dec 1822 B[I] 1 William Downes 1751 3 Mar 1826 74
Created Baron Downes of Aghanville
10 Dec 1822
This creation contained a special remainder,
failing the heirs male of his body,to his cousin,
Lieut. Col. Sir Ulysses Burgh
PC [I] 1803
3 Mar 1826 2 Ulysses Burgh [de Burgh from 1848] 15 Aug 1788 26 Jul 1863 74
to     MP for co.Carlow 1818-1826 and Queenborough 
26 Jul 1863 1826-1830
Peerage extinct on his death
DOWNHAM
16 Nov 1918 B 1 William Hayes Fisher 1853 2 Jul 1920 67
to     Created Baron Downham 16 Nov 1918
2 Jul 1920 MP for Fulham 1885-1906 and 1910-1918.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1902-
1903. President of the Local Government
Board 1917-1918. Chancellor of the Duchy
of Lancaster 1918-1919.  PC 1911
Peerage extinct on his death
DOWNPATRICK
12 Oct 1934 B 1 H.R.H. George Edward Alexander Edmund 20 Dec 1902 25 Aug 1942 39
Created Baron Downpatrick,Earl of
St.Andrews and Duke of Kent
12 Oct 1934
See "Kent"
DOWNSHIRE
20 Aug 1789 M[I] 1 Wills Hill,2nd Earl of Hillsborough 30 May 1718 7 Oct 1793 75
Created Marquess of Downshire
20 Aug 1789
MP for Warwick 1741-1756.Lord Lieutenant
Down 1742. President of the Board of
Trade 1763-1765,1766 and 1768-1772.
Postmaster General 1766-1768. Secretary
of State for Colonies 1768-1772. Secretary
of State,Northern Dept 1779-1782. PC [I] 1746
PC 1754
7 Oct 1793 2 Arthur Hill 3 Mar 1753 7 Sep 1801 48
MP for Lostwithiel 1774-1780 and
Malmesbury 1780-1784. Lord Lieutenant
Down 1793-1800. PC [I] 1793
7 Sep 1801 3 Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill 8 Oct 1788 12 Sep 1845 56
Lord Lieutenant Down 1831-1845.  KP 1831
12 Sep 1845 4 Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull 
Windsor Hill 6 Aug 1812 6 Aug 1868 56
MP for Down 1836-1845. KP 1859
6 Aug 1868 5 Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys
Roden Hill 24 Dec 1844 31 Mar 1874 29
31 Mar 1874 6 Arthur Wills John Wellington Blundell
Trumbull Hill 2 Jul 1871 29 May 1918 46
29 May 1918 7 Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell
Trumbull Sandys Hill 7 Apr 1894 28 Mar 1989 94
28 Mar 1989 8 Arthur Robin Ian Hill 10 May 1929 18 Dec 2003 74
18 Dec 2003 9 Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill 4 Feb 1959
He succeeded to the Barony of Sandys [qv]
11 Feb 2013
DRAKE
20 Jun 2010 B[L] 1 Jean Leslie Patricia Drake
Created Baroness Drake for life 20 Jun 2010
DRAYSON
1 Jun 2004 B[L] 1 Paul Rudd Drayson 5 Mar 1960
Created Baron Drayson for life 1 Jun 2004
PC 2008
DROGHEDA
7 Feb 1622 V[I] 1 Sir Gerald Moore 9 Nov 1627
Created Baron Moore of Mellefont
and Viscount Moore of Drogheda
7 Feb 1622
9 Nov 1627 2 Charles Moore 1603 7 Aug 1643 40
7 Aug 1643 3 Henry Moore 11 Jan 1675
14 Jun 1661 E[I] 1 Created Earl of Drogheda 14 Jun 1661
11 Jan 1675 2 Charles Moore 18 Jun 1679
18 Jun 1679 3 Henry Hamilton-Moore 7 Jun 1714
PC [I] 1685
7 Jun 1714 4 Henry Moore 7 Oct 1700 28 May 1727 26
MP for Camelford 1722-1727
28 May 1727 5 Edward Moore 1701 28 Oct 1758 57
PC [I] 1748
28 Oct 1758 6 Charles Moore 29 Jun 1730 22 Dec 1822 92
5 Jul 1791 M[I] 1 Created Marquess of Drogheda 
5 Jul 1791 and Baron Moore of Moore
Place 17 Jan 1801
MP for Horsham 1776-1780. PC [I] 1760  KP 1783
22 Dec 1822 7 Charles Moore 23 Aug 1770 6 Feb 1837 66
2
6 Feb 1837 8 Henry Francis Seymour Moore 14 Aug 1825 29 Jun 1892 66
to     3 Lord Lieutenant Kildare 1875-1892
29 Jun 1892 PC [I] 1858  KP 1868
On his death the Marquessate became extinct
whilst the Earldom passed to -
29 Jun 1892 9 Ponsonby William Moore 29 Apr 1846 28 Oct 1908 62
28 Oct 1908 10 Henry Charles Ponsonby Moore 21 Apr 1884 22 Nov 1957 73
Lord Lieutenant Kildare 1918-1921.  PC 1951
Created Baron Moore [UK] 30 Jan 1954
22 Nov 1957 11 Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore 23 Apr 1910 24 Dec 1989 79
KG 1972
24 Dec 1989 12 Henry Dermot Ponsonby Moore 14 Jan 1937
DROMANA
27 Jan 1569 B[I] 1 Sir Maurice Fitzgerald 28 Dec 1572
to     Created Baron of Dromana 27 Jan 1569
28 Dec 1572 and Viscount Decies 31 Jan 1569
Peerage extinct on his death
DROMORE
1 Jul 1628 B[I] 1 Sir John Scudamore 22 Mar 1601 19 May 1671 70
Created Baron Dromore and Viscount
Scudamore 1 Jul 1628
See "Scudamore"
DRUMALBYN
9 Nov 1963 B  1 Niall Malcolm Stewart Macpherson 3 Aug 1908 11 Oct 1987 79
to     Created Baron Drumalbyn 9 Nov 1963
11 Oct 1987 MP for Dumfriesshire 1945-1963. Minister of
Pensions and National Insurance 1962-1963.
Minister of State,Board of Trade 1963-1964
Minister without Portfolio 1970-1974. 
PC 1962
Peerage extinct on his death
DRUMLANRIG
1 Apr 1628 V[S] 1 William Douglas 8 Mar 1640
13 Jun 1633 V[S] 1 Created Lord Douglas of Hawick and
Viscount of Drumlanrig 1 Apr 1628,and
Lord Douglas of Hawick,Viscount of
Drumlanrig and Earl of Queensberry
13 Jun 1633
See "Queensberry"
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11 Feb 1682 E[S] 1 William Douglas 1637 28 Mar 1695 57
3 Nov 1684 E[S] 1 Created Lord Douglas of Kinmont,
Viscount of Nith,Torthorwald and
Ross,Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar
and Marquess of Queensberry
11 Feb 1682,and Lord Douglas of
Kinmont,Viscount of Nith,Torthorwald 
and Ross,Earl of Drumlanrig and
Sanquhar,Marquess of Dumfriesshire
and Duke of Queensberry 3 Nov 1684
See "Queensberry"
DRUMMOND
29 Jan 1488 B[S] 1 Sir John Drummond 1438 1519 81
Created Lord Drummond 29 Jan 1488
1519 2 David Drummond c 1515 1571
1571 3 Patrick Drummond 1550 1600 50
1600 4 James Drummond c 1580 18 Dec 1611
He was created Earl of Perth (qv) in 1605
with which title this peerage then merged
DRUMMOND OF CROMLIX
16 Aug 1686 B[S] 1 William Drummond c 1617 23 Mar 1688
Created Lord Drummond of Cromlix
and Viscount Strathallan 16 Aug 1686
See "Strathallan"
DRUMMOND OF GILSTOUN
14 Apr 1685 B[S] 1 John Drummond c 1650 25 Jan 1715
  Created Lord Drummond of Gilstoun 
  and Viscount of Melfort 14 Apr 1685,
Earl of Melfort 12 Aug 1686
See "Melfort"
DRUMMOND OF RICCARTOUN
12 Aug 1686 B[S] 1 John Drummond,1st Viscount Melfort c 1650 25 Jan 1715
Created Lord Drummond of Riccartoun
and Earl of Melfort 12 Aug 1686
See "Melfort"
DRUMMOND OF STOBHALL
26 Oct 1797 B 1 James Drummond 12 Feb 1744 2 Jul 1800 56
to     Created Lord Perth,Baron Drummond of 
2 Jul 1800 Stobhall 26 Oct 1797
Peerage extinct on his death
D'SOUZA
1 Jul 2004 B[L] 1 Frances Gertrude Claire D'Souza 18 Apr 1944
Created Baroness D'Souza for life 1 Jul 2004
PC 2009
DUBLIN
1 Dec 1385 M[L] 1 Robert de Vere,9th Earl of Oxford 16 Jan 1362 22 Nov 1392 30
to     Created Marquess of Dublin for life
1386 1 Dec 1385
He surrendered the title in 1386
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22 Oct 1766 E[I] 1 Henry Frederick 27 Oct 1745 18 Sep 1790 44
to     Created Earl of Dublin and Duke of
18 Sep 1790 Cumberland and Strathearn 
22 Oct 1766
PC 1766  KG 1767
Peerages extinct on his death
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24 Apr 1799 E 1 H.R.H. Edward 2 Nov 1767 23 Jan 1820 52
to     Created Earl of Dublin and Duke of 
23 Jan 1820 Kent and Strathearn 24 Apr 1799
See "Kent"
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17 Jan 1850 E 1 H.R.H. Albert Edward,Prince of Wales 9 Nov 1841 6 May 1910 68
to     Created Earl of Dublin 17 Jan 1850
22 Jan 1901 He succeeded as King Edward VII in 1901 when
his peerages merged in the Crown
DUBS
27 Sep 1994 B[L] 1 Alfred Dubs 5 Dec 1932
Created Baron Dubs for life 27 Sep 1994
MP for Battersea South 1979-1983 and 
Battersea 1983-1987
DUCIE
9 Jun 1720 B 1 Matthew Ducie Moreton 17 Mar 1663 2 May 1735 71
Created Baron Ducie 9 Jun 1720
MP for Gloucestershire 1708-1713 and
1715-1720. PC [I] 1717
2 May 1735 2 Matthew Ducie Moreton by 1700 25 Dec 1770
to     Created Baron Ducie 27 Apr 1763
25 Dec 1770 For details of the special remainder included
27 Apr 1763 B 1 in this creation, see the note at the foot of
this page
MP for Cricklade 1721-1722, Calne 1723-
1727, Gloucester 1727, Tregony 1729-1734 
and Lostwithiel 1735. Lord Lieutenant
Gloucester 1755-1758
On his death the creation of 1720 became
extinct whilst the creation of 1763 
passed to -
25 Dec 1770 2 Thomas Reynolds-Moreton 26 Oct 1733 11 Sep 1785 51
11 Sep 1785 3 Francis Reynolds-Moreton 28 Mar 1739 19 Aug 1808 69
MP for Lancaster 1784-1785
19 Aug 1808 4 Thomas Reynolds-Moreton 31 Aug 1776 22 Jun 1840 63
28 Jan 1837 E 1 Created Baron Moreton and Earl of
Ducie 28 Jan 1837
22 Jun 1840 2 Henry George Francis Reynolds-Moreton 8 May 1802 2 Jun 1853 51
MP for Gloucestershire 1831-1832 and
Gloucestershire East 1832-1835
2 Jun 1853 3 Henry John Reynolds-Moreton 25 Jun 1827 28 Oct 1921 94
MP for Stroud 1852-1853. Lord Lieutenant
Gloucester 1857-1911.  PC 1859
28 Oct 1921 4 Berkeley Basil Moreton 18 Jul 1834 7 Aug 1924 90
For further information on this peer,see the
note at the foot of this page
7 Aug 1924 5 Capel Henry Berkeley Reynolds Moreton 16 May 1875 17 Jun 1952 77
17 Jun 1952 6 Basil Howard Moreton 15 Nov 1917 12 Nov 1991 73
12 Nov 1991 7 David Leslie Moreton 20 Sep 1951
DUDHOPE
1641 V[S] 1 Sir John Scrimgeour 7 Mar 1643
Created Lord Scrimgeour and Viscount
of Dudhope 1641
7 Mar 1643 2 James Scrimgeour 28 Jul 1644
28 Jul 1644 3 John Scrimgeour 23 Jun 1668
to     Created Lord Scrimgeour,Viscount of
23 Jun 1668 Dudhope and Earl of Dundee 1661
On his death the peerage became dormant
until July 1952 when a claim for it was allowed.
For further details,see the note under the
Earldom of Dundee
DUDLEY
25 Feb 1342 B 1 John Sutton c 1310 23 Nov 1359
Summoned to Parliament as Lord
Dudley 25 Feb 1342
23 Nov 1359 2 John Sutton c 1370
c 1370 3 John Sutton 6 Dec 1361 10 Mar 1396 34
10 Mar 1396 4 John Sutton 1380 29 Aug 1406 26
29 Aug 1406 5 John Sutton 25 Dec 1400 30 Sep 1487 86
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1428-1430
KG 1459
30 Sep 1487 6 Edward Sutton 1459 31 Jan 1532 72
KG 1509
31 Jan 1532 7 John Sutton c 1495 18 Sep 1553
18 Sep 1553 8 Edward Sutton 12 Aug 1586
12 Aug 1586 9 Edward Sutton 17 Sep 1567 23 Jun 1643 75
23 Jun 1643 10 Frances Ward 23 Jul 1611 11 Aug 1697 86
11 Aug 1697 11 Edward Ward 1631 3 Aug 1701 70
3 Aug 1701 12 Edward Ward 20 Dec 1683 28 Mar 1704 20
28 Mar 1704 13 Edward Ward 16 Jun 1704 6 Sep 1731 27
6 Sep 1731 14 William Ward 16 Oct 168- 20 May 1740
20 May 1740 15 Ferdinando Dudley Lea 14 Sep 1710 21 Oct 1757 47
to     On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
21 Oct 1757
9 May 1916 16 Ferdinando Dudley William Lea Smith 4 Apr 1872 5 Dec 1936 64
Abeyance terminated in his favour 1916
5 Dec 1936 17 Ferdinando Dudley Henry Lea Smith 18 Jun 1910 19 Apr 1972 61
19 Apr 1972 18 Barbara Amy Felicity Hamilton 23 Apr 1907 27 May 2002 95
27 May 2002 19 Jim Anthony Hill Wallace 9 Nov 1930 20 Jun 2024 93
20 Jun 2024 20 Jeremy William Guildford Wallace 12 Sep 1964
DUDLEY
23 May 1644 D[L] 1 Alice Dudley 1578 22 Jan 1669 90
to     Created Duchess Dudley for life
22 Jan 1669 23 May 1644
Peerage extinct on her death
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
17 Feb 1860 E 1 William Ward,11th Baron Ward 27 Mar 1817 7 May 1885 68
Created Viscount Ednam and Earl of
Dudley 17 Feb 1860
For further information on this peer, see the note
at the foot of this page
7 May 1885 2 William Humble Ward 25 May 1867 29 Jun 1932 65
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1902-1905.
Governor General of Australia 1908-1911
PC 1902
29 Jun 1932 3 William Humble Eric Ward 30 Jan 1894 26 Dec 1969 75
MP for Hornsey 1921-1924 and Wednesbury
1931-1932
For further information on this peer,see the
note at the foot of this page
26 Dec 1969 4 William Humble David Ward 5 Jan 1920 16 Nov 2013 93
16 Nov 2013 5 William Humble David Jeremy Ward 27 Mar 1947
DUDLEY OF DUDLEY CASTLE
5 Oct 1827 E 1 John William Ward,4th Viscount Dudley
to     and Ward of Dudley 9 Aug 1781 6 Mar 1833 51
6 Mar 1833 Created Viscount Ednam and Earl of
Dudley of Dudley Castle 5 Oct 1827
MP for Downton 1802-1803, Worcestershire
1803-1806, Petersfield 1806-1807, Wareham
1807-1812,Ilchester 1812-1818 and Bossinney 
1819-1823. Foreign Secretary 1827-1828. PC 1827
Peerage extinct on his death
For further information on this peer, see the note
at the foot of this page
DUDLEY AND WARD OF DUDLEY
21 Apr 1763 V 1 John Ward,6th Baron Ward c 1700 6 May 1774
Created Viscount Dudley and Ward of
Dudley 21 Apr 1763
MP for Newcastle under Lyme 1727-1734
6 May 1774 2 John Ward 22 Feb 1725 10 Oct 1788 63
MP for Marlborough 1754-1761 and 
Worcestershire 1761-1774
10 Oct 1788 3 William Ward 21 Jan 1750 25 Apr 1823 73
MP for Worcester 1780-1788
25 Apr 1823 4 John William Ward 9 Aug 1781 6 Mar 1833 51
to     He was created Earl Dudley of Dudley
6 Mar 1833 Castle 1827 (qv). Peerage extinct on his
death
DUFFERIN AND AVA
17 Nov 1888 M 1 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-
Blackwood,5th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye 21 Jun 1826 12 Feb 1902 75
Created Baron Clandboye 22 Jan 1850,
Viscount Clandboye and Earl of 
Dufferin 13 Nov 1871 and Earl of Ava
and Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
17 Nov 1888
Lord Lieutenant Down 1864-1902. Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster 1868-1872.
Governor General of Canada 1872-1876.
Viceroy of India 1884-1888. Lord Warden of
the Cinque Ports 1891-1895. KP 1864
PC 1868. PC [I] 1897
For further information on this peer, see the
note at the foot of this page.
12 Feb 1902 2 Terence John Temple Hamilton-Temple-
  Blackwood 16 Mar 1866 7 Feb 1918 51
7 Feb 1918 3 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-
  Blackwood 26 Feb 1875 21 Jul 1930 55
PC [I] 1921  
For further information on the death of this peer,
see the note at the foot of this page.
21 Jul 1930 4 Basil Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood 6 Apr 1909 25 Mar 1945 35
 
25 Mar 1945 5 Sheridan Frederick Terence Hamilton-
to       Temple-Blackwood 9 Jul 1938 29 May 1988 49
29 May 1988 Peerage extinct on his death
 
DUFFERIN AND CLANEBOYE
 
31 Jul 1800 B[I] 1 Dame Dorcas Blackwood 1726 8 Feb 1807 80
Created Baroness Dufferin and
Claneboye 31 Jul 1800
8 Feb 1807 2 Sir James Stevenson Blackwood,3rd baronet 8 Jul 1755 8 Aug 1836 81
MP for Helston 1807-1812 and Aldeburgh
1812-1818
8 Aug 1836 3 Hans Blackwood Oct 1758 18 Nov 1839 81
18 Nov 1839 4 Price Blackwood 6 May 1794 21 Jul 1841 47
For information on the death of this peer, see
the note at the foot of this page.
21 Jul 1841 5 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-
Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin & Ava (qv) 21 Jun 1826 12 Feb 1902 76
12 Feb 1902 6 Terence John Temple Hamilton-Temple-
  Blackwood,2nd Marquess of Dufferin & Ava 16 Mar 1866 7 Feb 1918 51
7 Feb 1918 7 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-
  Blackwood,3rd Marquess of Dufferin & Ava 26 Feb 1875 21 Jul 1930 55
PC [I] 1921  
21 Jul 1930 8 Basil Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood,
  4th Marquess of Dufferin & Ava 6 Apr 1909 25 Mar 1945 35
25 Mar 1945 9 Sheridan Frederick Terence Hamilton-
    Temple-Blackwood,5th Marquess of Dufferin
& Ava 9 Jul 1938 29 May 1988 49
29 May 1988 10 Francis George Blackwood,7th baronet 20 May 1916 13 Nov 1991 75
   
13 Nov 1991 11 John Francis Blackwood 18 Oct 1944
DUFFUS
8 Dec 1650 B[S] 1 Alexander Sutherland 31 Aug 1674
Created Lord Duffus 8 Dec 1650
31 Aug 1674 2 James Sutherland 24 Dec 1705
24 Dec 1705 3 Kenneth Sutherland 1734
He was attainted and the peerage forfeited
[1734] [4] [Eric Sutherland] 29 Aug 1710 28 Aug 1768 57
[28 Aug 1768] 5 James Sutherland 8 Jun 1747 30 Jan 1827 79
25 May 1826 He was restored to the peerage in 1826
   
30 Jan 1827 6 Benjamin Dunbar 28 Apr 1761 27 Jan 1843 81
27 Jan 1843 7 George Sutherland Dunbar 6 Jun 1799 28 Aug 1875 76
to     Peerage extinct on his death
28 Aug 1875
George John Frederick Sackville, 4th Duke of Dorset
The Duke, who was aged only 21, died following a hunting accident in February 1815. The
following report is taken from 'The Morning Post' of 20 February 1815:-
'The Duke of Dorset had been since Monday on a visit to Lord Powerscourt, and yesterday
joined a hunting party in the vicinity of Killiney. His Grace was an adventurous horseman, and
interested warmly in the spirit of the chase towards its close; and when his horse was a good
deal fatigued by the ardour with which he had been urged forward, his Grace leaped a small
stone wall, at the opposite side of which loose stones had been collected. The horse effected
the leap, but fell among the stones, on which he necessarily lighted, and his rider was
was consequently thrown off.
'His Grace, it seems, came to the ground on his breast, with so great a shock, as proved fatal
in a short period after. He was unconscious, it seems, of having been materially injured, for in
reply to a question from Lord Powerscourt, who was near at the time of the accident, "If he
was much hurt?" His Grace said, "he believed not." He was immediately taken to the house of
Mr. Oxley, from which a messenger was instantly dispatched to town for Surgeons Crampton
and Macklin. Before their arrival, however, though they travelled with every possible expedition,
his Grace had expired. He lived little better than an hour after the fatal event took place. The
Hon. Mr. Wingfield, Lord Powerscourt's brother, and Mr. Oxley, were with him when he died. The
sad catastrophe was not accompanied with any apparent symptoms of very acute suffering -
he raised himself up by their assistance, as a last effort of life, and said, almost inarticulately, 
"I am off," and expired.'
William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas and William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas
and 2nd Earl of Avandale
The following article appeared in the September 1961 edition of the monthly Australian 
magazine "Parade." While its purpose is to outline the life of King James II of Scotland, a large
portion of it relates to the 6th and 8th Earls of Douglas.
'On February 22, 1452, there was high revelry within the grim old walls of Stirling Castle. Young
King James II of Scotland was feasting his most powerful subject, "Black Willie," Earl of Douglas,
chief of the turbulent and rebellious family that had kept Scotland on the brink of civil war for
years. As the night wore on, high words rose between them. Suddenly the King snatched a
dagger from his belt and plunged it into Douglas' breast. His courtiers hacked the wounded earl
to death, then tossed his body out of a window into the castle garden. "Now I am really king in
my own land!" James cried exultantly.
"James of the Fiery Face" his people called their young monarch. And their name referred as 
much to his furious outbursts of rage as to the blood-red birthmark that stained his cheek. 
James came to the throne as a child, a mere puppet in the hands of the great feudal barons 
who kept Scotland in an anarchy of massacres and private wars. He spent the whole of his brief
manhood in breaking the power of his mighty subjects. The barbaric murder of Douglas sealed
their downfall and James left to his Stuart successors a tradition of absolute monarchy that 
lasted nearly 200 years.
'James Stuart was born at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, on October 16, 1430. He was the son of
King James I, who had spent many years of exile in London as a captive of the English king. In
1437, James I was assassinated by a group of Scottish nobles. His infant son was proclaimed as
James II. Chief contenders for control over the boy were the chancellor, Sir William Crichton,
and the governor of Stirling Castle, Sir Alexander Livingstone. Taken by his mother, Queen Joan,
for safety to Stirling, the child-king was soon kidnapped by Crichton and carried off to 
Edinburgh as a virtual prisoner. 
'The Highlands were ablaze with clan warfare. In the west, the Macdonald "Lord of the Isles"
ruled almost as an independent monarch, plundering and burning from Syke to Inverness.
Central and Southern Scotland was divided among a dozen great feudal houses, of which the 
Douglases far overtopped the others in pride, violence and power. By about 1400, nearly two-
thirds of the Scottish Lowlands was Douglas land. The earl rode with a retinue of 1000 
horsemen. He had 40 castles and could call an army of 30,000 men to his banner.
'James [sic - William], the sixth earl, was a reckless youth of 17 when the infant King James was 
crowned. Douglas hated both Crichton and Livingstone, calling them the "two tyrants." In 1440 
the rival guardians of the king combined to get rid of him. The earl was lured to Edinburgh with
honeyed words. When his followers had been dispersed in lodgings about the town, Douglas
[and his brother, David] was seized at the royal banquet table and beheaded in the castle 
courtyard. The blow temporarily crushed the Douglas clan, The new earl [James Douglas, great-
uncle of the sixth earl], a fat and lethargic character known as the "Tun of Tallow," hastily 
submitted and Scotland knew a few brief years of quiet.
'By 1449, however, the picture had changed. King James was 19, burly, headstrong, determined 
to shake himself free of tutelage and establish his personal rule. On July 3 he wed the beautiful
Mary of Guelders, who arrived from Flanders with a dowry of 60,000 gold crowns and an escort
of 13 warships and 200 Flemish knights. The wedding feast was a spectacular scene. The chief
dish was a painted boar's head decorated with miniature banners of the king and his nobles,
surmounted by a crown of blazing flax. In the great tournament that followed, three Scottish
nobles fought three champions from Burgundy. James noted the significant fact that the Scots
included two of the Douglas Clan.
'In fact, the Douglas power was swiftly reviving. Old "Tun of Tallow" had been succeeded by
Earl Willie, another youth as daring and ambitious as his beheaded cousin.
'The "auld alliance" between Scotland and France meant continuous border war between the
Scots and English -  a series of bloody forays that reduced both sides of the Tweed to a desert.
As lord of the Lowlands, Douglas was the chief Scottish figure in the wars. Men hurled back the 
English invasions to the cry of "A Douglas! A Douglas!" rather than in the name of King James.
'Haunted by memories of his miserable childhood as the barons' puppet, James determined to
assert his personal rule. But, though he chafed bitterly, he knew that he must proceed
cautiously at first. Douglas was a national hero. His vast estates had been further swollen by
marriage to the heiress Fair Maid of Galloway [his cousin, Margaret Douglas, daughter of the 5th
earl]. Even James was fascinated by his handsome presence and reckless bravery.
'The removal of Crichton and Livingstone brought the shrewd James Kennedy, Bishop of St. 
Andrew's [c 1408-1465], to the post of chief royal adviser. Under his influence James made the
many administrative reforms for which distracted Scotland had cause to bless him. Parliaments
were summoned to Edinburgh. Small lairds were protected against the great barons. Royal
officials scoured the land to enforce the "King's Peace" and redress grievances.
'By 1450, King James was ready to move against his mighty rival. The Earl of Douglas was
appointed to lead a mission to the Pope, and set out for Rome with all the pageantry of an
independent prince. As he travelled in state through Europe with his 200 knights and retainers,
James swooped like a wolf on the Douglas domains. Castle after castle was stormed and burned.
Douglas armies were shattered, the whole countryside laid waste and his allies in other noble
families bribed or threatened into making peace.
'The news reached the earl during his slow progress back from Rome. Hastening ahead of his 
retinue, he was in Scotland early in 1451, foaming with fury against the "stark traitor villain
Jamie" Nevertheless, when the King summoned him to parliament in Edinburgh, he dared not
refuse. In June, 1451, nursing hatred in his heart, "Black Willie" bowed his knee in submission to
'King James. If the king imagined that Douglas was humbled for good, he was soon undeceived. 
Back in his own ravaged domains, the earl began plotting treason on a grand scale.
'England was on the verge of the Wars of the Roses, with the Yorkists working to overthrow
the feeble Lancastrian King Henry VI. Because of his family relationship King James supported
the Lancastrians. Douglas intrigued with the Yorkists, promising to rule Scotland as an English
vassal in exchange for help against James. The main conspiracy was in Scotland itself. Its
leaders were Douglas, his two brothers (the Earls of Moray and Ormond), the Earl of Crawford
and John Macdonald of the Isles. Crawford, known as the "Tiger Earl," was a savage ruffian
who wanted to be lord of the Central Highlands. Macdonald's grievance was the King's refusal
to recognise his title as Earl of Ross.
'Douglas' ferocity quickly brought matters to a crisis. A royal official was hanged in a Douglas
castle. One of his tenants who refused to join the conspiracy was beheaded forthwith. King
James made a last effort to keep the peace. Under letter of safe-conduct, he invited the earl
to Stirling Castle. Whether he already intended cold-blooded murder has never been established.
Blindly confident of his power, Douglas arrived at Stirling on the snowy winter's morning of
February 22, 1452. James greeted him with lavish cordiality and that night prepared a feast in
his honour. As they sat at table, the king declared that he knew all about the treason plot and
urged Douglas to abandon it. "I willna brak my band!" the earl answered with sullen defiance.
Scarlet with wrath, James snatched a dagger from his belt. "Then this shall break it!" he cried,
and plunged the blade into Douglas' breast. As if at a signal, the courtiers surrounded the dying 
man. James Patrick struck at his throat with a pike. Alexander Boyd and Stewart of Darnley
completed the bloody deed with their swords. The mutilated corpse was then flung through a
window into the snow-covered garden. Later it was shovelled into an unmarked grave in the
castle ditch.
'The murder stunned the Douglas clan and, despite the desperate efforts of the new earl, the
grand conspiracy fell to pieces. When the king had left Stirling, a raiding party of 300 Douglases
burned and sacked the town in reprisal, dragging a copy of the royal safe-conduct letter 
through the streets on a horse's tail. But the power of the greatest feudal house in Scotland 
had been broken forever. Never again would the dreaded cry of "A Douglas!" rouse the Lowlands 
to rebellion against the king's rule.
'The earl's own kinsman, the "Red Douglas" Earl of Angus, led the royal army that stamped out
the last embers of resistance at the battle of Arkinholm three years later [1 May 1455]. The
new Earl of Douglas fled to the Yorkists in England. His titles were forfeited, his vast estates
dismembered and parcelled out among the lesser nobility. 
'James had triumphed. He had brought peace and security to Scotland and laid the basis of the
personal rule of the Stuarts that was to last till Cromwell dethroned his descendant two 
centuries later. James' own rule, however, was short-lived. Along the English border war flared
up again. The outbreak of the Wars of the Roses gave the Scots a chance to avenge the 
bloody outrages of the English forays. Soon only Roxburgh Castle and the town of Berwick-on-
Tweed remained in English hands. In July, 1460, the king arrived to take command of the 
besieging army before the walls of Roxburgh.
'James had always been keenly interested in the new weapon of artillery - the guns that wiped
out the old feudal battle array by laying low armoured knight and leather-jerkined peasant alike.
His father had brought the first cannon to Scotland, a brass monster from Flanders that filled
the court with awe. James had a siege train of six guns in the army that camped around
Roxburgh.
'On August 3, 1460, the king stood by the battery watching the gunners at work. The guns 
were hot, and the barrels, wedged into their cumbersome wooden carriages, had swollen
dangerously. Suddenly a cannon burst. One of the wedges struck the king and shattered his 
thigh. By the time he was carried to his tent he was dead. King James was still under 30 and 
had ruled for only a dozen years. But in that short time he had made a real kingdom out of the 
ruins of turbulent feudal Scotland.'
The Douglas Inheritance Case of 1767-1769
The following account of the claim is taken from an anonymously written book titled "Celebrated
Claimants Ancient and Modern" published by Chatto and Windus, London, 1873. This account 
was subsequently included in Lillian de la Torre's "Villainy Detected: being a collection of the 
most sensational true crimes that blotted the name of Britain in the years 1660-1800."
(Appleton-Century, New York, 1947). She also later wrote a full length book on this subject,
"The Heir of Douglas: Being a New Solution to the Old Mystery of the Douglas Cause." (Michael
Joseph, London, 1953).
Before proceeding any further, it must be emphasised that many writers, including the extract
shown below, have assumed that the case was in relation to a claim to the Douglas peerages.
This is not so - it was a claim made to the Douglas estates. The claimant had no foundation
for any claim to the peerages, since his descent was through a female line, whereas the patent
which created the Dukedom specified that the remainder was to heirs male of his body. All
peerage reference works are unanimous in agreeing that the Douglas peerages created in 1703
became extinct in 1761, and that the earlier Marquessate was inherited by the Duke of 
Hamilton.
The account referred to above reads as follows:-
'Rather more than a hundred years ago the whole kingdom was disturbed by the judicial
proceedings which were taken with reference to the succession to the ancient honours of 
the great Scotch house of Douglas. Boswell, who was but little indisposed to exaggeration,
and who is reported by Sir Walter Scott to have been such an ardent partisan that he headed
a mob which smashed the windows of the judges of the Court of Session, says that "the 
Douglas cause shook the security of birthright in Scotland to its foundation, and was a cause
which, had it happened before the Union, when there was no appeal to a British House of 
Lords, would have left the fortress of honours and of property in ruins." His zeal even led him to 
oppose his idol Dr. Johnson, who took the opposite side, and to tell him that he knew nothing
of the cause, which, he adds, he does most seriously believe was the case. But however this 
may be, the popular interest and excitement were extreme; the decision of the Court of 
Session in 1767 led to serious disturbances, and the reversal of its judgment two years later
was received with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy. 
 
'In the beginning of the eighteenth century, Archibald, Duke of Douglas, wore the honours of
Sholto, "the Douglas." His father, James, the second Marquis of Douglas, had been twice
married, and had issue by his first wife in the person of James, Earl of Angus, who was killed
at the battle of Steinkirk [in 1692]; and by his second of a son and daughter. The son was the
Archibald just mentioned, who became his heir and successor, and the daughter was named 
Lady Jane. Her ladyship, like most of the women of the Douglas family, was celebrated for her
beauty; but unhappily became afterwards as famous for her evil fortune. In her first womanhood
she entered into a nuptial agreement with the Earl of Dalkeith, who subsequently became Duke
of Buccleuch, but the marriage was unexpectedly broken off, and for very many years she
persistently refused all the offers which were made for her hand. At length, in 1746, when she
was forty-eight years old, she was secretly married to a Mr. Stewart, of Grantully. This 
gentleman was a penniless scion of a good family, and the sole resources of the newly-wedded
couple consisted of an allowance of £300 per annum, which had been granted by the duke to
his sister, with whom he was on no friendly terms. Even this paltry means of support was
precarious, and it was resolved to keep the marriage secret. The more effectually to conceal
it, Mr. Stewart and his nobly-born wife repaired to France, and remained on the Continent for
three years. At the end of that time they returned to England, bringing with them two children,
of whom they alleged the Lady Jane had been delivered in Paris, at a twin-birth, in July 1748.
Six months previously to their arrival in London their marriage had been made public, and the
duke had stopped the allowance which he had previously granted. They were, therefore, in the
direst distress; and, to add to their other misfortunes, Mr. Stewart being deeply involved in 
debt, his creditors threw him into prison. 
 
'Lady Jane bore up against her accumulated sorrows with more than womanly heroism, and 
when she found all her efforts to excite the sympathy of her brother unavailing, addressed the
following letter to Mr. Pelham, then Secretary of State:--
     "SIR,--If I meant to importune you I should ill deserve the generous compassion which I
     was informed some months ago you expressed upon being acquainted with my distress.
     I take this as the least troublesome way of thanking you, and desiring you to lay my
     application before the king in such a light as your own humanity will suggest. I cannot
     tell my story without seeming to complain of one of whom I never will complain. I am
     persuaded my brother wishes me well, but, from a mistaken resentment, upon a creditor of
     mine demanding from him a trifling sum, he has stopped the annuity which he had always 
     paid me--my father having left me, his only younger child, in a manner unprovided for. Till
     the Duke of Douglas is set right--which I am confident he will be--I am destitute. 
     Presumptive heiress of a great estate and family, with two children, I want bread. Your own
     nobleness of mind will make you feel how much it costs me to beg, though from the king.
     My birth, and the attachment of my family, I flatter myself his Majesty is not unacquainted 
     with. Should he think me an object of his royal bounty, my heart won't suffer any bounds
     to be set to my gratitude; and, give me leave to say, my spirit won't suffer me to be 
     burdensome to his Majesty longer than my cruel necessity compels me.
 
     "I little thought of ever being reduced to petition in this way; your goodness will therefore
     excuse me if I have mistaken the manner, or said anything improper. Though personally
     unknown to you, I rely upon your intercession. The consciousness of your own mind in
     having done so good and charitable a deed will be a better return than the thanks of
 
                                          JANE DOUGLAS STEWART."
'The result was that the king granted the distressed lady a pension of £300 a-year; but Lady 
Jane seems to have been little relieved thereby. The Douglas' notions of economy were perhaps
eccentric, but, at all events, not only did Mr. Stewart still remain in prison, but his wife was
frequently compelled to sell the contents of her wardrobe to supply him with suitable food 
during his prolonged residence in the custody of the officers of the Court of King's Bench. 
During the course of his incarceration Lady Jane resided in Chelsea, and the letters which
passed between the severed pair, letters which were afterwards produced in court--proved
that their children were rarely absent from their thoughts, and that on all occasions they 
treated them with the warmest parental affection.
'In 1752, Lady Jane visited Scotland, accompanied by her children, for the purpose, if possible, 
of effecting a reconciliation with her brother; but the duke flatly refused even to accord her an
interview. She therefore returned to London, leaving the children in the care of a nurse at
Edinburgh. This woman, who had originally accompanied herself and her husband to the
continent, treated them in the kindest possible manner; but, notwithstanding her care, Sholto
Thomas Stewart, the younger of the twins, sickened and died on the 11th of May 1753. The
disconsolate mother at once hurried back to the Scottish capital, and again endeavoured to
move her brother to have compassion upon her in her distress. Her efforts were fruitless, and,
worn out by starvation, hardship, and fatigue, she, too, sank and died in the following 
November, disowned by her friends, and, as she said to Pelham, "wanting bread."
'Better days soon dawned upon Archibald, the surviving twin. Lady Shaw, deeply stirred by the
misfortunes and lamentable end of his mother, took him under her own charge, and educated 
and supported him as befitted his condition. When she died a nobleman took him up; and his
father, having unexpectedly succeeded to the baronetcy and estates of Grantully, on acquiring
his inheritance, immediately executed a bond of provision in his favour for upwards of £2500, 
and therein acknowledged him as his son by Lady Jane Douglas.
'The rancour of the duke, however, had not died away, and he stubbornly refused to recognise
the child as his nephew. And, more than this, after having spent the greater portion of his life
in seclusion, he unexpectedly entered into a marriage, in 1758, with the eldest daughter of Mr.
James Douglas, of Mains. This lady, far from sharing in the opinions of her noble lord, espoused
the cause of the lad whom he so firmly repudiated, and became a partisan so earnest that a
quarrel resulted, which gave rise to a separation. But peace was easily restored, and quietness
once more reigned in the ducal household.
'In the middle of 1761, the Duke of Douglas was unexpectedly taken ill, and his physicians
pronounced his malady to be mortal. Nature, in her strange and unexplained way, told the ill-
tempered peer the same tale, and, when death was actually before his eyes, he repented of his
conduct towards his unfortunate sister. To herself he was unable to make any reparation, but
her boy remained; and, on the 11th of July 1761, he executed an entail of his entire estates in
favour of the heirs of his father, James, Marquis of Douglas, with remainder to Lord Douglas
Hamilton, the brother of the Duke of Hamilton, and supplemented it by another deed which set
forth that, as in the event of his death without heirs of his body, Archibald Douglas, alias
Stewart, a minor, and son of the deceased Lady Jane Douglas, his sister, would succeed him.
He appointed the Duchess of Douglas, the Duke of Queensberry, and certain other persons 
whom he named, to be the lad's tutors and guardians. Thus, from being a rejected waif, the 
boy became the acknowledged heir to a peerage [sic], and a long rent-roll.
'There were still, however, many difficulties to be surmounted. The guardians of the young
Hamilton had no intention of losing the splendid prize which was almost within their grasp, and
repudiated the boy's pretensions. On the other hand, the guardians of the youthful Stewart-
Douglas were determined to procure the official recognition of his claims. Accordingly, 
immediately after the duke's decease, they hastened to put him in possession of the Douglas
estate, and set on foot legal proceedings to justify their conduct. The Hamilton faction 
thereupon despatched one of their number to Paris, and on his return their emissary rejoiced
their hearts and elevated their hopes by informing them that he was convinced, on safe 
grounds, that Lady Jane Douglas had never given birth to the twins as suggested, and that the
whole story was a fabrication. They, therefore, asserted before the courts that the claimant to
the Douglas honours was not a Douglas at all.
'They denied that Lady Jane Douglas was delivered on July 10, 1748, in the house of a Madame
La Brune, as stated; and brought forward various circumstances to show that Madame La Brune
herself never existed. They asserted that it was impossible that the birth could have taken 
place at that time, because on the specified date, and for several days precedent and 
subsequent to the 10th of July, Lady Jane Douglas with her  husband and a Mrs. Hewit were
staying at the Hotel de Chalons--an inn kept by a Mons. Godefroi, who, with his wife, was
ready to prove their residence there. And they not only maintained that dark work had been
carried on in Paris by the parties concerned in the affair, but alleged that Sir John Stewart, 
Lady Jane Douglas, and Mrs. Hewit, had stolen from French parents the children which they 
afterwards foisted upon the public as real Douglases.
'The claimant, and those representing him, on their part, brought forward the depositions of
several witnesses that Lady Jane Douglas appeared to them to be with child while at Aix-la-
Chapelle and other places, and put in evidence the sworn testimony of Mrs. Hewit, who
accompanied the newly-wedded pair to the continent, as to the actual delivery of her ladyship
at Paris upon the 10th of July 1748. They also submitted the depositions of independent
witnesses as to the recognition of the claimant by Sir John (then Mr.) Stewart and his wife, and
produced a variety of letters which had passed between Sir John Stewart, Lady Jane Douglas, 
Mrs. Hewit, and others as to the birth. They also added to their case four letters, which 
purported to emanate from Pierre la Marre, whom they represented to have been the 
accoucheur at the delivery of Lady Jane.
'Sir John Stewart, Lady Jane's husband, and the reputed father of the claimant, died in June 
1764; but, before his decease, his depositions were taken in the presence of two ministers and
of a justice of the peace. He asserted, 'as one slipping into eternity, that the defendant
(Archibald Stewart) and his deceased twin-brother were both born of the body of Lady Jane 
Douglas, his lawful spouse, in the year 1748."
'The case came before the Court of Session on the 17th of July 1767, when no fewer than 
fifteen judges took their seats to decide it. During its continuance Mrs. Hewit, who was charged
with abetting the fraud, died; but before her death she also, like Sir John Stewart, formally and 
firmly asserted, with her dying breath, that her evidence in the matter was unprejudiced and 
true. After a patient hearing seven of the judges voted to "sustain the reasons of reduction," 
and the other seven to "assoilzie the defender." In other words, the bench was divided in 
opinion, and the Lord President, who has no vote except as an umpire in such a dilemma, voted 
for the Hamilton or illegitimacy side, and thus deprived Archibald Douglas, or Stewart, of both 
the title and the estates.
'But a matter of such importance could not, naturally, be allowed to remain in such an 
unsatisfactory condition. An appeal was made to the House of Lords, and the judgment of the
Scottish Court of Session was reversed in 1769. Archibald Douglas was, therefore, declared to 
be the son of Lady Jane, and the heir to the dukedom of Douglas [sic].'
Although Archibald was not eligible to succeed to the Douglas peerages, he was later created a
peer in his own right in 1790 as Baron Douglas of Douglas.
The special remainder to the barony of Ducie created in 1763
 
From the "London Gazette" of 19 April 1763 (issue 10306, page 2):-
'The King has been pleased to grant unto the Right Honourable Mathew Baron Ducie, of Morton
in the County of Stafford, and his Heirs Male; and in Default of such Issue, then to Thomas
Reynolds, Esq; Nephew of the said Mathew Baron Ducie of Morton, and to his Heirs Male; and in 
Default of such Issue, then to Francis Reynolds, Esq; Brother to the said Thomas Reynolds, and
also Nephew of the said Mathew Baron Ducie of Morton, and his Heirs Male, the Dignity of a 
Baron of the Kingdom of Great Britain, by the Name, Stile and Title of Lord Ducie, Baron Ducie of
Tortworth, in the County of Gloucester.'
 
Berkeley Basil Moreton, 4th Earl of Ducie
The 4th Earl was the 4th son of the 2nd Earl of Ducie. After being educated at Rugby and 
Oxford, he went to Australia in 1855, at the age of 21. Here he spent the next 67 years of his
life until he returned to England in 1922 for a short period after succeeding his elder brother in
the title.
On his death 'The Times' of 8 August 1924 contained the following (edited) obituary:-
'Though by no means the first instance of a peer who came home on succession after long
residence abroad.......Lord Ducie's return created much interest, partly because of his advanced
age, and partly because he was believed to be the only peer who inherited his title after holding
Cabinet office in an overseas State of the Empire........At the age of 21 he left Plymouth for
Australia in the Waterloo, a sailing ship. After spending several weeks on a visit to the then
Governor of New South Wales (Sir William Denison), Mr. Berkeley Moreton (as he then was)
settled down on a sheep farm in Queensland, and there he remained for some 67 years. In 1870
he entered the Legislative Assembly as member for Burnet[t], sitting later for Maryborough, and 
then for Burnet[t] again. In 1885 he became Postmaster-General in Sir Samuel Griffiths' Ministry, 
but was soon transferred to the office of Secretary for Public Instruction, which he held till 
1888, combining with it for most of the time the portfolio of Colonial Secretary.'
The 'Manchester Guardian,' in its obituary on 8 August 1924, stated that
'He had gone to Australia at the age of 21, in the gold-digging days. On his arrival he made a 
long journey on horseback in the company of the Governor of New South Wales (Sir William 
Denison) to Bathurst [200km west of Sydney]. After spending three years on one of the 
Macleay stations at Wagga Wagga, where he learned reef management, he went to Melbourne, 
and then went to Queensland, where he took up a station in the Wide bay district, and became
a successful sheep farmer.
'His long residence in Queensland was distinguished by may years of useful public life. As 
representative of the Burnett and Maryborough constituencies, he was Colonial Secretary, and
Minister for Public Instruction, and Postmaster-General successively, being appointed afterwards
to the Legislative Council.
'All his family were born in Australia, and his return to England meant a great wrench for a man 
of over eighty years. He found the changes which had taken place in England bewildering, and
was exceptionally worried by the modern traffic. It was with relief he returned to Australia for a
visit last year.
'Recently, when asked had he yet travelled on the London Tube, he inquired, "What tube? I
don't know anything about tubes. I don't know whether they lead to Heaven or the other 
place."
For another peer who lived in Australia for many years before succeeding to his title, see the
note regarding the 10th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh.
John William Ward, 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward of Dudley 
and 1st Earl of Dudley of Dudley Castle
The following is extracted from "The Emperor of the United States of America and Other
Magnificent British Eccentrics" by Catherine Caufield (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1981)
Ward, an only child and heir to one of the largest fortunes in England, had an upbringing which
was designed to set him above his peers in education and accomplishment. It was more
successful, however, in setting him apart emotionally. When he was still a child, a house was
set up for him in London, away from family and friends and there he lived with only his tutors
for company. The result was an elegant, introverted boy who was destined to live alone.
He was not a recluse, however, and after Oxford he stood for Parliament and made something
of a name for himself as a dandy and wit. Byron called him 'studious, brilliant, elegant and
sometimes piquant.' He served briefly as Foreign Secretary under Canning. During his tenure
he exhibited beautifully that absent-mindedness for which he was famous. Shortly before the
Battle of Navarino in 1827, Ward thoughtlessly put a letter to the French ambassador into an
envelope addressed to the Russian ambassador, Prince Lieven. When he received the letter,
Prince Lieven, who was a consummate political schemer, saw at once that Ward had
perpetrated an ingenious, sinister plot to try and confuse the Russians with false information.
He returned the letter - unread he said - congratulating himself on his narrow escape and
praising Ward's clever ruse all over London.
Many of the stories about Ward centre on his habit of talking to himself. At a dinner party, for
example, he would rehearse his bon mots, as he thought, under his breath, but his mutterings
were clearly audible to those near him, who therefore heard all his witticisms twice. The two
voices - one shrill and one gruff - that he used in conducting conversations with himself, were
said to sound like Lord Dudley conversing with Lord Ward. He seemed entirely unaware that his
thoughts were being overheard. Presumably he did not even have the satisfaction of realising
that all London was delighted by his muttered reaction to a much-disliked man who offered to
walk Ward from the Commons to the Travellers Club: 'I don't suppose it will bore me very much
to let him walk with me that distance.'
As he grew older, his absent-mindedness increased and he often seemed to forget where he
was. Dining at the house of a woman who prided herself in serving the best food in London, 
he apologised to the other guests for the poor quality of the meal, but explained 'my cook
isn't feeling well.'  Another time, Ward paid a call and after sitting for more than the required
length of time and failing to respond to his hostess's repeated hints that he should leave, he
muttered 'a very pretty woman, but she stays a devilish long time. I wish she'd go.'
Eventually Ward's loneliness became too much of a strain for him and, possibly after a rejection
by the Earl of Beverley's daughter, he invented a wife for himself, speaking of her with great
affection. In 1832 he behaved so strangely at one of his own dinner parties that a doctor who
was present had him confined. He later suffered a paralytic stroke and died in 1833.
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
The story goes that the Earl went throughout life firmly convinced that the lower part of his
body was made of glass, and as a result of this belief, he insisted upon extraordinary
precautions being made every time that he had to sit down. For obvious reasons, he also had
a terror of bumping into people or objects. He had a number of other strange idiosyncrasies,
especially relating to the state of his health, which, to his mind, "rendered it advisable that he
be able to speedily purchase the most elaborate layettes." As a layette is a collection of
clothing for a new-born child, I can only assume that the Earl thought he was about to give
birth.
The delusion that one is made of glass appears in prominent people several times throughout 
history. Charles VI, King of France 1380-1422, believed that he was made of glass, and 
reportedly had iron rods sewn into his clothes, so that he would not shatter if he bumped into
another person. Princess Alexandra Amelie of Bavaria [1826-1875], daughter of King Ludwig I
of Bavaria and aunt of the mad Ludwig II of Bavaria, went one better. She was convinced that,
as a child, she had swallowed a grand piano made of glass, which remained inside her. This led
her to walk sideways through any door so as to avoid becoming stuck.
William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley
The 3rd Earl of Dudley suffered two tragedies during his lifetime. After marrying in 1919 Lady
Rosemary Millicent Leveson-Gower, daughter of the 4th Duke of Sutherland, their second son,
John Jeremy Ward, was killed at the age of 7 in December 1929 when he was riding a bicycle
on Chelsea Embankment when he was hit by a motor lorry.
Seven months later, the Earl's wife died in a plane crash in Kent. Also killed in this crash was
the 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Sir Edward Ward, 2nd baronet, and a number of others.
For more details on this accident, see the note below under the 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and
Ava.
Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin & Ava
 
Dufferin is the central figure of one of Great Britain's most famous ghost stories.
The story goes that one night, while visiting a friend's country house in Ireland, Dufferin was
unusually restless and totally unable to get to sleep. He experienced an inexplicable feeling of
dread and, in order to calm his attack of nerves, he got out of bed and walked across his room
to the window. A full moon illuminated the garden below his window so that it was almost as
bright as day. Suddenly, Dufferin noticed a movement below and a man appeared, carrying a
long box on his back. The silent figure walked slowly across the garden below and, when he 
was level with Dufferin, he stopped and looked directly into Dufferin's eyes. 
Dufferin recoiled, for the face of the man carrying the long box was so ugly that Dufferin could
not even describe it later. For a moment their eyes met, and then the man moved off into the
shadows. The box on his back was clearly seen by Dufferin to be a coffin.
The next morning, Dufferin asked his host and the other guests about the man in the garden,
but no one knew anything about him.
Years later, between 1891 and 1896, Dufferin was the British Ambassador to France. One day
he was about to walk into an elevator on his way to a meeting. For some reason, he glanced
at the lift operator and, with a violent start, he recognized the operator as the man he had
seen years before carrying the coffin across the garden. Involuntarily, Dufferin stepped back
from the elevator door and stood there as the door closed and the elevator began its ascent.
Suddenly Dufferin was startled by a terrific crash - the elevator's cable had snapped, and the
elevator had plunged to the basement. Several passengers, including the lift operator, were
killed in the fall. Subsequent investigations revealed that the operator had been hired for just
that day. No one ever found out who he was or where he came from.
                                            ********************
A nice story, but there is a problem with it - it appears to be totally untrue, being more in the
nature of an urban myth. An interesting study of the history of the supposed dream can be
found in "Investigating the Unexplained" by Melvin Harris [Prometheus Books, Buffalo NY, 1986].
Harris traces the history of the story, pointing out that Lady Dufferin, in answer to a query
made by the Society of Psychical Research, replied that the story did not relate to the Lord
Dufferin in question, but was simply a new version of an old story that her grandfather used
to tell about someone else outside the Dufferin family. In its original version, the story had 
taken place at Glamis Castle, where an unnamed man had seen a hearse driven by the ugly
man. Harris also shows that the story had been doing the rounds for quite a few years before
it came to be associated with Lord Dufferin. It is also significant that no newspaper report can
be traced of such an accident in Parisian newspapers, and that the first written account of 
Dufferin's involvement appeared in 1920, around 25 years after its supposed occurrence.
Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin & Ava
The Marquess, together with Viscountess Ednam, wife of Viscount Ednam, (the son of the 2nd
Earl of Dudley and later the 3rd Earl), Sir Edward Ward, 2nd baronet, and a number of others,
was killed in a plane crash in Kent on 21 July 1930. 
The crash was reported in 'The Times' of 22 July 1930, as follows:-
'Four passengers, the pilot, and the assistant pilot, forming the full complement of an aeroplane,
were killed today when the machine crashed near the village green of Meopham, about five miles
south of Gravesend. The names of the dead are:-
The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
Viscountess Ednam
Sir Edward Ward
Mrs. Henrik Loeffler
Lieutenant Colonel G.L.P. Henderson (pilot)
Mr. Charles D'Urban Shearing (assistant pilot)
'The aeroplane belonged to Colonel Henderson, who had lent it to the Walcot Air Line, and was
flying from Le Touquet to Croydon. The cause of the accident is at present unexplained, for the
machine seems to have come to pieces in the air. The engine fell into the drive of a private
house, and the occupants of the aeroplane, except the pilot, were thrown out into an adjoining
orchard and instantly killed. The main part of the aeroplane, spinning helplessly in the air, 
crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a bungalow, while the tail was found in a field farther 
on, and one of the wings, shorn off like a piece of paper, floated away for another mile. A suit-
case damaged the roof of a house, and personal belongings were scattered in all directions.
'Mr. W.J. Baker, who lives near, states that at about 3 o'clock he heard the engine "cut out."
Going out of the house he saw what he describes as half of the aeroplane spin out of the 
clouds with one wing and the tail falling separately. The wing came to earth about a mile away, 
and the tail in a field some 300 yards away from the fuselage. Hurrying to the place where the
main portion of the aeroplane had fallen, with its remaining wing inclined at an angle of 45 deg.,
he found the pilot still living beneath the wreckage. He was lifted out and carried into the
bungalow, but died shortly afterwards. The engine fell into the drive of Leylands Court, an
unoccupied home about a quarter of a mile away, and narrowly missed a gardener at work 
there. Part of the propeller was broken off and was lying a few yards away.
'Mr. A.E. Parsons, a gardener, said that the steel frame of the engine cut through the other
side of the hedge on which he was working, missing him by only a few inches, and buried
itself a foot deep in the drive.
'Mr Gray, who occupies Cottage Meads bungalow, outside which the wreckage fell, said he 
heard a loud report in the air, and the machine pitched down with the pilot pinned upside down 
in the cockpit The pilot was lifted into the hall of the bungalow, and Dr. Golding-Bird, who lives
near, was summoned. Other people speak of a "rumbling" or "screaming" sound in the air before
the crash occurred. One man described the noise as like a thunderclap, and at one time the
theory was examined that there had been a collision in the clouds with another machine. There
is no doubt that shortly before the accident there was another aeroplane flying in the
neighbourhood, but the police were able to satisfy themselves that no other machine had been
involved.
'Brigadier-General F.G. Cannot came down with a party of relatives and identified the bodies.
Colonel Henderson's father and a sister also arrived.  Mrs. Henderson had flown over with her
husband from Le Touquet earlier in the same machine, and he had then gone back to fetch
the other party. She was motoring near Croydon this afternoon, and called at the aerodrome 
soon after news had been received there of the accident. She was at once brought to Meopham
by car, and went to see the wreckage of the machine in which she had been a passenger a few
hours before. She said that when she and her husband parted at Croydon this morning he told
her he would soon be back, as he wanted to take her to the West of England. They had been
married only a few months.
'Tonight Air Ministry officials and police were searching for a possible explanation of the 
accident. Some of the eye-witnesses say that there was an explosion in the air, and that the
wing parted from the fuselage before the engine came apart, but there is no trace of fire having
broken out. The main part of the aeroplane fell upside down.'
Despite an investigation carried out by the Air Ministry, no definite cause of the accident was 
ever forthcoming.
Price Blackwood, 4th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye
Lord Dufferin died after accidently taking an overdose of morphine. The following report 
appeared in 'The Bury and Norwich Post' on 4 August 1841:-
"Lord Dufferin died on the 21st ult., on board the Reindeer steamer, on his way from Liverpool
to Belfast. His Lordship complained of indisposition on leaving Liverpool on the night of the 20th
ult., and directed the steward of the steamer to bring him a dose of morphine, which he 
swallowed on going to bed. At seven o'clock on Wednesday morning he was observed to be
asleep, but at nine he was found dead in his sleeping berth! His sister, the Hon. Mrs. Ward, 
was on board. An inquest was held on the body, and after an adjournment, the jury returned
a verdict of "Died by taking an overdose of morphine."
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