Archibald Douglas

1489 – 1557 · Generation XXII · Earl of Angus

Archibald Douglas (1489–1557). Earl of Angus. Married Margaret Tudor in 1514; the marriage was dissolved in 1528. His father fell at Flodden, and the earldom came to him from his grandfather. His marriage to the widowed Queen Margaret stirred noble jealousy, cost her the regency to the Duke of Albany, and soured when he took up with a daughter of the Laird of Traquair and helped himself to his wife’s dower income. Backed by Henry VIII, he won power in 1525; entrusted with the young James V the next year, he refused to give him up, filled the offices of state with Douglases and became chancellor. The king’s escape in 1528 brought ruin — attainder, forfeiture and exile in England until 1542. Restored after James’s death, he later broke with the English, helped win the victory at Ancrum Moor and led the vanguard at Pinkie. He died at Tantallon of erysipelas; through his daughter Margaret he was grandfather of Lord Darnley.

Place in the family

Archibald Douglas married Margaret Tudor, a sister of King Henry VIII.
The archive records 109 of his descendants, across 18 generations.

Partners

Married Margaret Tudor (1489 – 1541) in 1514; the marriage was dissolved in 1528 — one child together

Children

Margaret Douglas (1515 – 1578)

Life

1489 — Born
1514 — Married Margaret Tudor
1528 — Separated from Margaret Tudor
1557 — Died