Charles Hamilton (30 March 1691 – 13 August 1754) was the natural born son ofJames Hamilton, Earl of Arran andLady Barbara FitzRoy.^[1]

Hamilton was born inLondon in his maternal grandmother theDuchess of Cleveland's house, Cleveland House.^[2] He was born to the Earl of Arran, the future4th Duke of Hamilton and his mistressLady Barbara FitzRoy herself the natural daughter ofCharles II of England andBarbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland.^[3] After his birth, his mother was sent out to become a Nun in the EnglishPriory of St. Nicholas, atPontoise inNormandy,France, taking the name Sister Benedicta, where she later becameprioress in 1721. Hamilton himself was raised by her mother, theDuchess of Cleveland.^[4]

In 1698 on the marriage of his father to Elizabeth Gerard, Charles was sent to France. He was put under the aegis of theCharles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton,James II's andJames III'sSecretary of State. While in France Hamilton was styled as the Count of Arran or in French as it would have been Comte d'Arran.^[4][5] Also while in France, Hamilton met and married his wife, Antoinette Courteney, daughter of Charles Courteney of Archambaud and Elizabeth Wyatt. Charles Courteney was a descendant ofFrancis Courtenay, de jure 4th Earl of Devon. Hamilton and Antoinette Courteney had one son.^[3]

While he was styled Count of Arran or Comte d'Arran inFrance, it is unknown whether he was truly ennobled as Comte or if this was purely honorary. The title can clearly be seen to be a reference to theEarldom of Arran, the subsidiary title of theDukes of Hamilton, his father's family. There is a strong possibility that it was a genuine title bearing in mind he was from exceptional lineage and even related to the Kings of France. Through his great-grandmotherHenrietta Maria of France,Louis XIV would have been his first cousin once-removed andLouis XV his second cousin, twice removed. Therefore with this close relationship between him and the Kings of France the strong likelihood is that it was a genuine title, although there is little evidence to prove this.^[3] If it was a genuine title then his male line descendents would be entitled to be Comte d'Arran.^[1]

On the death of his father, in the celebratedHamilton–Mohun duel of 1712 Charles Hamilton issued a challenge to his father's claimed killerLieutenant-General George Macartney, however this was turned down. After that Hamilton travelled toSwitzerland and spent his time living between there andParis. While in Switzerland he pursuedAlchemy and also had a close friendship withGeorge Keith, 10th Earl Marischal. Hamilton also wrote a book, "Transactions During the Reign of Queen Anne, From the Union to the Death of that Princess" which was posthumously published by his son in 1790.^[3]

Hamilton died in Paris on 13 August 1754 and was buried inSaint-Pierre de Montmartre,Paris. His estate was left in its entirety to his son.^[6]

Charles Hamilton married Antoinette Courteney, daughter of Charles Courteney of Archambaud and Elizabeth Wyatt, in 1737 in Paris, France. They had one son together:^[3]

• Charles Hamilton, born 16 July 1738 inEdinburgh, died 9 April 1800 inHolyroodhouse, married Catherine Napier, daughter ofSir Gerrard Napier, 5th Baronet of Middle March on 15 June 1760 and had two children.^[3]

• thepeerage.com

• 1691 births
• 1754 deaths
• 17th-century French nobility
• 18th-century French nobility
• 17th-century English nobility
• 18th-century English nobility
• Counts
• House of Douglas and Angus
• House of Hamilton
• House of Stuart

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