Nobleman. Born in London and educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, Douglas-Hamilton succeeded his father in 1852, becoming the 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon. He served as Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland (1833-35), Knight Marischal of Scotland (1846-63) and Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire (1852-63). In 1843, he married Princess Marie Amélie of Baden, a cousin of Napoleon III of France. Noted for his sumptuous lifestyle, he showed little interest in British affairs, living mostly in Paris and Baden. He is noted for regularly driving down the Champs-Élysées in a carriage drawn by twelve horses, in contravention of a law that prevented anyone other than Emperor Napoleon using more than eight horses. Hamilton considered himself as Napoleon's equal.
He died in Paris but was interred in the Hamilton Mausoleum (South Lanarkshire), but reburied on Arran in 1921. His daughter Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton (1850 - 1922) married Prince Albert I of Monaco.