Noble. The second son of Archibald, the 3rd Earl of Douglas (1328 - c.1400), Douglas married Margaret Stewart, the eldest daughter of King Robert III (1337 - 1406) in 1390. He held Edinburgh against the English army of King Henry IV in 1400. In 1402, Douglas was acquitted of the murder of David Stuart, Duke of Rothesay (c.1378 - 1402), heir to the Scottish throne, who had died in Douglas' custody. The same year, he led an army against the English and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Homildon Hill.
Douglas was a member of several delegations of Scottish nobles who tried to obtain the freedom of the young King James I (1394 - 1437).
Douglas served with the French against the English and was rewarded with the Duchy of Touraine. He died with his son James at the Battle of Verneuil in the service of King Charles VII of France. Both are buried in the choir of Tours Cathedral in Central France.