Morton, William Douglas, 6th earl of

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Morton, William Douglas, 6th earl of [S] (1540–1606). Douglas was son of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven and, by his mother, a half-brother of the Regent Moray. He inherited the earldom of Morton in 1588 from a distant cousin. He was involved in the murder of Rizzio and in 1567–8 was in charge of Mary at Lochleven castle, from which she escaped with the help of his younger brother George. He fought with the anti-Mary forces at Langside in 1568 and remained a close supporter of his kinsman, the Regent Morton. A favourite at the court of James VI, he was commissioner to the Scottish Parliament in 1592 and 1593.

J. A. Cannon

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