Douglas, Archibald, 8th earl Of Angus

Related Category: British and Irish History: Biographies

1555–88, Scottish nobleman; grandnephew of Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus. During the regency (1572–78) of his uncle, James Douglas, 4th earl of Morton, he held a number of important positions, but when Morton fell in 1581, Angus was declared guilty of treason and escaped to England. He returned to Scotland (1582) and was reconciled with King James VI. As an ardent Presbyterian, he opposed James Stuart, earl of Arran, and in 1584 after an unsuccessful attempt to remove Arran from power, Angus again fled to England. In the next year he took part in another rebellion, which brought about the downfall of Arran.