Editing Duke of Hamilton (section)

==Overview==
The titles held by the current duke of Hamilton and Brandon are:

===Peerage of Scotland===
* 16th Duke of Hamilton (created 1643)
* 13th Marquess of Douglas (created 1633)
* 16th Marquess of Clydesdale (created 1643)
* 23rd Earl of Angus (created 1389)
* 13th Earl of Angus (created 1633)
* 15th Earl of Lanark (created 1639)
* 16th Earl of Arran and Cambridge (created 1643)
* 13th Lord Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (created 1633)
* 15th Lord Machanshyre and Polmont (created 1639)
* 16th Lord Aven and Innerdale (created 1643)

===Peerage of Great Britain===
* 13th Duke of Brandon, in the County of Suffolk (created 1711)
* 13th Baron Dutton, in the County of Chester (created 1711)

===Other offices and duties===
[[File:The Queen at the Scottish Parliament.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton]], acting as Hereditary Bearer of the [[Crown of Scotland]], holding the crown at the [[Scottish Parliament]] before [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament|Presiding Officer]] [[Tricia Marwick]] in July 2011]]
The duke of Hamilton and Brandon is the hereditary keeper of the [[Palace of Holyroodhouse]], the official royal residence in Scotland, where he maintains large private quarters. He is also, as Lord Abernethy and in this respect successor to the Gaelic [[earls of Fife]], the hereditary bearer of the [[Crown of Scotland]], a role which the 15th duke performed at the inauguration of the [[Scottish Parliament]] in 1999,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Toney |author-link=Tony Gallagher (editor) |date=6 June 2010 |title=Obituaries – The Duke of Hamilton |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/7807070/The-Duke-of-Hamilton.html |access-date=2013-07-23 |quote=The 15th Duke of Hamilton and 12th Duke of Brandon [...] was uncomfortable in his role as Premier Peer of Scotland and hereditary Keeper of Holyroodhouse Palace, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. [...] As Lord Abernethy he was hereditary Bearer of the Crown of Scotland [...] In 1999, at the inauguration of the Scottish Parliament, he cut a striking figure while performing the role before the Queen.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Scots peerage : Founded on Wood's ed. Of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom |url=https://archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun01pauluoft#page/184/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>Maxwell, Vol II, pp 2–7, p 17</ref> as did the 16th duke at the State Opening of Parliament, 30 June 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 June 2010 |title=Scottish Parliament |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/scotland/newsid_9523000/9523610.stm |access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> As Hereditary Bearer of the Crown of Scotland, the 16th Duke also placed the crown upon the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a service of remembrance in [[St Giles' Cathedral]] on 12 September 2022.<ref name="BBC NEWS">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-62866826?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=631f3c7d9ec49f77eefbdf23%26Crown%20of%20Scotland%20placed%20on%20Queen%27s%20coffin%262022-09-12T14%3A26%3A53.876Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:e22df14d-414e-4747-b8ac-6c4e0a8e1f13&pinned_post_asset_id=631f3c7d9ec49f77eefbdf23&pinned_post_type=share "Crown of Scotland placed on Queen's coffin"]. ''[[BBC News]]''. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.</ref> Traditionally, the duke of Hamilton enjoys the exclusive right to remove the [[Scottish Crown Jewels]] from the City of [[Edinburgh]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} He also regularly attends sittings in the [[Court of Lord Lyon]] as a hereditary [[assessor (law)|assessor]], sitting on the bench beside [[Lord Lyon]].

===Courtesy titles===
The [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy titles]] used by [[heirs apparent]] are "Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale" (the eldest son of the duke) and "Earl of Angus" (the eldest son of a marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale). No duke has had a great-grandson in direct line to the titles, but it is likely that the latter would be styled "Lord Abernethy" (the Lordship of Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest being the most senior available title).

Before the dukes succeeded to the Marquessate of Douglas and its subsidiary titles, the heirs apparent were styled initially "[[Earl of Arran (Scotland)|Earl of Arran]]" (which had previously been used as a courtesy title by the marquesses of Hamilton) and later "Marquess of Clydesdale" (the former style then being adopted for a grandson in direct line). The heir apparent to the Earldom of Lanark (before that title merged with the dukedom) was styled "Lord Polmont".

===Multiple dukedoms===
The duke of Hamilton and Brandon is one of only five British peers to hold more than one dukedom, the others being:
* the [[William, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] (who is [[Duke of Cornwall]], [[Duke of Rothesay]], and [[Duke of Cambridge]]);
* the [[Duke of Buccleuch]] and [[Duke of Queensberry|Queensberry]];
* the [[Duke of Argyll]] (who holds two Dukedoms of Argyll); and
* the [[Duke of Richmond]], [[Duke of Lennox|Lennox]] and [[Duke of Gordon|Gordon]]

Historically, several other peers have held multiple dukedoms, including the [[Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle|Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle-under-Lyne]], the [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll|Duke of Argyll and Greenwich]], the [[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth|Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch]] and the two [[Duke of Queensberry|Dukes of Queensberry and Dover]] and some other mainly royal dukes.

[[Image:Lennoxlove House.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Lennoxlove House]], a current seat of the dukes of Hamilton]]