Background
He was the second son and youngest child of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus and 1st Earl of Ormond, by his second wife, Jean Wemyss, the daughter of David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss and the Honorary
He was the second son and youngest child of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus and 1st Earl of Ormond, by his second wife, Jean Wemyss, the daughter of David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss and the Honorary
Anna Balfour of Burleigh. He was also the younger half-brother of James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas and the younger brother of Lady Margaret Douglas, wife of Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston. He was made the Earl of Forfar and Lord of Wandell and Hartside on the 2 October 1661 at the age of eight.
He was a Privy Counsellor to both King William II and Queen Anne from 1689 until his death in 1712.
He served as Commissioner of the Privy Seal from 1689–1690 and Commissioner for the Treasury from 1704-1705. In 1700, he moved the family residence from Bothwell Castle to his new mansion, Bothwell House, which was dubbed "New Bothwell Castle".
He voted for the Union of the Crowns in 1707, having allegedly received £100 in payment from the English. He died on the 11 December 1712 and was buried in Bothwell Church, Scotland.