She was born at the Palace of Whitehall in London, where her mother was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Henrietta Maria of France, wife of King Charles I.

[2] Following the 1st Duke's execution for his part in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1649, his brother, William, Earl of Lanark, inherited the titles and lands.

[5] This regrant of title was presumably because of the loyalty of Arran's parents to the King, as his own affection to the House of Orange was questionable due to his suspected Jacobitism.

After her marriage, the Duchess and her husband set about laying the foundations for what would be, under later Dukes, the largest private residence in the western hemisphere, Hamilton Palace.

This was constructed on the site of what was commonly called either the 'Palace' or 'The Orchard', a courtyard style building in the Low Parks of Hamilton.