After the death in 1612 of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, James became third in line to the throne of Scotland, after Charles, Duke of Rothesay, and his sister Elizabeth.

[2] The future 1st Duke of Hamilton was interested in art from a young age and collected Venetian paintings through his agent Viscount Basil Feilding.

Buckingham proposed to wed Lord Arran to his niece Mary, daughter to William, Viscount Feilding, an undistinguished Warwickshire squire.

[citation needed] Lord Hamilton, despite his misgivings regarding Buckingham's lowly origins, was impressed enough by his influence with the king to accept his suggestion.

Thereafter Hamilton's army linked up with that of the Swedish field marshal, Johan Banér, and the combined force attacked Magdeburg.

To Hamilton's chagrin, Banér wished to retire from the siege due to the cold and his response shows that even though not an experienced soldier, Hamilton was not without courage and made his feelings on the subject abundantly clear to Banér: your propositioun of the retiring of my trups in respeckt of the could is so preiuditial to me, both in regard of his Majesties strik commands (which was to dou my best for the attackting of Madeburg) and my oune reputatioun as I had rader lous my lyf as faill in the performans of the woon, or in the leaist degri hazard the lousing of the other, and beliue me, so long as there is wone man before this toun (unless the King Majestie countermanding) I ame fully resolued not to budge from itt, being both myself, offisars and remnant soiours most willing and I hoope as abill to indoure whatsoeuer extremati of could or whatt eals may befall, for the aduansment of his Majesties saruis[10]Thereafter the two armies split.

The assembly, however, continued to sit notwithstanding, and Hamilton returned to England to give an account of his failure, leaving the enemy triumphant and in possession.

This included his own mother, Anne, Dowager Marchioness of Hamilton, who served as a colonel in the Army of the Covenant and was said to have threatened to shoot her son dead if he landed his forces in Scotland.

[12] A correspondent wrote, "She goeth in armour and with a pistoll by her side readie charged, and wishes him there, saying shee would burie the bullets in his bowells.

[2] Hamilton now supported the parliamentary party, desired an alliance with his nation, and persuaded Charles in February 1641 to admit some of their leaders into the council.

On the death of Strafford (12 May 1641) Hamilton was confronted by a new antagonist in The 5th Earl of Montrose, who detested both his character and policy and repudiated his supremacy in Scotland.

[2] In July that year Hamilton went to Scotland on a hopeless mission to prevent the intervention of the Scots in the impending English Civil War, and a breach then took place between him and Argyll.

This intrigue was strongly opposed by Montrose, who was eager to strike a sudden blow and anticipate and annihilate the plans of the Covenanters.

He was sent, in January 1644, a prisoner to Pendennis Castle, in 1645 being removed to St Michael's Mount, where he was liberated by Lord Fairfax's troops on 23 April 1646.

In 1648, in consequence of the seizure of Charles by the army in 1647, Hamilton obtained a temporary influence and authority in the Parliament of Scotland over Argyll, and led a large force into England in support of the king on 8 July 1648.

[2] Hamilton, during his unfortunate career, had often been suspected of betraying the king's cause, and, as an heir to the Scottish throne, of intentionally playing into the hands of the Covenanters with a view of procuring the Crown for himself.

[2] The charge was brought against him as early as 1631 when he was levying men in Scotland for the German expedition, but Charles gave no credence to it and showed his trust in the then-3rd Marquess of Hamilton by causing him to share his own room.

Usually Hamilton is thought to have taken no interest whatever in the great questions at issue, and was neither loyal nor patriotic, and only desired peace and compromise to avoid personal losses.

[16] It has been said that "He was devoid of intellectual or moral strength, and was therefore easily brought to fancy all future tasks easy and all present obstacles insuperable".