Charles Hamilton, 7th Earl of Selkirk (18 May 1847 â 2 May 1886), was a Scottish nobleman and officer. Charles Hamilton was the youngest son of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amelie of Baden.
Charles George Archibald Hamilton was born on 18 May 1847, the third son of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amelie of Baden. As a younger son of a duke, he was styled as Lord Charles Hamilton. Save for the eldest son who was stillborn, his elder brother was William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton and a younger sister was Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton, mother of Louis II, Prince of Monaco.
Thourgh his mother, Charles had relations to many European royal houses: his cousin were Carol I of Romania, Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Queen of Portugal (Carol I and Stephanie were children of Princess Josephine of Baden) and Carola of Vasa, Queen of Saxony (daughter of Princess Louise Amelie of Baden). Moreover, Charles was great-grandson of Napoléon Bonaparte, a distant cousin of Emperor Napoléon III of France and was seen as an extended member of French Imperial family.
In December 1862, Charles became a Cornet in Lanarkshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. In March 1866, Charles purchased the rank Cornet of 11th Hussar in Royal Regiment of Artillery. In October 1869, he retired from the military.
Charles was known for his financial difficulties, which led to his legal troubles. In October 1869, Charles was arrested after his unsuccessful attempt to escape his creditors in a Hansom cab. In 1871, bankruptcy proceedings against Charles Hamilton were initiated and dismissed in 1874.
On 11 April 1885, a distant cousin of Lord Charles Hamilton, Dunbar Douglas, 6th Earl of Selkirk died with no issue. Although his elder brother, William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton was the closest and most senior male relative, but Lord Charles inherited the title Earl of Selkirk by special remainder of the titles.
On 2 May 1886, The Earl of Selkirk died at 38 years old. Because he had no male heirs so his titles were inherited by his elder brother William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton.