Throughout history, the eccentricities of the aristocracy have been a source of intrigue and bemusement. There are plenty of stories of this ilk in Scotland, but few capture my imagination quite like that of Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton.

The chronicles of his life would make an enthralling telly biopic, traversing the world of art and antiquities in Italy, through corridors of political power in the UK and Russia, before ending with two broken legs and an Egyptian sarcophagus buried at a leafy Lanarkshire cemetery.

First, let’s rewind to the beginning of the tale. Hamilton – the eldest son of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton, and Lady Harriet Stewart, a daughter of the 6th Earl of Galloway – was born at the family’s London residence in 1767.

After completing his formal education at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, he set off on a Grand Tour through Europe, a traditional rite of passage for young men of wealth and status in this era.

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It was there that Hamilton’s magpie-like eye for glittering treasures was first honed, seeing him start to amass a sizeable collection of paintings, decorative objects,........

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