This stirred the jealousy of the other nobles, and Douglas was involved in the quarrels and suffered from the clash of parties that followed. From the outset his own personal comfort and professional standing were directly affected. Shortly before the marriage, probably in June 1514, the queen nominated him to the abbacy of Aberbrothock, one of the many vacancies caused by Flodden, and soon after the marriage and before the nomination was confirmed she expressed her wish to have him made archbishop of St. Andrews. This was another of the tragically vacated posts, of which Bishop Elphinston, Aberdeen, to whom it was offered, had not taken possession when he died, 25 Oct. 1514. There were other two aspirants to the archbishopric, and Douglas, who trustfully went into residence at the castle, was now rudely disturbed. Hepburn, prior of St. Andrews (acting on an ecclesiastical law rarely used), got the canons to vote him into the position, and he expelled Douglas and his attendants, in spite of help from Angus. Then Forman, bishop of Moray, armed with his appointment from the pope, ejected Hepburn, and compelled him to content himself with a yearly allowance from the bishopric of Moray and the rents already levied from St. Andrews. Meanwhile, Aberbrothock had been given to James Beaton [q. v.], archbishop of Glasgow, so that Douglas's prospects of preferment were dim and uncertain enough.
In January 1515, the Bishop of Dunkeld having died, the queen resolved that Douglas should be his successor, and duly presented him to the see in the name of her son the king. Here again there was strong opposition. The Earl of Atholl wished his brother, Andrew Stewart, to be bishop of Dunkeld, and his authority, backed by the influence of those opposed to the queen and her party, was sufficient to get the canons to accede to his request. The queen both wrote to the pope, Leo X, herself on the subject and got her brother, Henry VIII, to appeal on Douglas's behalf. The result was an apostolical letter conceding the request, and at the same time emphasising the appointment of Forman to St. Andrews. Before the matter was settled, the late king's cousin, the Duke of Albany, came from France as regent (acting in the interests of those opposed to the queen and her friends), and after examination of Douglas's claims to Dunkeld, and the measures taken to advance his interests, imprisoned him, in accordance with an old statute, for receiving bulls from the pope. He was not released for nearly a year, and only after the pope had written severely condemning the regent's proceedings. It is probable that Albany's rigid treatment of the queen, who had been obliged to take refuge at the English court, hastened the termination of Douglas's captivity. In July 1516 his name appears as the elect of Dunkeld in the sederunt of the lords of council, and in the same month we find the regent writing the pope a most plausible letter regarding the settlement of the difficulty between Douglas and Andrew Stewart. It seems that the Archbishop of Glasgow first consecrated Douglas to his new office, and that Forman, not satisfied with this, insisted on certain formalities at St. Andrews, including a humiliating apology from Douglas for past opposition.
Being at length fairly installed as bishop of Dunkeld, Douglas showed himself anxious and able fully to perform his duties. It was not possible for him, however, to remain quietly among his people and attend to their social and spiritual welfare, however desirable in itself such an arrangement might have been. Within a year of his appointment he accompanied Albany to France, and assisted in the negotiations that led to the treaty of Rouen. The news of this policy he conveyed to Scotland, where the nobles opposed to Angus were becoming turbulent in the regent's absence. This reached a crisis in 1520, when the partisans of the Earl of Arran were completely overthrown in the Edinburgh streets—in the skirmish known as ‘Clean-the-Causeway’—by the troops of the Earl of Angus. Douglas was present on this occasion, though not engaged, and by timely interposition saved the life of the Archbishop of Glasgow, who had taken an active part in the struggle. Angus, being now both powerful and demoralised, gave occasion for the queen's resentment when she ventured to return from England in the regent's absence. Finding how matters were, she resolved on a divorce. This led to the return of Albany and the flight of Angus and his friends. Bishop Douglas, going to the court of Henry VIII, partly for safety and partly in the interest of Angus, was deprived of his bishopric and achieved no political results. Henry and Wolsey both appreciated him, and his friend Lord Dacre wrote and worked on his behalf, but there was nothing more. Everything seemed to be against him. Even Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow, when Forman died, ungratefully wrote letters vilifying Douglas, still no doubt dreading one that had it in him to be a formidable rival for a post on which he had set his own heart. Then England declared war against Scotland, in connection with continental affairs, and Douglas was thus in the
