Lord Charles Murray was the second son of the 1st Marquess of Atholl and became Lieutenant Colonel of Dalzell's Dragoons in 1679, then Colonel of that regiment from 1685 until 1688. On 8 December 1682 he married Catherine Watts and they produced ten children. From 1685 until 1688 he was also Master of the Horse to Queen Mary, James II's consort.
On 16 August 1686 he was created Earl of Dunmore, one of the six hereditary Scottish peerages created by James II. As he was suspected of Jacobite sympathies in 1688, he was deprived of the command of the Dalzell's Dragoons (Scots Greys) and imprisoned in June 1689 in Edinburgh Castle. In January 1690 he was released on bail but in May 1692 was charged with High Treason. However, after being committed to The Tower, he was again released on bail. In 1696 he was again arrested on the same charge and imprisoned in Liverpool. However, under Queen Anne when he became a Privy Councillor, he was a steady supporter for the union of England and Scotland. From 1707 until 1710 he was Governor of Blackness Castle. On 19 April 1710 he died and, on 24 April, was buried in the Chapel of Holyrood House.

Source: Leo van de Pas