Life James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

1 life

1.1 life
1.2 marriages
1.3 meeting queen mary in france
1.4 under mary of guise s regency
1.5 @ queen mary s court
1.6 darnley s murder
1.7 abduction , marriage queen mary
1.8 escape scandinavia , imprisonment there
1.9 death

life
early life

he son of patrick hepburn, 3rd earl of bothwell, , agnes sinclair (d. 1572), daughter of henry sinclair, 3rd lord sinclair, , styled master of bothwell birth. succeeded father earl of bothwell , lord hailes in 1556.

marriages

as lord high admiral of scotland, lord bothwell sailed around europe. during visit copenhagen around 1559, fell in love anna tronds, known in english anna throndsen , posthumously anna rustung. norwegian noblewoman father, kristoffer trondson (rustung), famous norwegian admiral, serving danish royal consul. after engagement, or more marriage under norwegian law, anna left bothwell. in flanders, said out of money , asked anna sell possessions. complied , visited family in denmark ask more money. anna unhappy , apparently given complaining bothwell. treatment of anna played part in eventual downfall.

in february 1566, bothwell married lady jean gordon, daughter of 4th earl of huntly , sister of sir john gordon , 5th earl of huntly. divorced on 7 may 1567, citing adultery servant cause. married mary, queen of scots, 8 days later.

meeting queen mary in france

lord bothwell appears have met queen mary when visited french court in autumn of 1560, after left anna rustung in flanders. kindly received queen , husband, king francis ii, and, himself put it: queen recompensed me more liberally , honourably had deserved — receiving 600 crowns , post , salary of gentleman of french king s chamber. visited france again in spring of 1561, , 5 july in paris third time — time accompanied bishop of orkney , earl of eglinton. august, widowed queen on way scotland in french galley, of organisation having been dealt bothwell in naval capacity.

under mary of guise s regency

bothwell supported mary of guise, queen dowager , regent of scotland, against protestant lords of congregation. bothwell , 24 followers took 6000 crowns of english money destined used against guise laird of ormiston on halloween 1559 @ ambush near haddington. in retaliation protestant leader, duke of châtelherault, sent son earl of arran , master of maxwell seize bothwell s home crichton castle , force earl, @ borthwick, join them. bothwell remained true regent, though said in january weary of part . english agent thomas randolph hinted @ time of scandal involving sister jean hepburn.

at queen mary s court

after protestant lords gained power following mary of guise s death , return scotland of mary, queen of scots, bothwell appears have been not more troublesome noble @ court. open quarrel earl of arran , hamiltons, accused him of intriguing against crown, caused degree of anguish queen, , although earl of arran declared mad, bothwell nevertheless imprisoned in edinburgh castle without trial in 1562. later year, while queen in highlands, escaped , went hermitage castle.

the queen , bothwell close. when bothwell married lady jean gordon, daughter of 4th earl of huntly, in february 1566, queen attended wedding (the marriage lasted on year). in following summer, upon hearing had been wounded , die, rode way through hills , forests of borders him @ hermitage castle few weeks after giving birth son. however, historian lady antonia fraser asserts queen mary on way visit bothwell on matters of state before heard illness, , therefore visit not evidence lovers @ time of accident. author alison weir agrees, , in fact records show mary waited full 6 days after learning of injuries before going visit bothwell. story of mad flight side put later enemies discredit her.

darnley s murder

in february 1567, bothwell 1 of accused of having murdered queen s consort, duke of albany (better known lord darnley). darnley s father, 4th earl of lennox, , other relatives agitated vengeance , upon petition, privy council began proceedings against bothwell on 12 april 1567. sir william drury reported sir william cecil, secretary of state elizabeth of england, queen in continuous ill-health part either melancholy or sickly . on appointed day bothwell rode magnificently down canongate, 4th earl of morton , sir william maitland of lethington flanking him, , hepburns trotting behind. trial lasted noon till 7 in evening. bothwell acquitted , rumoured marry mary.

abduction , marriage queen mary

arms of james hepburn, 1st duke of orkney

the next wednesday, queen rode estates of parliament, lord bothwell carrying sceptre, proceedings of bothwell s trial officially declared according law of land. on saturday 19 april, 8 bishops, 9 earls, , 7 lords of parliament put signatures became known ainslie tavern bond, manifesto declaring mary should marry native-born subject, , handed bothwell.

on wednesday 24 april, while mary on road linlithgow palace edinburgh, bothwell appeared 800 men. assured danger awaited in edinburgh, , told proposed take castle @ dunbar, out of harm s way. agreed accompany him , arrived @ dunbar @ midnight. there, mary taken prisoner bothwell , allegedly raped him secure marriage , crown (though whether accomplice or unwilling victim remains controversial issue). on 12 may queen created him duke of orkney , marquess of fife, , on 15 may married in great hall @ holyrood, according protestant rites officiated adam bothwell, bishop of orkney. mary gave new husband fur lined night-gown. within 3 days, sir william drury wrote london although manner of things appeared forcible, known otherwise.

the marriage divided country 2 camps, , on 16 june, lords opposed mary , duke of orkney (as bothwell had newly become) signed bond denouncing them. showdown between 2 opposing sides followed @ carberry hill on 15 june 1567, bothwell fled, after 1 final embrace, never seen again mary. in december year, bothwell s titles , estates forfeited act of parliament.

escape scandinavia , imprisonment there

after fleeing scotland @ carberry hill, earl arrested in norway. sources differ how earl arrested. appears bothwell took ship aberdeen shetland. pursued william kirkcaldy of grange , william murray of tullibardine sailed bressay sound near lerwick. 4 of bothwell s ships in sound set sail north unst, bothwell negotiating german captains hire more ships. kirkcaldy s flagship, lion, chased 1 of bothwell s ships, , both ships damaged on submerged rock. bothwell sent treasure ship scalloway, , fought three-hour-long sea battle off port of unst, mast of 1 of bothwell s ships shot away. storm forced him sail towards norway.

bothwell may have hoped reach denmark , raise army support of frederick ii of denmark put mary on throne. caught off coast of norway (then ruled denmark) without proper papers, , escorted port of bergen. native home of anna throndsen. anna raised complaint against bothwell, enforced powerful family; cousin erik rosenkrantz, high-level official in norway, remanded bothwell bergenhus fortress while anna sued him abandonment , return of dowry. anna may have had soft spot bothwell, persuaded take custody of ship, compensation. bothwell have been released, king frederick had heard english crown seeking bothwell alleged murder of darnley, , decided take him custody in denmark.

the earl sent copenhagen, danish monarch, king frederik ii, deliberated on fate. earl sent across Øresund fortress , prison malmøhus castle. news both england , scotland arrived, king understood mary never again become queen of scots. , without mary, king considered him insignificant.

death

now 4th earl of bothwell sent final residence, dragsholm castle, 40 kilometres west of copenhagen. held in said appalling conditions. died in april 1578.

a pillar chained last ten years of life can still seen, circular groove in floor around pillar. (alleged) mummified body seen in fårevejle, in church near castle, until few decades ago. in later decades descendants have tried body sent scotland, request has not been granted. identity of body has never been conclusively proven; 1858 investigation concluded remains bothwell s.