On this day in history, 14th April 1578, James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell, died aged 44 at Dragsholm Castle after being imprisoned and held in appalling conditions by Frederick, King of Denmark, It is said that the imprisonment caused Bothwell to go insane.
Here is a factfile on James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, and third husband to Mary Queen of Scots:-
Birth – c1534
Parents – Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell and Lord High Admiral, known as the “Fair Earl”, and his wife Agnes Sinclair, daughter of Henry Sinclair, 3rd Lord Sinclair.
Titles – In 1556, on his father’s death, James became 4th Earl of Bothwell and Lord High Admiral of Scotland.
Marriages – In 1559/1560 Bothwell visited Denmark on the way to France and met Anna Throndsen (Anne Thorssen). He is alleged to have seduced and even married Anne but deserted her. In 1566 he married Jean Gordon, second eldest daughter of George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, but the marriage was not a happy one as Jean accused Bothwell of adultery with her maid and seamstress, Bessie Crawford. The marriage was annulled in May 1567 on the grounds of consanguinity. Eight days after the divorce, Bothwell married Mary Queen of Scots.
Mary Queen of Scots – Bothwell was one of the men implicated in the murder of Mary Queen of Scots’s second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who was murdered on the 10th February 1567. Bothwell was tried and acquitted. On the 24th April 1567, Mary was riding to Linlithgow Palace when she was intercepted by Bothwell, who warned her that it would be dangerous for her to carry on to Edinburgh. He offered to take her to safety to his castle at Dunbar and it was there that he took her prisoner and allegedly raped her. On the 12th May, Mary made Bothwell the Duke of Orkney and the couple were married at Holyrood on the 15th May 1567.
The Scottish Lords did not approve of the marriage and rose up against Mary and Bothwell. Mary was captured and imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, where she miscarried twins, fathered by Bothwell, in July 1567. On the 24th July 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate and her son, James, became James VI of Scotland, with James Stewart, Earl of Moray and Mary’s illegitimate half brother, acting as regent. Bothwell escaped capture but all of his titles and estates were forfeited by an act of Parliament.
The End – Bothwell fled to Scandinavia but it was there that his past caught up with him. He was captured off the coast of Norway, which at that time was a Danish territory, and taken to Bergen, the home of his former love, Anna Throndsen, who then sued him for abandonment. Bothwell was able to settle the case with Anna out of court, giving her one of his ships and promising her an annuity.
Although he managed at first to gain the Danish King’s goodwill, by offering to help him recapture the Orkneys and Shetland Isles, his luck ran out after the fall of Mary Queen of Scots and he was imprisoned in Dragsholm Castle, in Zealand. Solitary confinement there led to Bothwell going insane. He died on the 14th April 1578 and was buried at the church of Fårevejle (Faareveille).
Related posts:
The Murder of Lord Darnley
Mary Queen of Scots Marries Lord Darnley
James I
Mary, Queen of Scots – 8th December 1542
20 June 1567 – The Casket Letters Discovered
24 April 1558 – Mary Queen of Scots Marries the Dauphin
Reign – Early Years
Elizabeth I Timeline
Death of Sir Francis Walsingham – 6 April 1590
The Murder of David Rizzio – 9 March 1566
4 September 1588 – Death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
4 September 1588 – The Death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
it would of been a great honor to stand by lord bothwell, as a soldier and a countrymen of scotland. and to know him as a human being.what a wonderful man.
they make a statue of lord bothwell with sword high in the air,yelling FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY, SCOTLAND FOREVER. NO MATTER WHAT HE NEVER TURN ON HIS QUEEN. NO MATTER WHAT THE COST.EVEN IF IT MET HIS LIFE. A REAL SCOTMAN AND A REAL SOLDIER. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE MY LORD BOTHWELL. MAY GOD WELL YOU AS A SOLDIER OF HIS YELLING, FOR GOD AND COUNTRY.
denmark should be ashamed for holding james hepburns body all these years,like over 500 to be. and to displace it they way they have. shame on them. but shame on the scotsmen who put him there.10yrs of darkness chained to his cell. time to let his famliy have his body and buried in scotland along side of all its milatary heros. lord bothwell was a great leader of the scots and never turned his back on them or his queen. if this does not happen. scotland has learned nothing from its past and the scots have not change a bit. let lord bothwell go,release him and welcome him home with honor.welcome his remains. for he was a scotsman too. r.i.p. my lord bothwell
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE DENMARK TO RELEASE LORD BOTHWELLS REMAINS. DO THE PEOPLE OF DENMARK HAVE NO HEART,DOES ITS GOVT. HAVE NO HEART.PLEASE RELEASE HIS REMAINS TO HIS FAMILY. AND LET THEM LAY HIM DOWN WITH THE HONORED DEAD OF SCOTLAND. SCOTLAND WILL WELCOME HOME THEIR A BRAVE SOLDIER AND A BRAVE SON. NO BETTER SON HAS COME OUT OF SCOTLAND THAN JAMES HEPBURN,3TH EARL OF BOTHWELL. LET NO ONE SAY ANYTHING OTHER THEN, GOD BLESS LORD BOTHWELL. A REAL SCOTSMAN. R I P. MY LORD BOTHWELL,WITH TEARS
After reading many pages of James Hepburn’s history it is refreshing to finally hear people speak of his good qualities. I have always been a defender believing that he was not quilty of anything that wasn’t common place in Scotland’s history. Since he is an ancestor (descending from Patrick Hepburn, younger of Hailes, James line from his first wife, mine from his second wife), I keep his portrait in my cabin and will often say to him, “you didn’t deserve to die that way.” He did change history and history should give him that recognition and honor.
I don’t really know what to think of Bothwell, but the way he died was indeed horrible. Anna Throndsen was my 13th great grand aunt. It doesn’t seem like he treated her very well at all and I feel for her.
I love Scottish history! Mary was such a tragic figure, the Dauphin died at an early age. Then there was the murder of Darnley. But I believe that she was truly in love with Bothwell. Was she aware of how he died?
Claire, if I am not mistaken the Danish have his mummified remains on view don’t they? It would be nice if they would return his body to Scotland where he could be buried with his family members. I know I am off the subject here but being from Virginia in the U.S. we would like for the British to give us back our Princess Pocahontas so she can lie in her native soil. Sorry Claire, just wanted to vent a little…I absolutely love your page and I look forward to reading it daily with my coffee. Great way to start the day 🙂
In the book “Immortal Queen” by Elizabeth Byrd published cica 1970/1971, it mentions that Bothwell’s Danish servant came to see MQOS in prison in England and told her.
No one should have been subjected to this treatment, regardless of his past indiscretions. I was horrified when I read in Margaret George’s novel how his end came. I think of him from time to time and wonder can people treat each other so cruelly?