On May 15th 1567 Mary Queen of Scots married the James Hepburn Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood. For Mar

On May 15th 1567 Mary Queen of Scots married the James Hepburn Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood.

For Mary Stuart this union was seen as the first step on the “road to Fotheringhay”, to me perhaps, but I thought her fate was sealed the minute she set foot back in Scotland.

In order to marry the Queen of Scotland, Bothwell had to obtain a divorce from his wife, Jean Gordon. The divorce was granted because of “consanguinity.” (the fact of being descended from the same ancestor)

 Apparently, one of Bothwell’s ancestors had married a Gordon. To find this excuse, Bothwell’s advisors had to go back three generations; Bothwell’s great great grandmother was the ancestor in question. The Lady Jean Gordon agreed to the divorce, not on the grounds of consanguinity, but on her own terms. She charged Bothwell with adultery involving a servant girl by the name of Bessie Crawford. Jean’s intention was to shame and embarrass Bothwell, but Bothwell being a brazen, arrogant character was completely unaffected by the exposure and the inevitable gossip that followed. His goal was marriage to the Queen and he challenged all that opposed it. Some believe that his ultimate goal was to become King of Scotland.

By nature, Bothwell was the opposite of Mary. Where she was mannerly, gracious, and spoke well, he was rowdy, uncouth, loud and confrontational in manner. Although Bothwell forced Mary into marriage so that he could gain power over Scotland, it is said that he may have been a better match for Mary than her first two husbands who had both been weak and immature. By contrast, Bothwell was a strong, independent man, someone she could rely on. This must have been a comfort to a Queen who was constantly plotted against, gossiped about, and beset with the problems of quarrelsome, self-serving lords and nobles regularly vying for her attention.

What surprises me most about this marriage is that Mary and Bothwell were married according to Protestant rites, this went against sll of Mary’s devout Catholic faith, and perhaps shows the hold Bothwell had over her, the couple then retired to Borthwick Castle; meanwhile, the Lords having once again turned against Bothwell organised an army to meet them on the way; Mary and Bothwell escaped from Borthwick and moved on to Dunbar.