HEPBURN, James 4th Earl of Bothwell, Duke of Orkney ^{2 4}

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James married Jane GORDON, daughter of George GORDON 4th Earl of Huntly and Elizabeth KEITH Countess of Huntly, 9 February 1565(1566)(contract) 17 February 1565(1566)(dispensation) marriage 24 February 1565(.^{1 2 3} The marriage ended in annulled 7 may 1567. (Jane GORDON was born about 1545, died on 14 May 1629 in Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, Scotland ^{1 2} and was buried in 1629 in Dornoch cathedral, Sutherland, Scotland ².)

  Marriage Notes:

"Jean, married, first, 24 February 1565-66, to James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell (see vol. ii. p. 165) ; she and her husband divorced each other in 1567"

from Scots Peerage (vol 4)



"He (James Hepburn) married, contract dated 9 February 1565-66, the Lady Jane Gordon, daughter of the then deceased George, (fourth) Earl of Huntly, and sister of George, (fifth) Earl of Huntly. The latter, with Dame Elizabeth Keith, Countess of Huntly, his mother, was a party to the contract, which was passed with advice and express counsel of Queen Mary. The parties were related to each other within the degrees of consanguinity prohibited by the canon law. Earl James being fourth in descent from George, second Earl of Huntly, through Lady Margaret Gordon, wife of Patrick, first Earl of Bothwell (vide supra), while the bride was fourth in descent from the same Earl George in the male line, and also through her mother. Accordingly a dispensation for the marriage notwithstanding this impediment was granted by John, Archbishop of St. Andrews, dated 17 February 1565-66. The marriage took place on 24 February 1565-66.

On 26 April 1567, a week after the Earl of Bothwell's project of marrying the Queen had been made public, and two days after he carried her off to Dunbar, a suit was begun in the Commissariot Court of Edinburgh, at the instance of Lady Jane Gordon, his spouse, for the dissolution of their marriage, on the ground of his adultery with one of her maidservants ; and proof having been led, the Court pronounced sentence of divorce on 3 May. On 27 April a suit was instituted on the part of the Earl before the Court of the Archbishop of St. Andrews for a declaration of nullity of marriage ; the dispensation which legalised the union was withheld ; and on 7 May sentence was given that the marriage was and had been null from the beginning in respect of the contiugence in blood of the parties, 'which liiudered their lawful marriage without a dispensation obtained of befoir.' "

from Scots Peerage (vol 2)


"Mary Beton certainly died before 1599, as in that year Alexander Ogilvie married, secondly, Lady Jane Gordon, daughter of George, 4th Earl of Huntly, who had, in 1566, married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. "

from Paper by Alistair Tayler ^{1 2 3}

James next married Mary STEWART Queen of Scots, daughter of James V STEWART King of Scots and Marie DE LORRAINE, on 15 May 1567 in Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland.^{2 4} (Mary STEWART Queen of Scots was born on 8 December 1542,⁴ died 8 February 1586(1587) in Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, Scotland ⁴ and was buried in Peterborough, England, then Westminster Abbey, London, England ⁴.). The cause of her death was execution by beheading.

  Marriage Notes:

"Queen Mary fell under the power of James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, to whom she was married at Holyrood, 15 May 1567, and created Duke of Orkney. Dissension with the nobility ensued, and the Queen was made prisoner and detained in the island castle of Lochleven, where she remained until 2 May 1568, when she effected her escape. During her captivity she abdicated 24 July 1567 in favour of her infant son, her half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, being appointed Regent. Her adherents met the Regent's troops in battle at Langside on 13 May 1568, but suffered a decisive defeat, following upon which the Queen fled into England. There, on various pretexts, she was detained prisoner by her cousin and rival, Queen Elizabeth, till 1586, when she was tried, condemned, and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, in Northamptonshire, on 8 February 1586-87. Her remains, after being buried in Peterborough Cathedral, were afterwards removed to King Henry vn.'s chapel, Westminster Abbey."

from Scots Peerage (vol 1)




"The newly-created Duke of Orkney married, secondly, at Holyrood on 15 May 1567, as her third husband, Mary Queen of Scots. The ceremony was performed by Adam Bothwell, the Protestant Bishop of Orkney. The contract of marriage was signed and registered on the previous day. This union was only dissolved by the death of the forfeited Duke ; but on 21 October 1568 the Queen expressed her willingness ' that the lawis be usit ' for obtaining a separation ; and in May 1569 she executed a mandate for thebringing of an action against him in her name for divorce. He, on his part, signed a similar mandate in the same year. In each of these documents the name of the mandatory is left blank. James, Duke of Orkney, had no legitimate issue born to him. On 18 July 1567 Sir Nicholas Throckmorton reported to Queen Elizabeth that he had received a message from Queen Mary, then detained at Lochleven, to the effect that she believed herself to be seven weeks gone with child ; and Queen Mary's secretary testifies that she miscarried of twins before 25 July."

from Scots Peerage (vol 2) ^{2 4}