The Queen's man

Few People have been so constantly reviled and misrepresented through the centuries as James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of Bothwell. Previous writers, misled by a well-worn pattern of conjecture and falsehood, have sought to portray him as an evil, plotting self-seeker. Humphrey Drummond paints a different picture.

Bothwell appears as a figure of hope in the troublesome 1560s. He was the staunchest supporter of the Queen Dowager of Scotland and, on her death,
of her daughter, the beautiful Mary Queen of Scots. Surrounded by spies, lies, accusation and increasing ill-health, Bothwell was very often the only man to whom Mary could turn for help against the border uprisings and to oppose her treacherous half-brother and the rebel Lords, Moray and Morton. Bothwell was imprisoned, exiled, betrayed, nearly murdered and stood accused with Mary of killing her detestable husband Darnley - but nothing could crush his loyalty. He risked his honour and his life, his vast Possessions and his influence, and for her he lost them all.

The picture of Bothwell that emerges is not wholly that of a saint, particularly where women other than Mary were concerned. But through Mr. Drummond's detailed study of a remarkable man, it becomes unquestionably clear that James Bothwell, defender of Mary Queen of Scots, can rightfully take a place alongside the great herose of history.