Hepburn, Patrick, 3rd Earl of Bothwell

Patrick Hepburn ( eng. Patrick Hepburn ; 1512–1556), 3rd Earl of Bothwell (from 1513) - Scottish baron of the Hepburn family.

Patrick Hepburn was the son of Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell and Lady Agnes Stewart, illegitimate daughter of James Stewart, Earl of Buchan and Margaret Murray. Adam Hepburn died at the Battle of Floden in 1513. The young count took an active part in the overthrow of the rule of Angus in 1528 and the enthronement of King James V , for which he was appointed royal lieutenant in the south-eastern regions of the country. However, the actions of Bothwell in this post soon caused irritation of the king and the count was arrested. King Jacob V, distinguished by his hostility towards the Scottish aristocracy, confiscated a number of his possessions in Teviotdale from Bothwell and demanded that payments due to the king from Berikshire be paid for 28 years, forcing the earl to enter into correspondence with the King of England , promising to support the army overthrow V. When this correspondence became known, Bothwell fled to England.

After the death of Jacob V in 1542, Patrick Hepburn returned to his homeland. Taking advantage of the beginning of the Reformation in Scotland, he actively seized the church lands, not being, however, a consistent Protestant . During this period, Bothwell entered into an affair with the queen mother, Maria de Guise, and tried to divorce his wife in order to later marry the queen. It is quite natural that in the struggle for power in Scotland between the pro-British and pro-French parties, the count supported Maria de Guise, a supporter of orientation to France , and secured large financial subsidies to him by the king of France.

Patrick Hepburn's son, James, 4th Earl of Bothwell , became the third spouse of Queen Maria Stewart .