Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell
| Lady Jean Gordon | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Bothwell Countess of Sutherland |
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Miniature portrait of Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell, painted by an unknown artist in 1566
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| Spouse(s) |
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland Alexander Ogilvy of Boyne |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | Gordon |
| Father | George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly |
| Mother | Elizabeth Keith |
| Born | 1546 Huntly Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Died | 14 May 1629 Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, Scotland |
| Buried | Dornoch, Scotland |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell (1546 – 14 May 1629) was a wealthy Scottish noblewoman and the first wife of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell who became, after his divorce from Lady Jean, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Lady Jean herself had a total of three husbands. Upon her second marriage, she became the Countess of Sutherland.
Lady Jean Gordon was born at Huntly Castle, sometimes called Strathbogie, in Aberdeenshire, the second eldest daughter of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, the wealthiest and most powerful landowner in the Scottish Highlands, and Elizabeth Keith. Her paternal grandparents were John Gordon, Lord Gordon and Margaret Stewart, illegitimate daughter of King James IV by his mistress Margaret Drummond, and her maternal grandparents were Robert Keith, Master of Marischal and Lady Elizabeth Douglas.
Jean had nine brothers and two sisters, and the family were brought up at Huntly Castle which was modernised during the 1550s. Her father's Highlands estates were so numerous that they approached those of an independent monarch. He became Lord Chancellor of Scotland in 1546, the year of her birth. However, the Earl was captured at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in September 1547, and spent some time in England. The earl then followed a complicated political career balancing his and Scotland's international and religious interests. In the autumn of 1562, Mary, Queen of Scots came to the north to punish the family on the basis of allegations against Jean's brother, Sir John Gordon. At Darnaway Castle, Mary gave Huntly's title of Earl of Moray to her own illegitimate half-brother Lord James, who was the husband of Jean's first cousin, Lady Agnes Keith. Jean's father slipped away from Huntly Castle, evading the queen's soldier William Kirkcaldy of Grange, but was defeated by Lord James at the Battle of Corrichie in 1562. At the end of the fight the Earl collapsed and died of apoplexy on the battlefield. Jean's father was posthumously tried for treason in Edinburgh, where his embalmed body was brought to face parliament, and his title and lands were thereby forfeited to the crown.
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