... was a prominent Scottish nobleman. He was one of those accused of the murder of Mary's consort, Lord Darnley (her second husband), in February 1567, but was acquitted. In April the same year, Bothwell (as a native born Scot) was proposed by a number of Scottish bishops and nobles as a suitable consort for Mary. Five days later he abducted Mary, ostensibly to protect her from grave danger. He took her captive and allegedly raped her, to secure the marriage – although some say she was a willing accomplice. They were married on 15 May 1567.
The marriage divided the country, and the opposing sides met at Carberry Hill, a few miles east of Edinburgh, on 15 June. Bothwell fled the battle, after one final embrace, and never saw Mary again. In December that year, his titles and estates were forfeited by Act of Parliament.
Bothwell sailed towards Norway, possibly hoping to reach Denmark and there to raise an army to reinstate Mary (who had abdicated following the defeat of her supporters at Carberry Hill). He was captured off the Norwegian coast, and King Frederick II of Denmark (having heard that the English crown was seeking him for the murder of Darnley) took him into custody. But after Mary was also taken prisoner, and imprisoned in Sweden, Frederick realised that she would never again be Queen of Scots, and this meant that Bothwell was of no further use to him.
Far from having Bothwell released however, Frederick seems simply to have forgotten about him.
In 1570 Mary obtained a divorce, on the grounds that Bothwell had raped her before their marriage. Bothwell, meanwhile, was still held at Dragsholm Castle, some 50 miles west of Copenhagen, in conditions that have been described as "appalling". He died in April 1578, aged 44. A pillar to which he was chained for the last ten years of his life can still be seen, with a circular groove in the floor around it.
In 1858 a body was exhumed and declared to be that of Bothwell – although its identity has never been proved. It was in a dried condition, and became known as 'Bothwell's mummy'. His descendants tried to have it returned to Scotland, but their request has never been granted.
A body referred to as 'Bothwell's mummy' materialised in 1976 in the Edinburgh Wax Museum, on the Royal Mile. It was claimed to have been brought to Scotland in 1858.
© Haydn Thompson 2019