Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 18 October 1508) was Lord High Admiral of Scotland

Lord High Admiral of Scotland

The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Offices of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707.The office was one of considerable power, also known as Royal Scottish Admiralty, including command of the King's ships and sailors and inspection of all sea...

. Under his territorial designation of Sir Patrick Hepburne of Dunsyre, Knt., he was Sheriff of Berwickshire

Berwickshire

Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...

, 15 June 1480. He was the son of Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes

Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes

Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes was Sheriff of Berwickshire in April 1467, and had a charter of confirmation of Dunsyre in the sheriffdom of Lanarkshire, dated 13 October 1475, being thereafter designated 'of Dunsyre'....

, and succeeded his grandfather Sir Patrick Hepburn as the 2nd Lord Hailes in (1482/1483).

Sir Patrick Hepburn of Hailes was one of the Conservators of a truce with England on 20 September 1484, but was one of the leaders of the Confederate Lords who rebelled against King James III of Scotland

James III of Scotland

James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...

, and he led the van against the Royal array at the battle of Sauchieburn

Battle of Sauchieburn

The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on June 11, 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about two miles south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between as many as 30,000 troops of King James III of Scotland and some 18,000 troops raised by a group of dissident Scottish nobles...

, 11 July 1488. Birrel seems to have believed that he was one of those responsible for the murder of the king after the battle.

In the new reign of James IV

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 he rose to great power and held many offices: included Master of the King's Household, custodian of Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

 and Sheriff Principal

Sheriff Principal

The office of sheriff principal is unique within the judicial structure of Scotland, and it cannot therefore readily be compared with any other judicial office. It is one of great antiquity, having existed continuously since around the 11th century...

 of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and Haddington

Haddington, East Lothian

The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...

, whilst his son and heir Adam

Adam Hepburn of Craggis

Adam Hepburn was the son of Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes and brother of Patrick, the first Earl of Bothwell.Attached to the royal household of James IV, he became Master of the Royal Stables on 30 March 1497. He was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, as were his brother George and nephew...

 was made Master of the Royal Stables. Patrick Hepburn was further appointed Lord High Admiral of Scotland on 10 September 1488.

In September 1491, Bothwell went on a diplomatic mission to France to renew the Auld Alliance

Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...

. He left from North Berwick

North Berwick

The Royal Burgh of North Berwick is a seaside town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the...

 aboard the Katherine. His fellow ambassadors were Robert Blackadder

Robert Blackadder

Robert Blackadder was a medieval Scottish cleric, diplomat and politician, who was abbot of Melrose, bishop-elect of Aberdeen and bishop of Glasgow; when the last was elevated to archiepiscopal status in 1492, he became the first ever archbishop of Glasgow...

, Archbishop of Glasgow

Archbishop of Glasgow

The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...

 and the Dean of Glasgow. On 13 October 1488, he had a Crown charter of the feudal lordships

Feudal Lordship

A feudal lordship is a Scottish feudal title that is held in baroneum, which Latin term means that its holder, who is called a feudal lord, is also always a feudal baron. A feudal lordship is an ancient title of nobility in Scotland...

 of Crichtoun (see Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle is a ruined castle situated at the head of the River Tyne, near the village of Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies two miles south of the village of Pathhead, and the same distance east of Gorebridge, at . A mile to the south-west is Borthwick Castle.-History:In the late...

) and Bothwell, in the King's hands following the forfeiture of John Ramsay, Lord Bothwell

John Ramsay, Lord Bothwell

John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, later Sir John Ramsay of Trarinzeane, was born about 1464 and died in 1513.He was the son of John Ramsay of Corstoun in Fife and Janet Napier .He was married to Isabel Cant in 1484...

. On the 17 October the lordship of Bothwell was erected into an Earldom in his favour, and he was belted Earl of Bothwell in full Parliament.

On 6 March 1492, he had a charter of the lands and lordship of Liddesdale

Liddesdale

Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of...

, with Hermitage Castle

Hermitage Castle

Hermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The Castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric in Scotland....

, etc., upon the resignation of the same by Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, the latter getting the lordship of Bothwell [but not the Earldom] which Patrick in turn resigned.

Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, was Captain of Dumbarton castle on 1 April 1495.

He was one of the plenipotentiaries

Plenipotentiary

The word plenipotentiary has two meanings. As a noun, it refers to a person who has "full powers." In particular, the term commonly refers to a diplomat fully authorized to represent his government as a prerogative...

 sent to conclude the treaty for the marriage of King James IV with Princess Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...

 of England in October 1501, and he stood proxy for the King at the ceremony of betrothal on 25 January 1502.

He married twice:

1. Janet or Joanna Douglas,before February 1481, (d. before 21 February 1491) daughter of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
   James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
   James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton was created Earl of Morton in 1458. He was a descendant of Agnes Dunbar, 4th Countess of Moray . He married Princess Joan Stewart , daughter of James I, King of Scots. His wife was buried in Dalkeith Church, Dalkeith...
   
    by his spouse, Princess Joanna Stewart. They had one daughter, Joanna Hepburn
   George Seton, 6th Lord Seton
   George Seton IV, 6th Lord Seton was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland.He was the son of Jean Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell. His father, the 5th Lord Seton was killed at the battle of Flodden and George's mother survived her husband by 45 years till 1558, managing...
   
   , (d. 1558), married to George Seton, 5th Lord Seton
   George Seton, 5th Lord Seton
   George Seton III, 5th Lord Seton was a Scottish nobleman. He is sometimes referred to as the 3rd Lord Seton because he was the 3rd Lord Seton with the name of George.He succeeded his father, the 4th Lord, on his death in 1508...
   
   , who fell at Battle of Flodden.
2. Margaret Gordon, by contract dated 21 February 1491, daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
   George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
   George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly was Chancellor of Scotland from 1498–1501.Gordon fought on the King's side against the Douglases during The Douglas Rebellion and helped secure a defeat at the Battle of Brechin. The 2nd Earl completed the building work that his father begun in constructing Huntly...
   
   . They had four notable sons and a daughter.

Bothwell's eldest son by his second marriage, Adam

Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell

Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell was a Scottish nobleman, who succeeded his father Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell in 1508...

succeeded him.