Bothwell's descendants call for return of earl's remains

EFFORTS to repatriate the remains of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell and third husband of Mary Queen of Scots, have received a boost after more than 400 years.

Bothwell, who was implicated in the murder of Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley, in 1567, fled to Denmark after she was imprisoned by Elizabeth I, but was arrested and spent the last ten years of his life chained to a pillar in Dragsholme Castle, 60 miles north of Copehagen.

He died in 1578, aged 44, and his preserved body was put on display. The remains are now kept in the crypt at the church at Faravejle, near the castle.

Sir Alastair Buchan-Hepburn, Bothwell's direct descendant, now wants to bring the remains back to Scotland to be buried in a churchyard within sight of Crichton Castle, his birthplace and ancestral home near Pathhead, Midlothian.

Sir Alastair, head of the earl's family and a former chief of Broughton Brewery, near Peebles, said: "Everyone knows about the Earl of Bothwell and Mary Queen of Scots but many in Scotland do not know that he is in Denmark. He remains in exile. His body should be returned to Scotland and given a Christian burial.

"Though the Earl of Bothwell's battles are long finished, we are still battling on his behalf.

"He was a real patriot who, though ambitious, put Scotland first. It's my lifetime's ambition to bring him home."

Sir Alastair, who lives in St Andrews, Fife, will announce the formation of the memorial fund to support the campaign at the launch of a book, Lord James, at Abbotsford House, the former home of Sir Walter Scott near Melrose in the Borders, on Wednesday.

He said funds raised would be used to lobby the Scottish and Danish governments.

If successful, money from the fund would also be used to pay for the repatriation and burial of the body along with a memorial.

Sir Alastair said there was hope after Denmark's ministry of ecclesiastical affairs agreed in 2006 to a request from the Russian Federation for the transfer of the remains of Russian Empress Consort Maria Feodorovna, who died in 1928, from her resting place at Roskilde Cathedral.

He said: "I want the Scottish culture minister to get in touch with his Danish counterpart to ask him 'would you please consider to return the body of James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell?'"

Bothwell's remains were, until recent years, on public view in Denmark. They now lie in a crypt.

There is support, not only from his descendants, to see the body returned to Scotland.

"The trustees of the Chrighton Collegiate Church, which is visible from Crichton Castle, would more than welcome a Christian burial for Bothwell in their graveyard and a memorial there," Sir Alastair said.

The campaign will be supported by Catherine Hermary-Vieille, award-winning author of the historical novel Lord James.

Despite being a Protestant, Bothwell became a close friend and supporter of Catholic Mary after she took the Scottish crown in 1560.

He was implicated, along with many Scottish lords who went unpunished, in the murder of Darnley.

He married Mary in 1567 but they were separated a month later when she was imprisoned by Elizabeth I. Bothwell fled to Bergen, now in Norway but then part of Denmark, before being arrested as a pirate.

During his incarceration, after a failed bid by the Danish king to return him for a ransom.