Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 18 October 1508) wasLord High Admiral of Scotland. He rose to political prominence after supportingJames IV against his father, and wasproxy at the King's marriage.

Patrick was the son ofAdam Hepburn, Master of Hailes, and succeeded his grandfather alsoPatrick Hepburn as the 2nd Lord Hailes in (1482/1483). He or his grandfather heldBerwick Castle against an English army led byRichard, Duke of Gloucester until thelast week of August 1482, after whichBerwick upon Tweed became a possession of England.

Under his territorial designation of "Patrick Hepburn of Dunsyre," he was madeSheriff ofBerwickshire on 15 June 1480. Patrick Hepburn, Lord Hailes, was one of the Conservators of a truce with England on 20 September 1484. He was one of the leaders of the Confederate Lords who rebelled against KingJames III of Scotland, and he led thevanguard against the Royal array at thebattle of Sauchieburn, 11 July 1488. Robert Birrel, a 16th-century writer, believed that he was one of those responsible for the murder of the king after the battle.

In the reign ofJames IV he rose to great power and held many offices including: Master of the King's Household, custodian ofEdinburgh Castle, andSheriff Principal ofEdinburgh andHaddington. His son and heirAdam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell was made Master of the Royal Stables. Patrick Hepburn was appointed Lord High Admiral of Scotland on 10 September 1488.

In September 1491, Bothwell went on a diplomatic mission toFrance to renew theAuld Alliance. He left fromNorth Berwick aboard theKatherine. His fellow ambassadors wereRobert Blackadder,Archbishop of Glasgow and the Dean of Glasgow.^[1] On 13 October 1488, he had a Crown charter of thefeudal lordships ofChrichton andBothwell, which were in the King's hands following the forfeiture ofJohn Ramsay, Lord Bothwell. On 17 October the lordship of Bothwell was erected into an Earldom in his favour, and he was created the 1stEarl of Bothwell.

On 6 March 1492, he had acharter of the lands and lordship ofLiddesdale, withHermitage Castle, and more, upon the resignation of the same byArchibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus, the latter getting the lordship of Bothwell [but not the Earldom] which Patrick in turn resigned.

Patrick Hepburn was appointed Captain ofDumbarton Castle on 1 April 1495. He was one of the diplomats sent to conclude the treaty for the marriage of James IV with PrincessMargaret Tudor of England in October 1501, and he stood proxy for the King at the ceremony of betrothal on 25 January 1502 atRichmond Palace. When Margaret Tudor came to Scotland in 1503 there was a tournament atHolyrood Palace, Hepburn and the EnglishEarl of Surrey presided over the events while the king and queen watched from the palace windows.^[2] Hepburn played golf with James IV in Edinburgh in February 1504.^[3]

He married twice:

• Janet or Joanna Douglas, before February 1481, (d. before 21 February 1491), daughter ofJames Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton by his spouse,Princess Joanna Stewart. They had one daughter:
  • Joanna Hepburn aka Jane/Janet (Lady Seton), (d. 1558), married toGeorge Seton, 5th Lord Seton, who fell atFlodden.
• Margaret Gordon, by contract dated 21 February 1491, daughter ofGeorge Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly. They had four sons and a daughter:
  • Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell, who succeeded him.
  • Patrick Hepburn ofBolton
  • William Hepburn of Rollandston
  • John Hepburn, Bishop of Brechin
  • Margaret Hepburn, marriedArchibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus

• The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their Descendants, &c., by Messrs, John and John Bernard Burke, volume 1 (London, 1848) pedigree CXXXIX, and vol.2 (1851) pedigree CLXXXVI.
• Calendar of the Laing Charters, AD 854-1837 edited by the Rev.John Anderson, Edinburgh, 1889, number 140.
• The Scots Peerage by SirJames Balfour Paul, Edinburgh, 1905, 'Bothwell' p. 151/2.

• 15th-century births
• 1508 deaths
• Scottish soldiers
• Medieval Scottish diplomats
• Earls of Bothwell
• Lord high admirals of Scotland
• Nobility from East Lothian
• Court of James IV of Scotland
• 16th-century Scottish peers
• 15th-century Scottish peers
• 15th-century diplomats
• 15th-century Scottish military personnel

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• Use dmy dates from November 2021