Author’s tale of historic murder

An author has detailed the world’s first firearm assasination of a head of government that took place in Linlithgow, arguably changing the course of Scottish history.

In her book, ‘Daughters of the North,’ Jennifer Morag Henderson explores the life of Jean Gordon and her rise to the position as the most powerful woman in the north and that of her family, proud supporters of Mary Queen of Scots in the late 16th century.

The target of the assasination was James Stewart, the first Earl of Moray and the acting Regent of Scotland. He was the illegitimate son of King James V and acted as the regent for his half-nephew, the infant King James VI, the legitimate heir to the Scottish throne.

Jennifer Morag said: “With a few notable exceptions, Moray was gradually gaining total control over and allegiance from the nobility and people of Scotland.

“Had he been given time, history may well have viewed Moray in a very different light: his personal failings, dubious legal claim to the throne and over-deference to England could have been overlooked if he had given Scotland years of peace and good management. However, after less than two years as Regent, Moray was shockingly assassinated.”

The assassin was one James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, a relation of Jean Gordon and ardent supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, who sought the Hamilton’s claim to the title of regent of Scotland.

The Hamilton’s hoped that by killing the Regent, that the people of Scotland would flock to the Hamilton’s side and spark another uprising.

Hamilton lay in waiting at the window of his uncle Archbishop Hamilton’s house in Linlithgow, he had on his person an Italian matchlock hunting carbine - a relatively new invention in 1570.

Jennifer explains: “It was such a big thing at the time that he had been killed by a firearm.

“Royalty across Europe was horrified at the idea that an ordinary person could use this new technology in such an ordered society of class and rank to kill a king. Especially so soon after the murder of Darnley in equally ‘modern’ circumstances - his house was blown up by gunpowder. Elizabeth of England, for example, dramatically increased her personal security. And it arguably changed Scottish history. If Moray had been Regent for longer I think things could have been very different.”

The Earl of Moray passed in a cavalcade below, making his way through Linlithgow to Edinburgh from Stirling.

Residents from Linlithgow had come to watch the Regent and his retainers pass through, causing a large crowd and slowing the pace of the procession down the High Street.

High atop his horse, Moray was an easy target for the hidden assassin at the upstairs window of a Linlithgow home overlooking the High Street.

Hamilton only had to wait until the Regent was in his sights - he took aim, and fired a single shot at the Earl of Moray.

Moray was hit in the pelvis, sending the projectile tumbling through his stomach and hitting a horse behind him.

In the panic the gunman escaped, and the acting king was taken to Linlithgow Palace, bleeding heavily from his wounds. He died from the injury just before midnight on a night in January 1570.

Jennifer Morag added: “The horrific manner of the shooting, and Moray’s dignity in death, had the opposite effect the Hamilton’s had hoped for. The people of Scotland were tired of instability, and Moray’s death united people in grief. The primary emotion was horror at Moray’s passing, John Knox in Edinburgh preached a sermon at Moray’s funeral that brought the congregation of around three thousand mourners to tears. The villain was still Mary, Queen of Scots and her supporters – and the assassination of Moray left a dangerous power vacuum in Scotland.”