George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (1514 – 28 October, 1562), was a Scottish nobleman.

The grandson of the 3rd Earl of Huntly, and a childhood companion of James V, he inherited the earldom and estates in 1524. As commander of the King's Army he defeated the English at the Battle of Haddon Rig in 1542, was a member of the council of Regency under Arran and Cardinal Beaton and succeeded as Chancellor on the murder of Beaton in 1546. He was captured at Pinkie in 1547 but escaped and in 1550 accompanied Mary of Guise to France. He joined the Lords of the Congregation in 1560 and was prepared to accept Mary Queen of Scots until she transferred the Earldom of Moray, which had been given to the Earl of Huntly in 1549, to her half-brother Lord James Stewart, at which point he withdrew to his estates in the North-East of Scotland.

Queen Mary toured the north-east in August 1562, and was refused entry to Inverness Castle on Gordon's orders. The Queen's forces captured the Castle before moving to Aberdeen where she issued a summons for Gordon. He refused to answer and was outlawed. He marched on Aberdeen but was defeated by Lord James Stewart at the Battle of Corrichie in October 1562. He died of apoplexy after his capture, and his son, Sir John was executed in Aberdeen. Huntly was posthumously forfeited by parliament in May 1563.

His wife was Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal, by whom he had nine sons and three daughters.

External links

• Electric Scotland.com