Gilbert Balfour

Who is Gilbert Balfour?

Gilbert Balfour was a 16th-century Scottish mercenary captain. He probably played the leading role in the murder of Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Balfour married Margaret Bothwell, the sister of Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney who endowed him with the isle of Westray, when it was episcopal property.

At Noltland on Westray, he had built one of the most impressive castles in the Orkney Islands, and indeed the Northern Isles. It is situated above the Bay of Pierowall, was built in the 1560s. It is notable for an unusually large spiral staircase, "second only to Fyvie Castle, while its triple tiers of gunloops are without parallel in Scotland, if not Europe".

Before he could ever use the castle, Balfour was executed in Stockholm for conspiring against King John III of Sweden.