William Leslie (died 9 September 1513), 3rd Earl of Rothes, was the son of Andrew Leslie, Master of Rothes, and Marjory (also known as Elizabeth) Sinclair, daughter of

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney (1434–1470 de facto, –1472 de jure), 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the buil ...

. He succeeded his elder brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

as Earl in 1513. As George had tried to sell the family lands without royal permission William was trying to recover his rights, especially over the Barony centred on

Ballinbreich Castle Ballinbreich Castle is a ruined tower house castle in Fife, Scotland. The castle was built in the 14th century by Clan Leslie, and subsequently rebuilt several times. There may have been an outer curtain-wall though this no longer survives. Much ...

. However, he was killed at the

battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

. William married Margaret Balfour, and his heir was

George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes (2 Aug 1484 – 24 November 1558) was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat. George was the eldest son and heir of William Leslie, 3rd Earl of Rothes and Lord Leslie, who fell at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Georg ...

. Their other children included John Leslie of Parkhill who was captured at the

battle of Solway Moss The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish border in November 1542 between English and Scottish forces. The Scottish King James V had refused to break from the Catholic Chu ...

, and James Leslie, Parson of Rothes.Leslie, Charles Joseph, ''Historical records of the family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868–9'', vol.2, Edinburgh (1869), pp. 41–46
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References

1513 deaths 3 Court of James IV of Scotland Deaths at the Battle of Flodden Year of birth unknown {{Scotland-earl-stub