[2] He and his father had both been involved in the murder of David Rizzio in 1566; and both took an active part on the side of the Kirk in the constant intrigues and factions among the Scottish nobility of the period.
[3] Ruthven wrote a friendly letter to his "great aunt" Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox in June 1571 during the Marian Civil War.
[3] His widow, Dorothea Stewart came to the opening of Parliament on 22 August 1584 and kneeled on the Royal Mile crying to the king for grace for her children.
Scots Peerage lists 14 children of William and Dorothea, ten daughters and four sons: Another source, Paterson's History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton lists another daughter named Elizabeth, explicitly called "Elizabeth (Not Isabel)": There were plans in 1591 for Dorothea Stewart, Countess of Gowrie to marry William Keith of Delny but James VI forbade it.
[21] John and Alexander Ruthven were killed on 5 August 1600 as the main characters in The Gowrie Conspiracy, a failed attempt to kidnap or murder James VI.