Background
He was the son of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, and his third wife Agnes Somerville, daughter of Sir John Somerville of Cambusnethan and Elizabeth Carmichael.
He was the son of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, and his third wife Agnes Somerville, daughter of Sir John Somerville of Cambusnethan and Elizabeth Carmichael.
He succeeded his father as 5th Earl in 1558. His elder half-brothers Norman Leslie and William Leslie forfeited their rights by having been implicated in the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546. Their son Patrick Leslie was the 1st Lord Lindores.