A LETTER penned by Mary Queen of Scots six hours before her death is to go on display in Perth.
The Scottish monarch wrote the handwritten letter at 2am in Fotheringhay Castle, England, in 1587 as she left instructions for the care of her staff after her execution.
The letter, which has been held in Scotland since 1917, will leave the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as part of a centenary celebration to go on show at the Perth Museum in 2026.
At the launch of the NLS centenary celebration on Thursday it was confirmed that other prized objects in the library’s collection will go on display in Aberdeen and Shetland as the archives are opened up and shared across the country.
Helen Smout, chief executive of Culture Perth and Kinross, said it was an “honour” to display the Mary Queen of Scots letter, and that the precious document will sit alongside the Stone of Destiny held at the museum.
She said: “We are overjoyed to be a key partner in the National Library of Scotland’s centenary celebrations.
“It is an honour that the Library has entrusted us to display Mary Queen of Scots last letter at Perth Museum in 2026 as part of this programme. This precious document will sit alongside our other iconic displays including the Stone of Destiny.
“Perth and Kinross is at the very heart of Scotland’s story and Mary had significant links to the area, notably her abdication and 11-month imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle. This will be the first time the letter has been seen north of Edinburgh in modern history, and the longest period it will be on public view for more than 20 years.”
The centenary exhibition, entitled Dear Library, aims to tour treasured items from NLS’s collection across the country in a bid to support Scottish libraries.
Mary Queen of Scots ‘s letter was on show to a limited audience in the reading rooms at NLS on Thursday. The historic artefact was written in French and was over four pages long.
The letter is addressed to Henry III of France, brother of Queen Mary’s first husband, Francois II, who died in 1560 due to an ear infection at the age of 16.
She had been imprisoned by her cousin, Elizabeth I, for 19 years before she was executed.
In her final letter, Mary claimed she was being persecuted solely for her faith and her rights to the throne.
