Letter written by Mary Queen of Scots six hours before execution to go on display in Scottish city

The letter is on the move as part of the National Library of Scotland’s centenary celebrations.

Written six hours before she was led to her death, the last letter penned by Mary Queen of Scots is now to leave the building.

The letter was penned by the doomed monarch at Fortheringhay Castle at 2am on Wednesday, 8 February, 1587 and, in characteristically beautiful handwriting, leaves instructions for the care of the staff after her execution.

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The letter has been held by the Scottish nation since 1917 and will leave the National Library of Scotland to go on show at the new Perth Museum in 2026.

The move of the written treasure was announced by NLS at the launch of its centenary celebrations, with other prized objects in the library collection to go to Aberdeen and Shetland as the archives are opened up and shared across the country as part of the anniversary.

Helen Smout, chief executive of Culture Perth and Kinross, said it was an “honour” to display the Mary Queen of Scots letter.

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She said: “We are overjoyed to be a key partner in National Library of Scotland’s centenary celebrations.

The last letter written by Mary Queen of Scots, six hours before her execution in 1587 (left), and a death mask of the doomed monarch. PIC: NLS/Getty.The last letter written by Mary Queen of Scots, six hours before her execution in 1587 (left), and a death mask of the doomed monarch. PIC: NLS/Getty.
The last letter written by Mary Queen of Scots, six hours before her execution in 1587 (left), and a death mask of the doomed monarch. PIC: NLS/Getty. | NLS/Getty

“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 original letter was on show to a limited audience in the reading rooms at NLS today.

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Written in French over four pages, the letter is addressed to Henry III of France, brother of Queen Mary’s first husband, Francois II, who died of an ear infection in 1560 at the age of 16.

By the time it was written, she had been in captivity for 19 years after being imprisoned by her cousin, Elizabeth 1.

In her last letter, Mary claimed she was being persecuted solely for her faith and for her rights to the English throne.

She wrote: “Sire, my brother-in-law, having by God’s will, for my sins I think, thrown myself into the power of the Queen my cousin, at whose hands I have suffered much for almost twenty years, I have finally been condemned to death by her and her Estates.)

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Mary added: “Tonight, after dinner, I have been advised on my sentence: I am to be executed like a criminal at eight in the morning.”

The letter continued: “The Catholic faith and the assertion of my God-given right to the English crown are the two issues on which I am condemned, and yet I am not allowed to say that it is for the Catholic religion that I die, but for fear of interference with theirs.”

She wrote of being unable to get permission to see her chaplain for confession or the Last Sacrament, despite him being in the building, while being offered the “consolation and instruction” of a minister instead.

Mary asked her brother-in-law - “my old ally” - for “proof of goodness” on three points. The first was “paying my unfortunate servants the wages due to them - this is a burden on my conscience that only you can relieve”.

The letter was signed: “Your very loving and most true sister, Mary R”.

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