A letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots just hours before her execution in 1587 will go on display for the first time in nearly a decade when it forms part of an exhibition in Perth next year.

Mary wrote what is believed to be her last letter at 2am on Wednesday February 8, 1587, when she wrote to her brother-in-law Henri III in France to put her affairs in order.

Her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire was to take place just six hours later.

The letter, which is written in French, is held by the National Library of Scotland and rarely leaves the library’s vaults, primarily for conservation reasons.

It last went on display for a single day at the National Library in 2017, when “queues of people” formed along George IV Bridge in Edinburgh for the chance see it.

The pu

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