Last letter of Queen of Scots set for public view

A LETTER written by Mary, Queen of Scots just hours before her execution will go on display for the first time in nearly a decade.

- BY NICK FORBES

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

Her beheading at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire aged 44 was six hours later.

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