This letter, the last from Mary Queen of Scots to Henri III, the King of France and brother of her first husband, shows the greatness of this woman – facing her death with extraordinary courage, unflinching in the defence of her faith and her position. The modern reader sees the poignancy of her brief remark about her son.

'As for my son, I commend him to you in so far as he deserves, for I cannot answer for him.'

Mary had never known her son, abandoning him and her kingdom when she fled imprisonment for sanctuary in England; but she knew that he was not being raised in her faith nor to honour her. Instead she speaks most about that faith, stressing that she is dying for it. We know that she wore a scarlet gown to her execution – the colour of Roman Catholic martyrdom, and she may have been completely sincere in her belief that she was dying for her religious beliefs.

Her cousin, rival, one-time ally and enemy Queen Elizabeth probably believed that Mary had to die because she posed a political threat to the throne. Her faith was inconvenient and made her a figurehead for the large population who kept to the old ways. But her endless conspiracies, plans for rescue and plans for escape left England in a state of constant alert from threats from Mary's former family in France, and her natural allies in Spain. Even the old noble families of England were drawn in to plans for armed rebellion against Elizabeth, and George Earl of Shrewsbury was probably in love with her, as I describe in my novel The Other Queen.

Reading this letter on the anniversary of her death we can see what a threat she was – it's a great letter that combines complaint, self-justification, and domestic requests. As a royal she would not have wanted to leave her servants unpaid and she spends more words on urging her brother in law to meet her debts than on anything else. But she is also settling a score – revealing how Elizabeth has treated her unreasonably, and even unjustly – for Mary is not Elizabeth's subject and does not come under Elizabeth's laws.

Whichever side of the Elizabeth:Mary divide your sympathies trend, this is the letter of a true heroine whose fate was foreshadowed by Elizabeth's treatment of her other heirs: the sisters of Jane Grey. I have been thinking about these women, and their royal cousins, as I copy-edit The Last Tudor and I have woven into their story an awareness of this, their brave cousin.

The National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh will have this letter on public display between 10AM and 7PM tomorrow, Wednesday 8th February – the 430th anniversary of Mary’s death. The letter was last on display in 2009, making this a rare and special opportunity to see a significant piece of Scottish history.

http://www.nls.uk/news/press/2017/02/mary-queen-of-scots

The National Library of Scotland have the letter transcribed in French with an English translation available on their website.

http://digital.nls.uk/mqs/trans1.html

Image: Last Letter of Mary Queen of Scots, page 1, 1587, National Library of Scotland Manuscript Collection (NLS reference: Adv.MS.54.1.1)