Letter written hours before her execution in 1587 will form part of exhibition and programme of events in Perth aiming to bring queen’s story to life

A letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots 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 8 February 1587 when she wrote to her brother-in-law Henri III in France to put her affairs in order. She was executed six hours later at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire .

Letter written hours before her execution in 1587 will form part of exhibition and programme of events in Perth aiming to bring queen’s story to life

A letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots 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 8 February 1587 when she wrote to her brother-in-law Henri III in France to put her affairs in order. She was executed six hours later at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire .

Letter written hours before her execution in 1587 will form part of exhibition and programme of events in Perth aiming to bring queen’s story to life

A letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots 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 8 February 1587 when she wrote to her brother-in-law Henri III in France to put her affairs in order. She was executed six hours later at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire .

• Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton make the shortlist

• McIlroy, Littler, Norris and Kildunne also up for award

England team-mates Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are up against one another for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on a shortlist that also includes Lando Norris, Rory McIlroy, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne.

Kelly and Hampton were at the centre of England’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final , with Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick after Hampton had made two critical saves. For Kelly, it came after a difficult period personally, but after leaving Manchester City for Arsenal within months she was a European champion and Champions League winner. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best female goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards.

• Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton make the shortlist

• McIlroy, Littler, Norris and Kildunne also up for award

England team-mates Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are up against one another for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on a shortlist that also includes Lando Norris, Rory McIlroy, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne.

Kelly and Hampton were at the centre of England’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final , with Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick after Hampton had made two critical saves. For Kelly, it came after a difficult period personally, but after leaving Manchester City for Arsenal within months she was a European champion and Champions League winner. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best female goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards.

• Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton make the shortlist

• McIlroy, Littler, Norris and Kildunne also up for award

England team-mates Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are up against one another for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on a shortlist that also includes Lando Norris, Rory McIlroy, Luke Littler and Ellie Kildunne.

Kelly and Hampton were at the centre of England’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final , with Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick after Hampton had made two critical saves. For Kelly, it came after a difficult period personally, but after leaving Manchester City for Arsenal within months she was a European champion and Champions League winner. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best female goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards.

Even the ridiculous product placement isn’t the most cynical thing about this exercise in trading in Cosy British Christmascore. It’s a nauseatingly schmaltzy and nonsensical

Trevor Bingley is not Mr Bean, but the two have a few things in common. For a start, they are both self-destructively single-minded when it comes to overcoming trivial annoyances. In Netflix’s 2022 series Man vs Bee , Bingley ended up building a fake explosive-laced hive to destroy the insect who refused to vacate the swish home he was house-sitting; for Bean, life consists almost exclusively of finding absurd solutions to minor problems. Both are pitiable figures: Bean because he’s a walking disaster zone; Bingley because he’s lonely and broke, having lost numerous jobs due to general ineptitude. Last but not least, they are both embodied by Rowan Atkinson, who bestows the pair with his distinctive brand of sprightly ungainliness.

There are major differences, however. Bingley is a human who can talk, is aware of social niceties and has a backstory, which mainly features a teenage daughter he dotes on and gratingly refers to as “Sweetpea”. Bean, on the other hand, was essentially beamed in from space: some episodes of the original 1990s series open with him dropping from the sky bathed in an alien light source.

Even the ridiculous product placement isn’t the most cynical thing about this exercise in trading in Cosy British Christmascore. It’s a nauseatingly schmaltzy and nonsensical

Trevor Bingley is not Mr Bean, but the two have a few things in common. For a start, they are both self-destructively single-minded when it comes to overcoming trivial annoyances. In Netflix’s 2022 series Man vs Bee , Bingley ended up building a fake explosive-laced hive to destroy the insect who refused to vacate the swish home he was house-sitting; for Bean, life consists almost exclusively of finding absurd solutions to minor problems. Both are pitiable figures: Bean because he’s a walking disaster zone; Bingley because he’s lonely and broke, having lost numerous jobs due to general ineptitude. Last but not least, they are both embodied by Rowan Atkinson, who bestows the pair with his distinctive brand of sprightly ungainliness.

There are major differences, however. Bingley is a human who can talk, is aware of social niceties and has a backstory, which mainly features a teenage daughter he dotes on and gratingly refers to as “Sweetpea”. Bean, on the other hand, was essentially beamed in from space: some episodes of the original 1990s series open with him dropping from the sky bathed in an alien light source.

Even the ridiculous product placement isn’t the most cynical thing about this exercise in trading in Cosy British Christmascore. It’s a nauseatingly schmaltzy and nonsensical

Trevor Bingley is not Mr Bean, but the two have a few things in common. For a start, they are both self-destructively single-minded when it comes to overcoming trivial annoyances. In Netflix’s 2022 series Man vs Bee , Bingley ended up building a fake explosive-laced hive to destroy the insect who refused to vacate the swish home he was house-sitting; for Bean, life consists almost exclusively of finding absurd solutions to minor problems. Both are pitiable figures: Bean because he’s a walking disaster zone; Bingley because he’s lonely and broke, having lost numerous jobs due to general ineptitude. Last but not least, they are both embodied by Rowan Atkinson, who bestows the pair with his distinctive brand of sprightly ungainliness.

There are major differences, however. Bingley is a human who can talk, is aware of social niceties and has a backstory, which mainly features a teenage daughter he dotes on and gratingly refers to as “Sweetpea”. Bean, on the other hand, was essentially beamed in from space: some episodes of the original 1990s series open with him dropping from the sky bathed in an alien light source.