As you know, we deal in rare signatures.

Some are just simple autographs.

Some come from famous people still happily signing today.

Some are really quite recent.

Then we have the others...the ‘special ones’.

These are signatures that are a little harder to come by...whose authors have long quit this sphere, and whose writings have, against all probability, survived down the ages.

Some are decades old, but a smaller number...are centuries old.

And today we have something very special for you.

This is not just an old signature, but a letter, signed by one of the most controversial figures of her day.

And when we say ‘her day’, we mean the 16th century.

To be specific, the letter is dated 7th June, 1579.

Let’s put that date into context...10 days later, Sir Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, would land in what is now California, claiming it for Queen Elizabeth I.

So viewed from a certain angle, this letter is older than California!

Our autographs expert Paul Fraser says: “It’s staggering to think a modest piece of paper could survive more than 400 years in such good condition. And especially when you consider who wrote it.”

So who did write it?

She lived in one of the most turbulent periods of royal history...she faced the wrath of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I...at one time she claimed the crowns of four nations - Scotland, France, England and Ireland...her second marriage ended in murder and scandal, her third in forced abdication...and following her execution, most of her possessions and writings were burnt...

And today, is her 456th birthday!

Who is she?

Mary, Queen of Scots.

Paul says: “Royal signatures are highly sought after, and are an a-grade investment. But when you travel this far back in time, the rewards become even greater. But it’s the history behind an object that governs value. And when you consider Mary’s place in history, you realise that this item is even more exciting. When I first saw it, my hands started shaking!”

You see, by the time Mary wrote this letter, she’d been through a lot...

Born at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian on 8th December 1542, she was Queen of Scots when she was just six days old.

She was betrothed to Henry VIII’s son, but when the agreement was broken, Henry ordered the savage series of raids into Scotland that have become known as ‘The Rough Wooing’.

His army set fire to the Abbey of Holyroodhouse, burned crops in the Tweed Valley and set ablaze the abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.

Mary was little more than a toddler, but she had already sparked off a war. And as an adult, she just couldn’t stay out of the headlines.

In 1558, by now a graceful and quick-witted woman, Mary married the Dauphin in Paris. Sadly her time as Mary Queen of France was brief, as her husband died of an ear infection in 1560.

She returned to Scotland, and that’s when the troubles really started.

In 1565, she married her second cousin Lord Darnley.

The following year, Darnley threatened the queen and murdered her secretary. Mary later gives birth to the unhappy couple’s first child – James.

In February 1567, Darnley is found murdered just outside the walls of Edinburgh and Mary is implicated in the crime.

Rather than waiting, just three months later she marries the Earl of Bothwell - thought to be her first husband’s principal murderer.

It’s the last straw. Mary is ruined.

Her own lords rise against her, she surrenders, is imprisoned, escapes and finally flees to England, believing that Queen Elizabeth I would support her.

She is proved wrong.

And so begins 19 years of imprisonment.

But even that’s not the end.

She remains the focus of Roman Catholic plots against Elizabeth, until the Queen’s ministers demand her execution.

Mary is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February 1587, at the age of 44.

So when and why did she write this letter?

In 1579, she had already been in prison for more than a decade, and had just 8 years left to live.

In June, she wrote to ask permission of Elizabeth I (through Sir George Bowes) to allow her secretary to visit her son James in Scotland.

Bowes was staunchly loyal to Elizabeth, but treated Mary well and the letter reveals the friendly terms of their relationship.

It is signed in Mary’s beautiful italic hand ‘Your right loowing frend / Marie R’.

Click here to view document

If that were not enough, a letter that you could soon own, also gives an insight into her uneasy relationship with her son – the future King of England!

You see although Mary had signed a deed of abdication and James was crowned King of Scots, James knew that she still harboured her own ambitions to return as Queen.

And in this letter she even refers to James as 'prince'.

‘... Efter long sewte having obteaned licence of the Quene our good Sister and Cousine to send in our Realme of Scotland to visit oure deare Chyld the prince ther...’

Click here to view document

Paul says: “Elizabeth and Henry VIII are the most famous royals from the era, but it was Mary, who all her life was at the centre of the storm. And ultimately, she mothered the next King of England James I – who she even mentions in this letter. That can only add to its already considerable value.”

So what more do you need to know? Top Notch British history is one of soundest investments there is. The price? £39,500.

By doing absolutely nothing, we guarantee that this investment will make you a minimum of £23,700...

...in just 10 years!

YOU now have one opportunity to invest in this piece of museum-grade history, to preserve a vital fragment of the past for future generations, while making you money.

Don’t let this chance slip away!

Call me on +44 (0) 1481 708 277 or email investment@stanleygibbons.co.uk

TOLL FREE from the USA 1 866 644 6146

Regards

Adrian Roose
+44 (0) 1481 708 277
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
www.stanleygibbons.com/investment


P.S. If you buy this item now, you can pay in 12 monthly instalments interest FREE!