And finally…Queen of Scots’ annual accounts fetch £12,000

The annual accounts of an 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, that was signed by the tragic royal has fetched nearly £12,000 at auction.

Mary signed the document “Marie”, as Queen of Scots and Dowager of France, at the Palace of Fontainebleau, near Paris, on February 23, 1561.

Written in French on vellum, it certified her accounts for the previous year to the sum of “44,828 livres, 13 sols and 9 deniers”, and instructed her secretary and her controller general to sign off the expense.

The sheet, the final page of Mary’s original 97-page account book, went under the hammer at Christies in London.

It was sold to an anonymous online bidder for £11,875.

Thomas Venning, head of books and manuscripts at Christie’s, said the document had heightened significance because it dates from a turning point in Mary’s life.

At 18 years old she would return to Scotland six months later, to a turbulent future that would end in her execution.

MrVenning said: “The compelling thing about these manuscripts is the way that they take you to a specific moment.”

“On the face of it, this is rather an impersonal document. But this is a turning point in her life. As a result, it is incredibly evocative.

“The year covered by these accounts had seen the deaths of both her mother, Mary of Guise, whom she had not seen since she was eight, and her husband, François II. In the meantime, French forces had been obliged to quit Scotland. In January 1561 her uncles attempted to arrange a match for Mary with Don Carlos, the son of Philip II of Spain, but this was blocked.

“The subsequent months were filled with talks on Mary’s return to Scotland, which took place on 19 August 1561. She had not seen her native country since her departure as a five-year-old.”