Mary Queen of Scots fan buys her letters for £35k

John White holding a letter signed "Marie R", which asked the Laird of Kilravock in Inverness to contribute to maintaining law and order in the region

A Mary Queen of Scots fan who bought three of her letters for £35,000 hoped to put them on display.

John White, 61, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said he had "been fascinated by the royal since he was a boy and educated in Scotland.

He bought the three letters signed by the monarch at an auction in Edinburgh, and said they were the "ultimate in his collection".

He hoped to put on an exhibition "in the next few months" and added: "We are trying to keep something [an event] in the local area – maybe Peterborough Cathedral."

The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place in February 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire.

Her body was taken to Peterborough Cathedral, but her son later took her to lie in state in Westminster Abbey next to Queen Elizabeth I following the monarch's death in 1603.

One of two letters signed in 1565 by both "Marie R" and "Henry R", who was her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley

Mr White described the correspondence as "iconic pieces and are very rare" and said the letters "were written by her private secretary but signed by her".

He said the queen lived in a man's world and was "an iconic lady facing up to the challenges of Scotland in the 1500s".

"She was Catholic, a woman and a woman in power, and people did not like that", he added.

Inspired by her life, he started collecting things that related to her in the last few years.

He also recently held an exhibition about her on the west coast of Scotland".

Mr White said a lock of Mary Queen of Scots' hair "was one of the most iconic, special items that I own"

"I have a lot of artefacts of Mary – I have a lot of cutlery she would have used, I have a lock of her hair and a lot of her embroidery," said Mr White.

"The lock of hair belonged to a millionaire in Jersey, and it is a well-known piece."

"Locks of hair were given away by royalty to those who served them faithfully," he added.

As well as the recent auction purchases, Mr White also has original letters from Fotheringhay Castle, which he kept in storage in Scotland.

Mr White also has portraits of Mary Queen of Scots, which would form part of an exhibition