Love letters relating to some of the most famous – and sometimes dangerous – love affairs in British history are on show at The National Archives from Saturday, 24 January 2026.
Among the exhibits in a new exhibition, Love Letters, is a never-before-seen love letter from the Cambridge Five spy ring’s “fifth man” John Cairncross to his 21-year-old girlfriend Gloria Barraclough. Separated by the Second World War, the 24-year-old linguist was already passing secrets to the Soviets, without his girlfriend’s knowledge.
Also on show is a note sent by Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard to courtier Thomas Culpeper in 1541 which was used to prove they were having a treasonous affair. Within months both had been executed by Henry.
The exhibition includes two contrasting pleas for mercy, one from a lover and one from a father. Oscar Wilde’s lover Lord Alfred Douglas wrote to Queen Victoria on 25 June 1895 begging her to exercise her “power of pardon” in the case of the poet and dramatist who was beginning a sentence of two years’ hard labour for gross indecency after Bosie’s father exposed their relationship.
Fatherly affection prompted Charles Kray’s 1956 letter to the courts on behalf of his son Ronnie, one of the notorious Kray twins who was facing sentence for assault. He describes them as “the most respectful and good-natured lads anyone could wish to meet, so kind to my wife and I and everybody”.
Vicky Iglikowski-Broad, Principal Records Specialist, Diverse Histories at The National Archives Council said: “The National Archives holds a surprising array of expressions of love — some criminalised, unconsummated, or tragically cut short — found across 500 years of state records. This exhibition takes visitors on a journey of emotional connection and reflection, revealing how love connects all kinds of people and takes many forms, often in the most unexpected places.”
The exhibition reveals how we risk reputation and status when we fall in love. Elizabeth I’s final letter from Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, sent on 29 August 1588 during his last days is included with a hint at how much she treasured the last communication from her childhood friend and rumoured intimate. She kept it by her bedside and with “his Last lettar” written on the outside of it.
The extraordinary culmination of another Royal love affair – between Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson – will also be showcased, in the form of the Instrument of Abdication through which he formally gave up his throne in 1936 rather than be parted from his lover.
This free show which runs until April 12, 2026, includes expressions of desire, letters seized in police raids and private concern for loved ones, including Queen Mary’s worries about her asthmatic husband William III “I long to hear again from you how the air of Ireland agrees with you, for I must own I am not without my fears”.
Sometimes legal demands reveal people’s affection. In 1863, one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the era, Ira Aldridge, known as the “African Roscuis” applied to become a British citizen, prompting an outpouring of support from his fans, friends and associates which is also on display.
The dying have one final chance to demonstrate love, as they choose who to provide for in their will. Jane Austen’s is on show, revealing her devotion to her sister, Cassandra, to whom she left her manuscripts and most of her worldly possessions.
Another will by Anne Lister, defies the convention of the times and shows “Gentleman Jack” leaving her Yorkshire estate to her lesbian partner, Ann Lister.
Love Letters at The National Archives runs from 14 January -12 April 2026.
seen at 17:13, 22 January in News Archives - The National Archives.