Collectors of royal memorabilia are getting the chance to buy 400-year-old strands of Mary Queen of Scots’ hair – for £399 per half-inch.
The 16th-century pieces come from a larger lock acquired from one of the UK’s leading historical hair collectors.
It is believed the hair shows Mary may not have been the radiant redhead portrayed in the movies and history books.
Daniel Wade, from Bristol-based Paul Fraser Collectibles, which is selling the hair, said: “It’s a step beyond Mary’s signature or an item of her clothing.”
A rival to her cousin Queen Elizabeth I for the claim of the English throne, Mary was supported by many English Catholics but was eventually imprisoned by her rival.
She was beheaded, aged 45, in 1587 for plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth.
