News stories from The National Archives can now be found at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/
Our first education service delivered locally with North East Museums will allow young people in North East England to work with our historic records without having to travel to London.
This new opportunity has been made possible by an exciting partnership with Tyne & Wear Archives based at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum.
Gillian Johnston, Education and Outreach Manager (North East) at The National Archives, said: “This area has a rich and fascinating history and now for the first time pupils can experience working with material from both The National Archives and North East Museums’ collections.”
Clare Smith, Learning and Engagement Manager at North East Museums, said: “It’s a privilege and very exciting to be the first organisation in the country to work with The National Archives in this way and to be able to bring the nation’s historical collections to young people in our region. We’ll be bringing the region’s stories to life.”
An example of the documents young people will be able to examine is HO 144/599/184276, a Home Office file about women’s struggle for the right to vote with records about a suffragette protest in Newcastle in October 1909.
On site sessions will be taught by our experienced educators at Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne and in schools. Online workshops are also available. Secondary schools in the North East of England can book from this week.
The new workshops have been designed to support the Key Stage 3 History curriculum and GCSE and A-level History courses. If you are a secondary school teacher based in the North East and would like to find out more, please email educationbookingsne@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
A bursary is available to help eligible schools with the costs of travel to the workshops.
The project is supported by The National Archives Trust and made possible through the generosity of Joanna & Graham Barker, the Barbour Foundation, Gregory Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg, the Bisset Trust, the Schroder Charity Trust and the Hadrian Trust.
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 27-year-old girlfriend Gloria Barraclough. Separated by the Second World War, the 30-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.
Tobi Adetimilehin
We are pleased to announce that Tobi Adetimilehin has been appointed Finance Director of The National Archives, and started her term leading the Finance and Performance teams on 8 December 2025.
Tobi was most recently the Deputy Director Finance lead for Strategic Programmes and the Future Combat Air System Programme at the Ministry of Defence.
Before this, Tobi was the Senior Finance Business Partner lead for one of HMRC’s transformation programmes. She has also held finance roles in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and acted as Assistant Director in the Shareholder Executive, now known as UK Government Investments.
Tobi is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a member of the Government Finance Function.
Tobi said: ‘I am delighted to be joining The National Archives which has a broad and vital remit. I am looking forward to working alongside colleagues who are passionate about the archive sector and helping deliver our shared vision of becoming the living, digital national archive of the state. I would like to thank Peter Mills for the excellent handover and the great work he has done as the Interim Finance Director which we will continue to build on.’
Claire Wightman
We are also happy to announce that Claire Wightman has been appointed Director of People, Inclusion, and Change, and started on 12 January 2026.
Claire will provide strategic leadership on all aspects of The National Archives’ people strategy and organisational change. This includes the provision of HR products and services, ensuring they meet staff needs, and delivering workforce strategy and transformation expertise, ensuring that The National Archives has the workforce plans, skills and culture required for the future.
Prior to this, Claire held several leadership roles within the Civil Service HR Profession, most recently working as Deputy Director of People Development and Transformation at the Cabinet Office.
Claire said: ‘I am genuinely excited to be joining TNA – a hugely exciting organisation that performs a unique and exciting role for the country, and one that enriched my own journey as a student many years ago. My sincere thanks to everyone who has welcomed me so warmly.’
The National Archives and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) are pleased to announce a partnership that will ensure the accessibility and preservation of its world-class Drawings and Archives Collections during the interim period between the conclusion of the V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership in 2027 and the creation of a new permanent home for RIBA Collections.
The collaboration with The National Archives at Kew will provide public access to the Drawings and Archives collections formerly housed in South Kensington, and will provide a home for the RIBA team, conservation and digitisation. It will also enable curatorial and conservation staff from both organisations to share expertise and collaborate on other projects.
Gemma Maclagan Ram, Chief Operating Officer at The National Archives said:
‘Our mission is to collect and preserve the public record, to connect citizens with their history through unrivalled collections and to partner with archives everywhere.
This collaboration with RIBA brings together two amazing collections of architectural records providing architects and those interested in architecture with a one-stop shop for research and education.
The Drawings and Archives Collection consists of our architectural drawings, from sketches and preliminary designs to presentation and technical drawings, and our archives, containing primary source material on mainly British architecture and its related disciplines and arts, including town planning, engineering, archaeology, decorative arts, furniture, interior design, and sculpture.
From autumn 2027, the Drawings and Archives Collection will be accessible via the RIBA Study Room at The National Archives. The arrangements for requesting items will be published next year.
More than 600 documents have been released by the Cabinet Office today under the 20-year rule. Most are correspondence and work on government policies during Sir Tony Blair’s Labour administration 2004-2005.
They include a file about Kim Philby’s archive and another relating to the successful Olympics 2012 bid.
There is material relating to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and birthday messages to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
Of the files, The National Archives has digitised more than 80 which can be found on Discovery – our catalogue.
The rest of the documents are available to order through Discovery – our catalogue and read at The National Archives in Kew, south-west London.
A set of accounts from James I’s Master of the Revels which record one of the first performances of Shakespeare’s Othello in the run-up to Christmas 1604 will be on show at The National Archives from 12 January-5 February.
Edward Tilney’s accounts book shows “The Moor of Venice” being performed in Banqueting House, Whitehall, on Hallamas (1 November) 1604, not long after the tragedy is thought to have been written.
The following Sunday the King’s Players performed one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the Merry Wives of Windsor and in the days immediately after Christmas they put on Measure for Measure, A Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labours Lost and Henry V.
Dr Neil Johnston, Head of Early Modern Records at the National Archives, said: “Though only two sets of Revels accounts survive at The National Archives for James I’s reign, they offer a rare glimpse into royal taste and extravagance.
“From Love’s Labour’s Lost to Measure for Measure, James I’s enthusiasm for theatre shines through. Most notably, the King enjoyed The Merchant of Venice so much he requested an encore performance before Lent.“
The Revels Office was part of the royal household and organised entertainment for festive occasions.
From 1560 the Master of the Revels received funds in advance and the following year had to account for his spending at the Exchequer, which is how Tilney’s “Revells Booke” for the period Nov 1604- Oct 1605 came to be among state papers held at The National Archives.
It shows he received £100 in 1604-1605 to pay actors, set and costume makers and others putting on masques and musical performances for the court. Tilney himself received a salary of £66 9s 10d.
Shakespeare, who was part of the theatre company, appears as “Shaxberd” in a column in the ledger headed “the Poets who mayd the plaies”.
From today, visitors to The National Archives can request access to records from Parliament’s Archive which are now housed at Kew.
The Beaverbrook Library Collections which has historically been the most requested set of records, will be available first. It comprises papers from major political figures including David Lloyd George, Lord Beaverbrook and Andrew Bonar Law.
All other collections will become available in phases between January and June 2026. These include Journals and Proceedings of both Houses, Acts of Parliament, architectural and photographic collections, and judicial records. Our planned release schedule along with more information about the new service can be found on this web page.
To access the collection, please check The National Archives catalogue, Discovery, to ensure that the record you wish to see is available before booking a visit. While we re-establish the full service over the coming months, we require a minimum of four working days’ notice to produce the records. This allows time to prepare orders and incorporate any documents stored offsite. Records can be viewed free of charge in our reading rooms.
We are open Tuesday to Saturday but please check our full opening times and closure dates when planning your visit.
We have records specialists available with knowledge about Parliament’s records who can provide help and suggestions on how to do your research. In addition, we have an online research guide which will help you find the records you are interested in.
Two hundred and fifty years after her birth on 16 December 1775, Jane Austen fans will have a rare chance to see her will in The National Archives’ Love Letters exhibition, opening on 24 January.
The novelist was only 41 when she died on 18 July 1817, having moved to Winchester a few weeks earlier to be closer to her doctor.
On 27 April 1817, at her home in Chawton, Hampshire, Jane wrote her 90-word will on a small sheet of writing paper, which she folded and hid among papers on her desk, writing “My Will. To Miss Austen” on the outside.
In it she left “everything of which I may die possessed” to Miss Austen – her beloved sister Cassandra – with the exception of two bequests of £50.
Vicky Iglikowski-Broad, Principal Records Specialist in Diverse Histories at The National Archives said: “Jane Austen’s will reveals the depth of her affection for her sister, her lifelong companion and ally. Her own health rapidly failing, we see her leaving the bulk of her estate to Cassandra – rather than her brothers – at a time when women’s finances were often precarious.”
The National Archives holds death duty accounts which show Austen’s estate was worth £661 2s, after debts, probate and funeral expenses were met.
Jane also left everything “which may be hereafter due to me” to Cassandra, who later received a further £515 17s 7d when Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published five months after the novelist died.
Her only other bequests were £50 to her favourite brother Henry, who had gone bankrupt when his bank collapsed, and £50 to Henry’s housekeeper, Françoise Bigeon.
Jane Austen was buried at Winchester Cathedral on 24 July 1817.
Love Letters runs at The National Archives from 24 January 2026 –12 April 2026.
A passionate plea for clemency from Oscar Wilde’s lover Lord Alfred Douglas goes on show in The National Archives’ Love Letters exhibition, opening in January.
The letter addressed to Queen Victoria on 25 June 1895 begs 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.
125 years after Wilde’s death, the eloquent letter will be part of an exhibition exploring love of all types, including dangerous, romantic, same-sex and familial love.
Vicky Iglikowski-Broad, Principal Records Specialist in Diverse Histories at The National Archives said: “Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, shared a relationship that was both passionate and fraught. This surprising, heartfelt plea from Bosie to Queen Victoria was written just weeks after Wilde’s conviction. Despite their turbulent bond, it reveals compassion amid scandal, continued respect and a bold act of advocacy at the highest level.”
Bosie wrote his letter after Oscar Wilde’s conviction for gross indecency, for which Wilde served his whole sentence. The Ballad of Reading Gaol was inspired by Wilde’s prison experience.
Having fled to France when he was released in 1897, Wilde died in Paris three years later with his reputation still compromised.
Love Letters runs at The National Archives from 24 January 2026-12 April 2026. Entrance is free.