Series
Love Letters season
Discover 500 years of devotion, longing, sacrifice and passion through our events programme.
Tour
Love Letters Curator tour
Discover 500 years of devotion, longing, sacrifice and passion with our expert curator.
- Date
- 18 to 19 March 2026
- Location
- The National Archives, Kew
About this image
Niday Picture Library / Alamy
Across time, people have sought connection in countless ways. From heartfelt declarations and calculated proposals to anonymous or coded adverts.
Covering royalty and parliamentarians, literary icons and unknown scribes, Love Letters opens the envelope on the stories behind the documents and the consequences of their being, from eternal blessing to execution.
This revealing exhibition features not only letters, but declarations of love in other forms, including poems and drawings, official memorials and wills.
Encompassing forbidden relationships and family members separated by distance and circumstance, Love Letters offers a rare glimpse into personal emotions captured in a government collection – tender, intimate and deeply human.
Tours are led by exhibition curator Vicky Iglikowski-Broad.
Tours will take place on the dates and times listed at The National Archives in Kew, and will last approximately 45 minutes with time for questions. Please arrive promptly.
Event details
Plan your visit
What is The National Archives?
The National Archives is the official archive of the UK government, and England and Wales. We are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents.
Everyone is welcome to visit our headquarters in Kew. We put on exhibitions, events and displays and offer reading rooms giving access to our collections there.
Getting here
The National Archives is located by the River Thames in Kew, 30 minutes from Central London. We offer advice on travelling to us by car, bike, train or bus.
Opening times
Love Letters opens on 24 January 2026.
See our opening times.
Accessibility
Everyone is welcome to visit this exhibition.
- There is step-free level access throughout all areas
- The exhibition has low lighting levels
- It includes pictures, audio, information boards, televisions/screens and interactive exhibits at a suitable height for a wheelchair user
- Large print guides are available
Children and families
We provide a warm welcome to visitors of all ages, including children and family groups.
- Free activity sheets (for ages 1+) are available from the Time Travel Club trolley in our entrance hall
- Our café is child-friendly and there are picnic benches outside
- Prams and buggies are welcome, and we have a buggy park
- Baby changing facilities are located by our entrance hall, at the top of the main stairs, and in the library
- Emergency supplies of nappies and wipes are available
Eat and drink
We have a café and coffee bar provided by Maids of Honour, a historic local tea room and bakery. It has spacious indoor and outside seating and a soft play area.
On the menu is a variety of high-quality lunchtime meals, sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, tea and coffee. Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements are all catered to.
Speakers