Queen's ring survives on only canvas

LONDON, March 19 (UPI) -- Four watercolors going on exhibit in London this week are all that remain of a gold and enamel ring that once graced the hand of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The paintings are part of a Society of Antiquaries exhibition at the British Antique Dealers' Association Fine Antiques and Fine Art Fair, The Independent said Monday. It is the first time the paintings are being display in London since they were presented to the society two centuries ago.

The watercolors were presented by the then-Earl of Mansfield in 1810 with a letter stating, "I take the liberty of presenting to the Society of Antiquaries a drawing of a curious ring in my possession, which was given by Mary Queen of Scots to one of my ancestors ... but I do not know to which of my Family it was given nor on what occasion."

Mary Queen of Scots, executed by her cousin, Elizabeth I, probably gave the ring to away in an attempt to win support for her controversial marriage to her cousin, Lord Darnley, experts say. The ring may have been lost in a fire at Scone Palace in the 1940s when much of the collection was evacuated.