Note: After Charles I was executed in 1649, and England became a Republic, the Scots proclaimed his son, Charles II, King and invited him to come to Scotland. After agreeing to Presbyterian demands that he sign the National Covenant, he did so. Cromwell then marched north, defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650, captured part of southern Scotland and seized and removed the nation's public records, although he did not manage to take the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish regalia). On 1 January 1651, Scotland crowned Charles II at Scone. In July the English army captured Perth and then defeated the Scottish forces at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. Charles II escaped and fled to France once more and spent the next nine years in exile, until in 1660 he was invited back to England and restored to his father's throne. He entered London on 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661. 

'The Countess Marishall' refers to Mary Erskine Countess Marischal (c.1597 - 1664). The role of the Marischal was to serve as custodian of the Royal Regalia of Scotland, and to protect the King's person when attending parliament. In 1651, the Regalia of Scotland were committed by the Earl Marischal to his own castle, Dunnottar, for safe custody and George Oglivie of Barras was placed in command of them. 

Letters related to the Scottish Regalia were in the archive of the family of Ogilvie of Barras, some of which are now on deposit at the National Library of Scotland. 

This letter is transcribed in: Barron, Douglas Gordon, 'In Defence of the Regalia, 1651-2: Being Selections From the Family Papers of the Ogilvies of Barras', London: Longmans, Green and Co.,1910, p.196.