Description: William IV of England King



William IV Requests that German Emissary Deliver Sister's Letter


1p ALS inscribed overall and signed by King William IV (1765-1837) as William" at lower right. Written from the Court of St. James's, London, England, sometime between 1830-1837. Handsomely presented behind beveled peach colored matting and glass to the left of a portrait of William IV wearing Order of the Garter regalia. Cream paper with expected light paper folds, else near fine. Not examined out of frame. Sight size of document is 7.125"" x 9""; the frame size overall is 17.25"" x 14.75"" x .875"". Catalog description from Kenneth W. Rendell Gallery, Inc. (New York, NY and Beverly Hills, CA) found verso.


In full:


"St. James's.

Friday     }

Morning  }

 

Dear Sir

 

I am to suggest you will desire in my name that Baron Thalius will send in his dispatches the enclosed letter to my sister.

 

Ever believe me,

 

Your's [sic] sincerely,

 

William."


Ever since the British throne was assumed by William IV's great-great-grandfather George I and the House of Hanover in 1714, subsequent eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British monarchs were generally viewed as foreign (German) usurpers. William IV was no exception. This royal letter could show evidence of the king's foreignness in two very interesting and unexpected ways. First, note the king's grammatical error in the parting salutation. Does his improper use of an apostrophe to signal the possessive in this case suggest a level of discomfort in the English language? Second, one of William IV's sisters evidently lived abroad, demonstrating that the family ties to Hanover were still strong.


The sister mentioned in William IV's missive could very well have been Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (1770-1840). She was one of four of William's sisters still living in the 1830s (Amelia died in 1810, and Charlotte died in 1828). Princess Elizabeth married Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and lived in Germany the rest of her life.


The future William IV never expected to be king. He was the third son of George III, and he ascended the throne in 1830 after the death of his two older brothers. During his 7-year-long reign, William IV enacted many reforms and was much more conscientious than his hedonistic brother George IV. William IV and Adelaide never had any living children, and none of William's illegitimate children were eligible to succeed him. Thus the crown passed to his niece, Victoria.


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