Description:

George I of England King


George I Writes Cousin about Brother's Death: "divine will has fallen upon us and upon our royal house"

 

2pp ADS with integral address leaf signed by King George I (1660-1727) as "Georgius R" at center of second page; also inscribed in his hand as "Good brother, cousin and friend of Your Highness." In Latin and French, with a full translation provided. The rest of the 28-line letter is inscribed in a beautiful secretarial hand. Written at Kensington on August 8, 1726, announcing the death of King George I's younger brother Maximilian William of Brunswick-Luneburg (1666-1726) three weeks earlier. Addressed to George I's cousin Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (1679-1729).

 

The letter is handsomely presented in a double-sided frame behind beveled peach matting and glass. The last page is displayed to the left of a portrait of George I in curled wig and armor. Bearing an unknown signature on last page bottom, as well as part of the original embossed paper seal visible recto. Docketed in French verso. In very good to near fine condition. The watermarked cream paper has expected folds, isolated foxing, minor weathering, and two small tears along folds. Light scuff to top of frame. Not examined out of frame. Sight size of document is 8.125" x 11.5"; the frame size overall is 20" x 17.75" x 1". Catalog description from Kenneth W. Rendell Gallery, Inc. (New York, NY and Beverly Hills, CA) found verso.

 

In part: "George, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, Archtreasurer of the Holy Roman Empire and Prince Elector, &c., to the most serene and most high Prince Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, March, Calabria and Bar, Marquis of Pont a Mousson, Count of Vaudemont, &c., our most dear brother, cousin and friend, greeting. Most serene and most high Prince, brother, cousin and most dear friend: Since it has been reported to us that the most high Prince Maximilian William, Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, our most dear brother, died on the 27th day of July in the city of Vienna in Austria, we judged that we should not delay to communicate to Your Highness this sorrow which by divine will has fallen upon us and upon our royal house. We have been persuaded that Your Highness should be informed of the loss of the prince, our brother, by reason of the ties of friendship and family by which we are bound, since even the communication of distress may be, among friends wishing each other well, no small proof of affection…"

 

What George I's somber death pronouncement does not reveal is Maximilian William's fascinating backstory. "Max," as he was called, had died in Vienna, Austria after a 40-year-long period of exile. In the 1690s, Max and his younger brother had attempted to subvert the policy of primogeniture recently implemented in the Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg. Max was charged with high treason and forced from his homeland. He sought refuge first with George I's uncle and father-in-law George William, and then served in the Vienna court of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor until his death. George I would die himself ten months after reporting his brother's death, on June 11, 1727.

 

George I was the first British monarch of the Hanoverian Dynasty. In accordance with the 1701 Act of Settlement, no Catholic could inherit the throne. Thus George I succeeded his second cousin Queen Anne in 1714 not because he was the next in line, but because he was her closest Protestant relative. Yet in their attempt to protect the British throne from Catholicism, the succession laws created another source of tension. Over the next 200 years, the British people periodically viewed George I's descendants as foreign (German) usurpers.

 


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