Exceptional ALS in French, signed “George R.,” one page, 7.25 x 8.5, September 7, 1786. Addressed from St. James, a handwritten letter to Frederick William II (1744-1797), the newly ascended King of Prussia, whom he addresses as “Sir, My Brother.” In full (translated):
“The letter that Colonel de Geusau has sent to me from Your Majesty is clear proof that you do justice to the interest that I take in all events that concern you personally. I am charmed that Your Majesty envisages the union so happily achieved as essential to maintaining the Constitution and repose of Germany. I will always strive to cooperate with Your Majesty in sustaining such praiseworthy goals and to convince you of my desire to live with Your Majesty on the basis of the most sincere amity. These sentiments will cease only with my days, and you will find me always.” At the time of our letter, Levin von Geusau (1734-1808) was Frederick William II’s adjutant general and later became the head of the general staff of the Prussian Army. In fine condition.
Composed just after Frederick William II succeeded his uncle, Frederick the Great (1712-1786), as King of Prussia, our letter commends Frederick William for upholding the Fürstenbund agreement crafted by his uncle. Constructed as a safeguard against future territorial ambitions of Joseph II and Austria, the Fürstenbund, the “repose of Germany” to which our letter refers, was created in response to negotiations between Joseph II (1741-1790) and Karl Theodor (1724-1799) of the Palatinate and Bavaria with the aims of trading Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands. As a descendant of the House of Hanover and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg, George had particular concerns about Austrian advancement into German territories. However, the necessity of the alliance was brief, and it dissolved in 1790 following the French Revolution and the death of Joseph II.
George III succeeded his grandfather, King George II, at a time in English history marked by wars on the continent and in the New World. Although the 1763 Treaty of Paris ended England’s conflict with France shortly after the beginning of his reign, George’s policies provoked the 1776 American Revolution that resulted in Great Britain’s loss of her colonies in 1783. A decade later, England was once more at war with France, this time against Napoleon. These and other conflicts demanded the king’s continuous involvement at a time when he was fighting his own personal battle with illness. Just five years after ascending to the throne, he experienced episodes of severe erratic behavior, now thought to have been caused by a metabolic disorder known as porphyria.
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