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The last Catholic monarch (1633–1701) to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, crowned in 1685. LS in French, signed “votre tres affectionné frere et Cousin, Jacques R,” one page, 6.75 x 9, July 17, 1686. Addressed from Windsor to Philip William, Elector Palatine, concerning the departure of his resident at the English court, James Stamford. In full (translated): “My Brother, Sieur Stamford, your Resident at my Court, having received your orders to return to you, I did not wish to let him depart without assuring you of the satisfaction I have received from the conduct of your said Resident; and whenever you see fit to send him back, there will be no one more agreeable to me to bear witness to the esteem that I shall always preserve for you and your Electoral House, as being your very affectionate brother and cousin, James R.” Professionally inlaid into a slightly larger sheet and in fine condition.
The recipient, Philip William (1615–1690), had become Elector Palatine in 1685 and, although a Catholic himself, ruled a largely Protestant territory. His resident at James II’s court, James Stanford, whose surname appears in contemporary sources variously as Stanford, Stamford, and Sandford, was an English Catholic closely associated with the controversial Catholic chapel established on Lime Street in the City of London. The property was taken early in 1686 at James II’s desire under Stanford’s protection as the Elector Palatine’s representative, and the chapel was first used that April. Its establishment met opposition from London authorities and Protestant crowds, with disturbances surrounding the chapel during the spring of 1686. Philip William himself objected to the situation, mindful of his own Protestant subjects, but James supported the chapel and pressed for its continuation. In June 1686, only weeks before the present letter, James required Stanford to replace the secular priests serving there with Jesuits.
Written from Windsor on July 17, 1686, the letter followed directly upon these events. James expresses his satisfaction with Stanford’s conduct as the elector’s resident at his court and tells Philip William that, should he choose to send Stanford back to England, “there will be no one more agreeable to me.” The Lime Street chapel remained associated with Stanford and the Elector Palatine during the religious controversies of James II’s reign and survived until the political and religious upheaval of 1688 that culminated in the Glorious Revolution and James’s removal from the throne.
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