Subseries I: Foreign Rulers, 1549 - 1949

Sub-Series

Staff Only

Dates

1549 - 1949

Access:

All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.

Extent

From the Collection: 17 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Subseries I: Foreign Rulers, 1549-1906

Subseries I: Foreign Rulers, 1549-1906, is arranged by country/region of origin alphabetically and spans the 16th to 20th century. Countries/regions that are represented include Austria, France, Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Within each country/region, documents are arranged chronologically by creation date. This subseries contains documents from foreign rulers with significant influence such as kings, queens, emperors, empresses, princes, princesses, dukes, duchesses, and prime ministers. These individuals were selected for this subsubseries based on the significant extent of influence that they had in their country/region. Documents represented within this subseries include royal writs, royal decrees, royal warrants, payment orders, military promotion decrees, letters, envelopes, autographs, signatures, a printed summons, a parliamentary notice, a telegraph, and a dinner program. Figures within this subseries include the following rulers: Prince Klemens von Metternich (Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein) (1773-1859) of the Austrian Empire Alexandre Édouard, Duke of Anjou and future King Henry III (1551-1589) of France King Henry IV (The Good King Henry [le Bon Roi Henri]; Henry the Great [Henri le Grand]) (1553-1610) of France and Navarre King Louis XIII (The Just) (1601-1643) of France and Navarre King Louis XIV (Louis the Great [Louis le Grand]; the Sun King [le roi soleil]) (1638-1715) of France King Louis XV (Louis the Beloved [Louis le Bien-Aimé]) (1710-1774) of France Louis Stanislas Xavier, Count of Provence and future King Louis XVIII (the Desired [le Désiré]) (1755-1824) of France King Louis XVI (1754-1793) of France François Alexandre Frédéric, Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt (1747-1827) of France Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleone Buonaparte) (1769-1821), First Consul of the French Republic and future Emperor of the French (Napoleon I) Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (1808-1873), Emperor of the French Henriette Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Henriette Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) (1669-1753), Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) and Abbess of Gandersheim of Germany Princess Charlotte [Christine Magdalene Johanna] (1672-1741), Countess of Hanau-Lichtenberg of Germany Karl August Christian (1782-1833), Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin of Germany Prince Carl Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Karl Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) (1792-1862) of Germany Ferdinand I (1503-1564) King of the Romans in Germany; King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia; Archduke of Austria; and future Holy Roman Emperor Anna Maria Franziska (1672-1741), Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg and future Grand Duchess Consort of Tuscany Lucien Charles Joseph Napoléon Murat (1803-1878), former Prince of Pontecorvo, Prince of Naples, and Prince Murat General William Frederick George Louis (Willem Frederik George Lodewijk) (1792-1849), future King William II (Willem II) of the Netherlands Catherine II (Catherine the Great; Catherine Alexeievna Romanova; Екатерина Алексеевна Романова; Sophia Augusta Frederica/Sophie Auguste Friederike) (1729-1796), Empress of Russia Joseph Bonaparte (Giuseppe di Buonaparte; José Bonaparte), “Comte de Survilliers” (1768-844), former King of Spain King Charles I (1600-1649) of England, Scotland, and Ireland James, Duke of York and future King James II (1633-1701) of England, Scotland and Ireland King Charles II (1630-1685) of England, Scotland, and Ireland King William III (William Henry; William of Orange) (1650-1702) of England, Scotland, and Ireland Queen Anne (1665-1714) of England, Scotland, and Ireland King George I (George Louis; Georg Ludwig) (1660-1727) of Great Britain and Ireland King George II (George Augustus; Georg August) (1683-1760) of Great Britain and Ireland Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745), First Prime Minister of Great Britain King George III (George William Frederick) (1738-1820), of Great Britain and Ireland Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863), Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council of Great Britain Prince Regent George Augustus Frederick and future King George IV (1762-1830) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King William IV (William Henry) (1765-1837) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Arthur Wellesley (Arthur Wesley), 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), Commander-in-Chief of the British Army and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom William Eward Gladstone (1809-1898), Chancellor of the Exchequer and future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Albert Edward (Edward VII) (1841-1910), future King of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (1819-1901) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland John Campbell (Marquess of Lorne) (1845-1914), 9th Duke of Argyll of Great Britain

Noteworthy recipients including the following individuals: Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de la Ferté (1727-1794), Intendant of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi of France Jean-Baptiste Tourteau, Baron of Septeuil (1754-1812), first valet of King Louis XVI and treasurer general of the civil list of France Pieter Johan van Berckel (1725-1800), politician and ambassador of the Netherlands Louise Charlotte (1779-1801), Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg of Germany Dr. Franz Tideman (1752-1836), lawyer and politician from Bremen, Germany Thomas Mayne Willing (1767-1822), son of Thomas Willing [a former mayor of Philadelphia and one of the richest men in America] and founder of Willing, Morris, and Company from the United States Richard Willing (1775-1858), son of Thomas Willing [a former mayor of Philadelphia and one of the richest men in America] possible successor of the family firm from the United States Peter Stephen] Du Ponceau [Pierre-Étienne du Ponceau] (1760-1844), linguist, philosopher, and jurist of French descent living in the United States Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640-1701) of France Mr. [Thaddeus] Duckett (1776-1851), a newspaper editor and writer from London, England J[ohn]. H[enry]. Parker (1806-1884), an archaeologist, writer, and publisher and possible publisher of Prime Minister William Evart Gladstone from London, England

Themes and subjects represented within the subseries include official documents from foreign rulers conducting official political, military, and/or financial business. Examples include prisoner releases, payments of wages, debt repayments, military promotions, approvals of military leaves of absences, and ambassador appointments. These official royal documents appear to generally be written by royal secretaries or ministers and simply signed by the authorizing nobles. Some examples of countersignatures include those of Hugues de Lionne (French Minister of Foreign Affairs), Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy Count of Argenson (French Secretary of State for War), Arnaud II de la Porte (French Intendant of the King’s Civil List), Granville George Leveson-Gower (British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), among others. This subseries contains several personal letters between royals that mention the births and deaths of members of the families as the line of succession was a very large concern for ruling families. Several documents within the subseries are related to the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte [Napoleon I] and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Some documents are written by members of the Bonaparte family (such Prince Lucien Murat and Joseph Bonaparte, “Comte de Survilliers”) while living in exile in the United States. According to one document, the creator believes that many Europeans would be happy to live in the United States in French Azilum. Documents within this subseries highlight shifting powers within the represented countries such as the unification of the United Kingdom, the emergence of a Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, and the abolition of a monarchy in France.