KING GEORGE III (GREAT BRITAIN) - PARDON SIGNED 01/07/1803 CO-SIGNED BY: THOMAS (2ND EARL OF CHICHESTER) PELHAM - HFSID 53559

KING GEORGE III of the UNITED KINGDOM and HENRY PELHAM
The King pardons a man accused of stealing a Pocket Book, also signed by the Home Secretary
Pardon signed: "George R[ex]" meaning "King George" and "Pelham" in brown ink. 2 pages, 7¾x12. Embossed wafer seal affixed beneath the King's signature. January 7, 1803. St. James Court, London, England. In full: "Whereas William Inwards was at a Session held at the old Bailey at June last tried and convicted of stealing a Pocket Book ----- the property of William James and was sentenced Months; We in consideration of some favorable circumstances humbly represented unto me in his behalf are graciously pleased to Extend Our Grace and Mercy unto him and to remit unto him such part of his said Sentence of Imprisonment as remains yet to be undergone and performed; Our Will and Pleasure therefore is that You cause him the said William Inwards to be forthwith discharged William Inwards -verso- discharged out of Custody; and for so doing this shall be your Warrant. Given at Our Court at Saint James's this Seventh day of January 1803 In the forty third year of Our Reign. To Our Trusty and Welbeloved (sic) Our Justices of Govt. Delivery for the City of London and County of Midth The Sheriffs By His Majesty's Command of the said City and County and (Pelham's signature) all others whom it may concern" KING GEORGE III of the United Kingdom (1738-1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland until their union on January 1, 1802, after which was named the United Kingdom, and furthermore was Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (part of the Holy Roman Empire), until his promotion as King of Hanover on October 12, 1814. He was the third British monarch from the House of Hanover, but unlike his Hanoverian predecessors, he was born in Britain, English was his first language, and he never visited Hanover. George's long tenure as King spanned many military conflicts in Europe and abroad in North America and India: early in his reign Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War which made Britain the dominant European power in North America and India, although many of their colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War. Most notably, King George III led the country against revolutionary and Napoleonic France in 1793, concluding with Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. However, George III earned his nickname "Mad King George" when later in his life he suffered from recurrent and eventually permanent mental illness (now believed to have been cause by the blood disease porphyria), and in 1810, after a final relapse, a regency under his son Prince Regent George of Wales (future King George IV) was established. His reputation as a King has never been flattering, in the United States he is often viewed as a tyrant, and in Great Britain he is often used as a scapegoat for the failure of imperialism, but really King George was just a victim of circumstances and illness in an era when the monarchy was continuing to lose political power. THOMAS PELHAM, 2nd Earl of Chichester (1756-1826) served as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1783, later representing Carrick in the Irish House of Commons from 1783 to 1790, and Clogher from 1795-1798. He was named Great Britain's Home Secretary in 1801 and held the position for two years before being appointed the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster before succeeding into his father's earldom in 1805. Lastly he held the office of Postmaster General from 1807-1826. Creased. Soiled. Stained, not at signatures. Folds, not at signatures. Printed caption and printed seal of Portland affixed at lower right of second page. Otherwise, fine condition.