KING WILLIAM IV - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 79951

KING WILLIAM IV
He handwrote and signed this letter to ask the recipient if he or she "would call upon me here tomorrow at eleven" because he was "very much concerned none of the Liverpool Merchants were in the House of Lords this day"
Autograph Letter Signed: "William" 2p, 8¼x9, 1 sheet, front and verso. St. James's, dated "Thursday/Evening". In part: "Being for various reasons desi-rous to see you and very much concerned none of the Liverpool Merchants were in the House of Lords this day I wish you would call upon me here tomorrow at eleven..." Prince William Henry (1765-1837), the third son of King George III, reigned as King William IV from 1830 until his death. Since his older brothers, including King George IV, predeceased him without legitimate offspring, he inherited the throne, becoming the last Hanoverian monarch of England. William, who himself had 10 illegitimate children, also died without an official heir, resulting in the accession of his niece, Queen Victoria. As a young officer in the Royal Navy, the future king served in New York during the American Revolution, where George Washington authorized a plot to kidnap him, if this could be done "without offering insult or indignity." Serving in the West Indies, he formed a lifelong friendship with Lord Horatio Nelson. In 1789, King George III made William the Duke of Clarence reluctantly, fearing that his reform-minded son would be a vote against him in the House of Lords. William forced his royal father's hand by threatening to run for the House of Commons, a threat which appalled the King. As a member of the House of Lords, William - now the Duke of Clarence - generally supported reform measures, with one notable exception: he supported slavery and the slave trade. Despite his naval background, and despite being made a titular Lord High Admiral, William unsuccessfully sought active duty during the Napoleonic Wars; his early opposition to war with France probably prevented this, although he later supported the conflict. William IV proved a popular monarch, noted for shunning pomp and ceremony. His reign saw the passage, with his support, of the Reform Act of 1832, expanding the British electorate, and also - despite his earlier opposition - the ending of the slave trade. Earlier catalogue description affixed at upper left of first page, which has adhesive residue. Lightly toned, soiled, and creased. Irregular edges. Folded twice vertically and thrice horizontally. Pinholes and separation at left vertical corner. Otherwise, fine condition.