QUEEN VICTORIA (GREAT BRITAIN) - MILITARY APPOINTMENT SIGNED 04/03/1876 CO-SIGNED BY: GATHORNE (EARL OF CRANBROOK I) HARDY - HFSID 165876

QUEEN VICTORIA
She signs an 1876 appointment of a lieutenant in the militia forces, also signed by Gathorne Hardy as Secretary of State for War.
Military Appointment signed: "Victoria Reg" as Queen of the United Kingdom, and "Gathorne Hardy" as Secretary of State for War in gray ink. 1 page, 16x12. St. James Court, London, Enlgand. 1876 April 3.  John Francis Green, Gentleman, is appointed a Lieutenant of the Militia Forces, dating from 1874 January 14 (over two years before the Queen signed this formal appointment). QUEEN VICTORIA (1819-1901), the last member of the House of Hanover to reign (from 1837) as a British monarch, ruled the United Kingdom longer than any other monarch before or since. Her 63-year reign endeared her to her subjects, and she gave her name to an era, the Victorian Age. Her Husband, Prince Albert, an able political figure himself, was the Queen's close advisor until his death in 1861. The royal pair had nine children - four sons and five daughters, one son succeeding her as Edward VII. Victoria's reign was celebrated with two jubilees, honoring her 50 and 60 years on the throne. GATHORNE HARDY (1814-1906), who became Viscount Cranbrook in 1878 and EARL OF CRANBROOK in 1892, entered Parliament in 1856 and served in every Conservative government from 1858 to 1892. His standing in the Party was enhanced when he defeated future Prime Minister William Gladstone in his Oxford University constituency in 1865. He important posts included Home Secretary (1861-1868) and War Secretary (1874-1878). Horizontal and vertical fold creases - not affecting signatures. Lightly soiled and toned. Corners lightly creased. Overall, fine condition.