Bonhams 1793 : WILLIAM III (1650-1702, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, Prince of Orange)

The recipient of this letter is almost certainly James Douglas (1662-1711), second Duke of Queensbury who was an early supporter of William III in Scotland. He was Lord High Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament in the remaining sessions of the Williamite parliament (29 October to 1 February 1701 and 9 to 30 June 1702). He was Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland from 1695-1702 and Secretary of State from 1702. He is known to have been facing opposition over supply for the armed forces in the Edinburgh parliament. He also worked hard in containing the Darien crisis in Scotland on William's behalf and for the union of Scotland and England.

William III was clearly using a 1 January start for the year, as continentals would, because in January 1701 the English parliament had not yet met, but was already in session in 1702, so it would make no sense to talk of a meeting of the Westminster body in the future.

Autograph letters signed by William III are rare on the market.