King William’s Chest

Description: The contents of a chest or cabinet used by William III, both as Prince of Orange and subsequently as King, to preserve his papers, public and private. Before 1689 they cover his dealings with his uncles Charles II and James II and ministers and subjects in England. Thereafter they trace the course of his resistance to Louis XIV of France. They indicate the extent to which William held the reins of foreign policy and confined his interest in his kingdom to the provision of support for his campaign against French sway in Europe. The archive terminates following the peace treaty of Ryswick, which it partly documents. About half these documents are foreign in content, many in language too, and even among the domestic ones there is a bias towards military, naval, Irish and Scottish affairs which concerned the king as leader of the allied coalition against Louis XIV, though there is also correspondence with his Secretaries of State and other officials on home matters.

Date: 01/01/1670 - 31/12/1698

Last import: September 11, 2017