Catalogue description Secretaries of State: State Papers Foreign, Royal Letters

Mainly original letters from foreign royal personages, and drafts of letters from members of the British royal family, for the most part after 1689. Earlier letters are distributed among the general series (arranged by country). Not all the letters are from heads of state, some being from cardinals, bishops, towns and churches.

The letters often concern a royal birth, death or marriage, or send congratulations on military success, or merely concern the credentials of an ambassador.

A three-volume manuscript calendar to most pieces in the series from the time of Queen Anne is in:

SP 130/8

SP 130/9

SP 130/10

Selected documents dated before August 1589 are described in the Calendar of State Papers Foreign Series of the Reign of Elizabeth I ed A J Butler S C Lomas and R B Wernham (London 1901-1950). For references to the more important papers for the period August 1589 to December 1595 see the List and Analysis of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I I-VI ed by Richard Bruce Wernham (London 1964-1993). Please speak to staff at the Map and Large Document Room enquiry desk for the precise location.