Manuscript letter signed by the 2nd Earl of Middleton, 1702

Manuscript letter to Queen Mary of Modena, widow of James II, written in exile, 1702.

Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton, was one of the most loyal Jacobite statesmen of his time. He held many offices during his career, most notably serving as Secretary of State to James II, and—after the king’s flight into exile—to James’s son, the Jacobite claimant James III, at the court in St. Germain.

Although Middleton initially remained in England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1692. On release, he joined the exiled Stuarts in France, where he became one of their most trusted officials.

In the present letter, written a year after the death of James II, Middleton pleads with Queen Mary of Modena to accept his resignation:

“Having shewed, that my attendance on the King, would be not only useless, but hurtful to his service. And that a retreat for the rest of my life is absolutely necessary for myself, I hope the Queen will have the charity to consent to it; whereby Her Majesty will reward me more, than by all the glittering triffles men contest for.”

Despite this earnest appeal, the Queen refused his request. Middleton remained in office under James III until 1713, and in 1715 returned to serve Queen Mary once more. He died in France in 1719.

A remarkable letter, laying bare the exhaustion and disillusionment of one of the most steadfast figures of the Jacobite cause.