571. WILLIAM I (1772 - 1843) King of the Netherlands who commanded the Dutch army against the French, his foreign entanglements and autocratic rule led to his loss of Belgium and eventual abdication. Manuscript L.S. "Your good brother Guillaume" as King in French, 1p., 4to., Brussels, Feb. 19, 1817, to the King of the Two Sicilies [Ferdinand I], proudly informing him that his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Orange [Anne, daughter of Czar Paul I of Russia] has given birth to a prince, his first grandchild [the future King William III], and shares the boundless joy that his royal household is experiencing. The infant was the first of the four children born to the newly married heir apparent William [who ruled as William II] and his Russian bride, Anne. In manhood, the prince succeeded his father as King of the Netherlands in 1849. Ruling as William III, he married twice, and late in life, only ten years before his death, fathered his heir apparent, Wilhelmina, who succeeded him at age ten in 1890. Fine condition, with original envelope. $350 - 450