TLS, one page, 10.25 x 13.75, calligraphic President of the United States letterhead, June 11, 1940. Letter to King George II of Greece. In part: “I have received the letter…in which Your Majesty conveyed to me the sad tidings of the death in Athens on the 21st of January of Your Majesty’s beloved uncle, Prince Christopher. I learn with deep sorrow of the great affliction which has befallen Your Majesty and the Royal Family of Greece, and I offer to you my sincere and heartfelt sympathy. May God have Your Majesty and Your Majesty’s Family in His safe and holy Keeping.” In fine condition, with mirroring to ink at the bottom of the page. Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope bearing a large presidential seal on the reverse. Neither the United States nor Greece were active in World War II at the time of this letter, but that would change four months later when the Greeks were handed an ultimatum by Mussolini. The Italian leader’s demand that Axis forces be allowed to enter Greek territory was rejected, prompting an attack on their borders. President Roosevelt would go on to commend the resilience and resistance of the Greek people throughout the war, and in 1943 transferred a warship, dubbed the ‘King George II,’ to the Greek Navy under the American lend-lease policy. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA.
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