German law firm (London)

St James's Palace in London 1753, seat of the German Chancellery.

The German Chancery ( English German Chancery , also called Hanoverian Chancery ) was a government agency in London from 1714 to 1837, which was established during the personal union between the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (from 1814 Kingdom of Hanover ) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (from 1801 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ) existed. The German Chancellery was based in St James's Palace and carried out the most important business, including foreign affairs, until it was dissolved in 1837. The German Chancellery was an immediate authority with (since 1730) only one minister each, but who was very influential on the monarch.

Facility

In 1714 the new King of Great Britain, who had previously ruled in Hanover as Elector Georg Ludwig , was faced with the challenge of having to rule in two very different territories at the same time. The two royal cities of London and Hanover were at least four days' journey apart. The constitutional and social foundations were also very different. The prince, who now also called himself King George I of Great Britain, was barely able to speak English. In addition, Georg was very inexperienced in English domestic politics. His most important advisors, Andreas Gottlieb von Bernstorff and Friedrich Wilhelm von Schlitz , had to accompany him to London. On August 29, 1714, a first ordinance, primarily military in nature, was issued, which included the affairs of government in the electorate in the absence of the elector. It forms a first basis for the governance of Hanover from London.

Function and tasks

The written correspondence of the Hanoverian kings Georg III. , Georg IV. And Wilhelm IV. With the government offices in Hanover always led through the German Chancellery in London and its minister. From 1720 there were several directors of the office side by side. This practice ended with the death of Count von Bothmer in 1732.

Lore

About a third of the files of the German Chancellery that were moved to Hanover in 1837 when the personal union ended, and today they are in the Lower Saxony State Archives, Hanover . In contrast, the files of the Privy Councilors who dealt with official business in Hanover and other important authorities were almost completely burned in an air raid on Hanover in 1943 .

Head of the firm

Andreas Gottlieb, Baron von Bernstorff (1714–1720)
Hans Caspar von Bothmer (1720–1730)
Christian Ulrich von Hardenberg (1725–1727)
Johann Philipp von Hattorf (1728–1737)
Ernst von Steinberg (Minister) (1737–1748)
Philipp Adolph von Münchhausen (1748–1762)
Johann Burchard von Behr (1762–1771)
Johann Friedrich Carl von Alvensleben (1771–1795)
Georg August von Steinberg (1795)
Ernst Ludwig Julius von Lenthe (1795–1805)
Ernst Friedrich Herbert, Count of Münster-Ledeburg (1805–1831)
Ludwig Conrad Georg von Ompteda (1831–1837)

literature

Rudolf Grieser: The German law firm in London, its development and beginnings . In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 89, 1952, pp. 153–168.

Remarks

^ Rudolf Grieser: The German Chancellery in London, its emergence and beginnings . In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 89, 1952, p. 153ff.
↑ NLA HA Hann. 92 - Arcinsys detail page. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
↑ { Torsten Riotte : Hanover in British Politics (1792-1815): Dynastic connection as an element of foreign policy decision-making processes, Münster . LIT Verlag, 2005, p. 52.

[1] Rudolf Grieser: The German Chancellery in London, its emergence and beginnings . In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 89, 1952, p. 153ff.

[2] NLA HA Hann. 92 - Arcinsys detail page. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .

[3] { Torsten Riotte : Hanover in British Politics (1792-1815): Dynastic connection as an element of foreign policy decision-making processes, Münster . LIT Verlag, 2005, p. 52.