2407801
Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen appoints a consular officer at Düsseldorf, Germany
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, 1926–2022. Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1952–2022. Printed document signed, Elizabeth R, with blind-embossed seal, one page, 11” x 17”, given at the Court of St. James’s, [London, England], February 14, 1996. Countersigned by Malcolm Rifkind (1946–), British Foreign Secretary, 1995–1997.
In this document, Queen Elizabeth II appoints David John Noble to be the British consul at Düsseldorf, Germany. The Queen makes the appointment “for the encouragement of Our Subjects trading to the Federal Republic of Germany” in order “to aid and assist them in all their lawful and mercantile concerns.” She appoints Noble, a “Member of Our Royal Victorian Order, . . . to reside at Düsseldorf as aforesaid; hereby giving and granting unto him full power and authority, under the supeintendence of Our Consul-General there, by all lawful means to aid and protect Our Merchants and others Our Subjects who may trade with or visit or reside within his Consular District.”
Our research did not disclose much about Noble. He evidently resided in the County of Ross & Cromarty, in the area of the Scottish highlands and islands in northern Scotland. He received a Master Mason degree in Masonic Lodge Fingal No. 318 in March 2023.
Rifkind, a Conservative, served twice as a Member of Parliament, from 1974–1997 and again from 2010–2015. He was one of five cabinet ministers who served throughout the entire Governments of Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He served in junior ministerial offices 1979–1986 and before holding a succession of major ministries: Secretary of State for Scotland, 1986–1990; Secretary of State for Transport, 1990–1992; Secretary of State for Defence, 1992–1995; and finally Foreign Secretary, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1995–1997.
This is a beautiful document in very fine condition. The document is clean and bright. The Queen’s seal is blind-embossed at the upper left, and The Queen has signed with a nearly 3” signature in blue-black fountain pen at the upper right. For the sake of accuracy, we note that there is a slight smudge along the cross of the “t” in “Elizabeth,” undoubtedly from The Queen’s hand, and there are a few nearly unnoticeable handling impressions from where the document was rolled for storage in a mailing tube.
The longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II remains extremely popular with collectors. This document provides an excellent example of her signature and would be beautiful framed with a portrait of her.
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