Roosevelt, Franklin, as thirty-second president

Letter, signed ("Franklin D Roosevelt"), 1 page (14 x 10 1/4 in.; 355 x 260 mm), written in a calligraphic secretarial hand, Washington DC, 17 January 1936, to George II, King of the Hellenes, countersigned by Secretary of State Cordell Hull; formerly folded. Enclosed temporarily in plexiglas.

Roosevelt offers best wishes to King George on his second accession to the Greek throne.

George II (1890-1947), King of the Hellenes, succeeded his father Constantine I in 1922 but was so unpopular that he was forced to leave Greece in 1923 when a republic was established. Spending his exile in Romania and London, he was restored to the throne in 1935 when he allowed his premier John Metaxas to establish a dictatorship known as "the 4^th of August Regime" which created a  centralized state, a powerful youth movement, and imposed press censorship. When Germany invaded Greece, King George fled to London until the liberation in 1944. His reestablishment was a major issue in the Greek civil war that began in December of that year. The royal cause was supported by the United States and Great Britain, but the civil war continued until after his death.

The President offers his congratulations and assures his Majesty "of the friendship of the Government and people of the United States and of their good wishes for the welfare of Your Majesty and the happiness of the people under Your Majesty's dominion. I trust that your reign will redound to Your Majesty's glory and to the prosperity and happiness of your people, in whose affections may Your Majesty long live."