File No. 3382/19A.
The Secretary of State to the Belgian Minister.
Washington, December 17, 1909.
Sir: Having been officially informed by your legation of the death on the 17th instant, of His Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians, I have the honor to express the sincere regret felt by the Government of the United States on the receipt of this painful announcement.
A telegram conveying the same sad intelligence has been received by the President from His Majesty King Albert.
The President’s condolences nave been telegraphed to His Majesty, and I now desire to express the sympathy felt by the Government and people of the United States in the loss which has befallen the Government and people of Belgium in the death of their sovereign after a long and prosperous reign.