In 1756, King Alaungpaya of Burma sent an extraordinary diplomatic letter to King George II of Great Britain and Hanover. The missive was engraved on a sheet of pure gold, studded with rubies, and rolled inside a hollowed elephant’s tusk for delivery. It carried a bold proposal of trade and alliance, but despite its impressive and costly packaging, the letter was met with neglect. King George II, preoccupied with continental conflicts as Elector of Hanover, gave it scant attention. The ornate golden sheet was treated as a curiosity rather than as state correspondence and was dispatched to the royal library in Hanover, where it remained for 250 years until its rediscovery in the early 2000s.
A section of the Golden Letter of King Alaungpaya. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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