The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society. It was founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The society's first president was Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury). The society maintains its current level of about 500 Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature: generally 14 new fellows are elected annually, who are accorded the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FRSL. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House.