A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe, Esq;, volume 5, pages 389 to 390, published by Fletcher Gyles, 1742
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/thurloe-papers/vol5/pp384-399#h3-0011
The letter:
SIR,
... The queen of Sweden departed hence yesterday towards Chantillie, where the cardinall was to receive her, and conduct her to Compeigne. Her stay there will be but short. She made her entrance into this city with great splendour, has been treated with great civility by these people, and her wit much magnifyed by all, who have conversed with her; but this I believe proceeds rather from the change of her relidgon (which has rendred her generally acceptable to all here) and from the strict orders of the courte, then that there wanted matter both in her conversation and comportment, for the French to have exercised theyr raillerye upon; but they are alwayes in extreames, either the greatest parasites, or the severest satirists in the world. ... The reason of the queen of Sweden's splendid reception (as I am now informed from a good hand) was, neither the change of her relidgeon, her great wit, nor yet any message she brought from the pope, but that the king of Sweden wrote hither to desire her entertaynment in France (being in aliance with him) might be the same they would have yeilded him, had he passed through France. She likes this place and treatment soe well, that she willingly wowld make it her winter quarter; but the French like it not in divers considerations. ...
Your moste humble and moste faithfull servant,
DE GRANVILLE.
Paris, Sept. 17, 1656. [N. S.]
With modernised spelling:
Sir,
... The Queen of Sweden departed hence yesterday towards Chantilly, where the Cardinal was to receive her and conduct her to Compiègne. Her stay there will be but short. She made her entrance into this city with great splendour, has been treated with great civility by these people, and her wit much magnified by all who have conversed with her; but this, I believe, proceeds rather from the change of her religion (which has rendered her generally acceptable to all here) and from the strict orders of the court than that there wanted matter both in her conversation and comportment for the French to have exercised their raillery upon; but they are always in extremes, either the greatest parasites or the severest satirists in the world. ...
The reason of the Queen of Sweden's splendid reception (as I am now informed from a good hand) was neither the change of her religion, her great wit, nor yet any message she brought from the Pope, but that the King of Sweden wrote hither to desire her entertainment in France (being in alliance with him) might be the same they would have yielded him had he passed through France. She likes this place and treatment so well that she willingly would make it her winter quarter, but the French like it not, in diverse considerations. ...
Your most humble and most faithful servant,
De Granville.
Paris, September 17, 1656. [N. S.]
French translation (my own):
Monsieur,
... La reine de Suède est partie dès hier vers Chantilly, où le cardinal devait la recevoir et la conduire à Compiègne. Son séjour là-bas sera court. Elle a fait son entrée dans cette ville avec une grande splendeur, a été traitée avec une grande courtoisie par ces gens, et son esprit a été grandement magnifié par tous ceux qui ont conversé avec elle; mais cela, je crois, vient plus du changement de sa religion (qui l'a rendue généralement acceptable à tous ici) et des ordres stricts de la Cour que du fait qu'il manquait de matière à la fois dans sa conversation et dans son comportement sur quel les Français puissent exercer leur raillerie; mais ils sont toujours dans les extrêmes, soit les plus grands parasites, soit les satiristes les plus sévères du monde. ...
La raison de l'accueil splendide de la reine de Suède (comme je le sais maintenant de bonne main) n'était ni le changement de sa religion, ni son grand esprit, ni un message qu'elle apportait du pape, mais le fait que le roi de Suède avait écrit ici pour désirer que ses divertissements en France (étant en alliance avec lui) soient les mêmes que ceux qu'on lui aurait donnés s'il avait passé par la France. Elle aime tellement cet endroit et ce traitement qu'elle en ferait volontiers son quartier d'hiver, mais les Français ne l'aiment pas, pour diverses raisons. ...
Votre très humble et très fidèle serviteur
De Granville.
Paris, le 17 septembre 1656. [Style nouveau.]
Swedish translation (my own):
Min herre,
... Sveriges drottning reste härifrån i går mot Chantilly, där kardinalen skulle ta emot henne och föra henne till Compiègne. Hennes vistelse där blir bara kort. Hon gjorde sitt intåg i denna stad med stor prakt, har blivit behandlad med stor artighet av dessa människor, och hennes kvickhet mycket förhöjd av alla som har samtalat med henne; men detta, tror jag, utgår mer från förändringen av hennes religion (vilket har gjort henne allmänt godtagbar för alla här) och från hovets strikta order än att det saknades sak både i hennes samtal och omtanke för fransmännen att ha utövat deras raljeri på; men de är alltid i extremer, antingen de största parasiterna eller de strängaste satiriker i världen. ...
Anledningen till Sveriges drottnings praktfulla mottagande (som jag nu får besked från god hand) var varken hennes religionsbyte, hennes stora kvickhet eller ännu något budskap hon kom med från påven, utan att Sveriges konung skrev hit för att önska att hennes underhållning i Frankrike (att vara i allians med honom) skulle vara densamma som de skulle ha gett honom om han hade gått genom Frankrike. Hon gillar den här platsen och behandlingen så mycket att hon gärna skulle göra det till sitt vinterkvarter, men fransmännen gillar det inte, av olika hänsyn. ...
Er ödmjukaste och mest trogna tjänare,
De Granville.
Paris, den 17 september 1656. [Nya stilen.]
Above: Kristina's entry into Paris. First image courtesy of Gallica, second image courtesy of the National Museum of Sweden.
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