Source:
Mémoires concernant Christine, reine de Suède, volume 3, page 287, compiled and edited by Johan Arckenholtz, 1759
The letter:
A la Princesse Chigi, le 29 Juin, 1667.
Madame la Princesse Chigi, c'est avec raison que la perte d'heureuse Mémoire de notre Saint Pére le Pape Alexandre VII. me doit être sensible, comme vous me le montrez par la Lettre que vous m'avez écrite pour me la communiquer; & certes, le regret qui m'en demeure est aussi grand que je ne saurois vous donner d'autre consolation, que de vous assurer de la part que j'y prends, & de l'estime avec laquelle j'ai reçu en cette occasion les témoignages de votre amitié. Je tâcherai d'y répondre par la continuation de ma bonne volonté envers vous, priant Dieu qu'il vous console, & qu'il vous conserve.
English translation (my own):
To the Princess Chigi, June 29, 1667.
Madame Princess Chigi, it is with good reason that the loss of our Holy Father Pope Alexander VII (of blessed memory) must be sensitive to me, as you show me by the letter you wrote to communicate it to me; and certainly, the regret which remains for me is so great that I could not give you any other consolation than to assure you of the part which I take in it, and of the esteem with which I received on this occasion the testimonies of your friendship. I will try to answer them by continuing my good will towards you, praying to God that He may console you and that He may preserve you.
Above: Kristina.
Above: Berenice Chigi.
Above: Pope Alexander VII.
Note: In accordance with the nobility's ideals in the early modern era, kings and queens considered themselves siblings; when talking to someone of a lower rank than their own, they would refer to that person as "my cousin", regardless of whether or not they were related.
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