Kristina's letter to Charles Henri de Clermont-Tonnerre, Comte de Ligny, dated March 12, 1672

Source:

Mémoires concernant Christine, reine de Suède, volume 4, page 91, compiled and edited by Johan Arckenholtz, 1760

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The letter:

Le 12. Mars 1672.

Mon Cousin, je fais tant d'estime & d'état de votre personne, que vous devez être persuadé que j'ai reçu vos Lettres avec joie, aussi-bien que les expressions obligeantes dont le Pére Manderscheit les a accompagnées de votre part. Vous me ferez plaisir de me donner souvent occasion de vous témoigner la véritable considération que j'ai pour votre personne, à laquelle je rendrai toujours, en tout tems & en tout lieu, la justice que votre mérite exige de ceux qui le connoissent. Je prie Dieu qu'il vous tienne, mon Cousin, en sa sainte & digne garde.

Swedish translation (my own):

Den 12 mars 1672.

Min kusin,

Jag har så mycket aktning och stat för Er person att Ni måste vara övertygad om att jag har mottagit Era brev med glädje, samt de förpliktiga uttryck från Er med vilka fader Mannerscheid har åtföljt dem. Ni kommer gärna att ofta ge mig tillfälle att betyga Er om den sanna hänsyn jag har för Er person, till vilken jag alltid kommer att ge, vid alla tider och på alla ställen, den rättvisa som Er förtjänst kräver av dem som känner den. Jag ber till Gud att han har Er, min kusin, i sin heliga och värdiga vård.

English translation (my own):

March 12, 1672.

My cousin,

I have so much esteem and status for your person that you must be persuaded that I have received your letters with joy, as well as the obliging expressions from you with which Father Mannerscheid has accompanied them. You will be pleased to often give me the opportunity to testify to you the true consideration I have for your person, to which I will always render, at all times and in all places, the justice that your merit demands of those who know it. I pray to God that He have you, my cousin, in His holy and worthy keeping.

Above: Kristina.

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.