Willem II van Oranje-Nassau and Mary (Princess Royal and Princess of Orange), by Anthony van Dyck, 1641

Background

On 2 May 1641, nine-year old Mary Stuart, the eldest daughter of Charles I, king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France, married Willem II, son and heir of Frederik Hendik, stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and of Amalia von Solms-Braunfels. In March 1642, Mary's mother, Henrietta Maria, brought her daughter from England to the Dutch court in The Hague.

This letter is Mary's first to Frederik Hendrik and forms one of a group of eleven surviving letters that she would write to her father-in-law. Frederik Hendrik is reputed to have had a soft spot for Mary, who at the time of his death in 1647 was still only sixteen. It is likely the letter was written shortly after the celebration of Mary’s wedding in Whitehall Palace, London, and it was sent via the young bridegroom, Willem II van Oranje-Nassau, to present to his father. In her own hand Mary expresses her desire to meet her new father-in-law. The letter is not dated, but at the top of the letter Constantijn Huygens, secretary to Frederik Hendrik, has noted 25 June 1641 as the date of receipt.