Christmas in 1645 was extra special in the Dutch Republic: Marie-Louise de Gonzague, the new queen of Poland, travelled from Paris to Warsaw via the Netherlands. She arrived in Utrecht on Christmas Day, where she was welcomed by an ice skating crowd. On Boxing Day, she set forth to Amsterdam. She was greeted by one thousand soldiers and a salvo of cannon fire. A few days later, Marie-Louise met Prince Willem, son of stadtholder Frederik Hendrik, and admired the Schouwburg theatre. Having returned to Utrecht, she there spent New Year’s Eve. Find out more here.

*I originally wrote this post for the social media outlets of the Dutch Embassy in Poland. This was post no. 6.