Confidential report from Josephine McNeill to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin)

I have the honour to report that I handed in my Letters of Credence to H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands¹ at her Palace of The Hague on Friday, 3rd February 1950.

Preliminary Visit.
According to Protocol, before being received by the Queen, I called on the Grand Marshall of the Court, Baron van Hardenbroek. The Grand Marshall received me cordially. He said that were it not for my 'male' occupation, he would have insisted on calling on me!

He went fully into the procedure to be followed on the occasion of presenting my Credentials.

He warned me not to make a formal speech to the Queen as that would be contrary to H.M.'s wishes. He also warned me NOT to curtsey. The old Queen insisted on curtseys. The present Queen does not like them. The Baron told me H.M. had just told him she would be very cross with him if he ordered me to curtsey.

The Grand Marshal announced to me that H.M. would receive my Letters on the following Friday at her Palace in the Lange Voorhout in The Hague.

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On the day before the Credentials ceremony. I went to the Chef de Protocole, F.O. to go over the procedure once more. It was done with great exactness and care and I must say it produced in me a state of 'nervosity'.

In addition I became apprehensive lest my dress was too short and therefore not respectful to H.M. and not up to the full uniform of the Court Officials.

On the afternoon before the Presentation, a telephone call from a Lady in Waiting of the Queen asking if she could call on me filled me with panic as I was quite sure she was going to order me to wear a long dress.

In due course the lady arrived - a Miss Roell - and told me the Queen had hunted for her all over the Hague to send her to me to ask me was I going to wear a short dress or a long as she wished to wear whatever length I was going to wear.

It was a most kind gesture on the part of the Queen and I was immensely grateful.

Miss Roell was very simple and delightful. We drove into town together. She seems very important in the Red Cross.

At last the morning dawned for the Credentials.

The carriage and my escort, Jonkheer de Graeffe, the Queen's Master of Ceremonies came here at 11.40. The Reception was timed for 12 noon.

I was fortunately in a kind of mesmerised calm - for the whole thing took on the proportions of a fairy tale at this stage.

The carriage upholstered in the royal scarlet which was quite luminous as we sat inside it. The coachmen and footmen in bright buff coats, white stockings, velvet caps and white perruques.

M. de Graeffe told me as we bowled along that the carriage dated back to Louis Napoleon and that it was quite likely he and Hortense had driven in it!

Mr. Woods followed in solitary state in a less grand vehicle.

Arrived at Lange Voorhout in the Square opposite the Palace the Guard of Honour was drawn up on the two sides.

I descended with my escort from the carriage and was greeted by three rolls of the drums. Then the Officer commanding the Guard swept up and in a ringing voice bade me inspect the Guard.

I did this (as instructed beforehand).

Then I entered the Palace.

Baron van Hardenbroek came forward to meet me. He had been looking on out the window and he said: 'But you did that as if you inspected the Guard every day!'

When the Queen was ready I was led into her presence by the Grand Marshall.

The Foreign Minister, Mr. Stikker² was already with H.M.

He stepped forward and formally presented me to H.M.

The Queen then came forward and shook hands with me. I said as well as I could short of being formal - against which I had been repeatedly warned - that I was honoured and pleased to come as Ireland's first Minister to the Netherlands, that I came as a mark of the sincere regard the Irish people felt for the people of the Netherlands etc.

Then, according to plan, she invited me to sit beside her on a couch. The Foreign Minister was on her left, the Grand Marshall on my right. We had a conversation à quatre.

The Queen was astonishingly nervous and the conversation frequently stuck - and I had often to come to the rescue and introduce a topic which was a little nerve-wracking for me. But there was no doubt whatever that H.M. wished to be really cordial and even informal. She asked me about myself and about Ireland (though I could see she sometimes forgot her brief). We talked about my interest in rural life and on living conditions in rural Ireland, the importance of agriculture etc. Mr. Stikker referred to our trade relations with the Netherlands. She said to me also: 'Your coming has been greatly looked forward to here'.

I mentioned once more Prince Bernard's visit to the Horse Show, the pleasure it had given etc.

'Oh, he loved it' said H.M. and went on to say 'he was very lucky to win a First Prize' and then she corrected herself 'to share it with a woman' (and she looked as if she liked that less).

To keep the conversation going I said 'I hope Y.M. will one day honour us with a visit'.

She replied graciously 'I should like to. My friends have told me a lot about it'.

I think it is possible that one day H.M. may wish to honour us with a visit. I should like to know your feelings on that matter and whether I should endeavour to steer her in this direction.

I took the opportunity to congratulate 'the Netherlands and the Foreign Minister' on his important new post.³ Stikker smiled sadly and said 'It is very difficult' and the Queen's face clouded over and she looked as if she did not really like the idea of losing her Foreign Minister (for the post is tantamount to that in Dutch opinion).

As the audience was drawing to a close H.M. said to me very deliberately: 'Tell them to leave you here a LONG TIME and NOT to take you away after a year or two'.

I thought this extremely gracious of H.M.

The Queen allowed me then to introduce Mr. Woods with whom she chatted cordially for some minutes.

Then it was clear the audience was at an end. We took leave walking backwards to the door (as prescribed by the protocol).

The small rococo Palace in which the ceremony was held was very beautiful and the court officials and the footmen in their resplendent uniforms made the whole scene like something from Hans Andersen.

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I start my official calls on Monday.

I must report that the interest in me is astonishing.

It is due, I think to

1. a feeling of sympathy for Ireland (joined to an almost total ignorance of same)
2. the fact that I am a woman diplomat.
3. an article by Kees van Hoek published before my arrival in a leading paper 'De Linie' (a Jesuit paper) which was much read and quoted.

The members of the Friends of Ireland circle told me it 'was a very good introduction'.

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I visited Mr. Weenink, former Consul-General for the Netherlands in Dublin.⁴

He was the same genial kindly old gentleman but he is rather an invalid as he had a severe stroke some time ago.

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