Editing Constantijn Huygens (section)

==Early career==
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[[File:Jacob van Campen 002.jpg|thumb|right|[[Suzanna van Baerle|Susanna van Baerle]] (1599-1637), and her husband Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687), painted by [[Jacob van Campen]]]]
In the Spring of 1618 Constantijn found employment with [[Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester|Sir Dudley Carleton]], the English envoy at the Court in The Hague.<ref name=EB1911/> In the summer, he stayed in [[London]] in the house of the Dutch ambassador, [[Noël de Caron]]. During his time in London his social circle widened and he also learned to speak English. In 1620, towards the end of the [[Twelve Years' Truce]], he travelled as a secretary of ambassador [[Francis van Aarssens|François van Aerssen]] to [[Venice]], to gain support against the threat of renewed war. He was the only member of the legation who could speak Italian.

===London===
In January 1621, he traveled to England as the secretary of six envoys of the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] with the object of persuading James I to support the [[German Protestant Union]]. They lodged in [[Lombard Street, London|Lombard Street]] and were taken by coach to [[Whitehall Palace]] to King James and then to [[Charles I of England|Prince Charles]] at [[St James's Palace]] where they realised they had delivered the letters for the prince to the king, and Huygens made an excuse of the poor light. On Shrove-Tuesday they saw a masque at Whitehall presented by the gentlemen of the [[Middle Temple]]. They returned in April of that year, Huygens with the king's gift of a gold chain worth £45.<ref>John Nichols, ''Progresses of James the First'', (London, 1828), pp. 649, 653, 663, quoting from [[John Finet]], ''Philoxenis''.</ref> In December 1621 he left with another delegation, this time with the aim of requesting support for the United Provinces, returning after a year and two months in February 1623. There was yet another trip to England in 1624.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

===Muiderkring===
He is often considered a member of what is known as the [[Muiderkring]], a group of leading intellectuals gathered around the poet [[Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft]], who met regularly at the castle of [[Muiden]] near [[Amsterdam]]. In 1619 Constantijn came into contact with [[Anna Roemers Visscher]] and with Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. Huygens exchanged many poems with Anna. In 1621 a poetic exchange with Hooft also starts. Both would always try to exceed the other. In October of that year Huygens sent [[Jacob Cats]] a large poem in Dutch, entitled '' 't Voorhout'', about a woodland near the Hague. In December he started writing '' 't Kostelick Mal'', a satirical treatment of the nonsense of the current vogue. 

In 1623, Huygens wrote his ''Printen'', a description of several characteristics of people. This satirical, moralising work was one of the most difficult of Huygens' poems. In the same year [[Maria Tesselschade Visscher|Maria Tesselschade]] and Allard Crombalch were married. For this occasion verses were written by Huygens, Hooft and Vondel. During the festival, Constantijn flirted with Machteld of Camps. As a result of this he wrote the poem ''Vier en Vlam''. In 1625 the work ''Otia'', or ''Ledige Uren'', was published. This work showcased his collected poems.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===English knighthood and marriage===
In 1622, when Constantijn stayed as a [[diplomat]] for more than one year in England, he was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by [[King James I of England|King James I]].<ref name=EB1911/> This marked the end of Constantijn's formative years, and of his youth. During his time in England, in December 1622, he was robbed of his papers and £200 in gold from his coach as he set out on the way to [[Newmarket, Suffolk|Newmarket]].<ref>John Nichols, ''Progresses of James the First'', (London, 1828), p. 782.</ref>

Huygens was employed as a [[secretary]] to [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange]], who—after the death of Maurits of Orange—was appointed as ''[[stadtholder]].'' In 1626 Constantijn fell in love with [[Suzanna van Baerle]] after earlier [[courtship]] by the Huygens family to win her for his brother Maurits had failed. Constantijn wrote several [[sonnets]] for her, in which he calls her ''Sterre'' (Star). They wed on 6 April 1627.

Huygens describes their marriage in ''Dagh-werck'', a description of one day. He worked on this piece, which contains almost 2000 lines, during the entire time they were married. In one of the preserved manuscripts of this work it appears Suzanna transcribed (or wrote herself) a substantial portion of the work, suggesting a close collaboration between husband and wife.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Held|first=Julius S.|date=December 1991|title=Constantijn Huygens and Susanna van Baerle: A Hitherto Unknown Portrait|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=73|issue=4|pages=653–668|doi=10.2307/3045835|jstor=3045835}}</ref>

The couple had five children: in 1628 their first son, [[Constantijn Huygens, Jr.|Constantijn Jr.]], in 1629 [[Christiaan Huygens|Christiaan]], in 1631 [[Lodewijck Huygens|Lodewijk]] and in 1633 Philips. In 1637 their daughter Suzanna was born; shortly after her birth their mother died.

===Education of his sons and the new royal Prince===
In 1645, his sons Constantijn Jr. and Christiaan began their studies in Leiden. In these years Prince [[Frederick Henry of Orange]], Huygens' confidante and protector, became increasingly ill, and died in 1647.  The new [[stadtholder]], [[William II of Orange]], greatly appreciated Huygens and gave him the estate of [[Zeelhem]], but he died too in 1650.

The emphasis of Huygens' activities moved more and more to his presidency of the Council of the house of Orange, which was in the hands of the young Prince inheritor, a small baby. He traveled frequently during that time, in connection with his work. There were however strong disagreements between the baby's widowed grandmother [[Amalia of Solms-Braunfels|Amalia van Solms]], and its widowed mother (her daughter in law) [[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Mary, Princess Royal]], (4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660, aged 29) on even the name for christening the Dutch-English Royal newborn.
 
In 1657, his son Philips died after a short sickness during his [[Grand Tour]] while in [[Prussia]]. In that same year Huygens became seriously ill, but healed in a miraculous manner.

In 1680, Constantijn Jr. moved with his family out of the house of his father. To stop the gossiping that started shortly afterwards, Huygens wrote the poem ''Cluijs-werck'', in which he shows a glimpse of the latter stages of his life.