There was a special delivery to The Ottawa Civic Hospital on April 17, 1968. Not the “baby” kind of delivery, but rather a “baked” kind called “beschuit met muisjes.” It’s a Dutch “rusk” or treat (beschuit), strewn with sugar-coated aniseed (muisjes) and served in all Dutch homes when a child is born.
This special treat was delivered to the Civic on the occasion of a special birth thousands of kilometres away in the Netherlands, because the baby’s mother was Princess Margriet, who was born at the Civic during the Second World War. To honour the birth of little Prince Maurits, 2,000 pieces of beschuit met muisjes were shipped to Ottawa that day for the staff and even patients to enjoy.
This is a tradition in the Netherlands that dates back centuries. When a royal baby is born, the biscuit mit muisjes are orange coloured, for the House of Orange-Nassau.
