A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan back in October to congratulate them on the announcement that they are expecting their 1st child.
It's been a long wait for a reply, a little over 5 months. But Clarence House has been very busy recently with all the mail that they have received. Their response time is a lot longer than usual.
The front of the envelope is the usual from the British Royals, with the red postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace.
The back of the envelope features the usual black crown with Kensington Palace underneath. This crown is featured on both the Cambridges' & Sussexs' Monograms. So, when the Sussexs do get new stationery, there is a good chance it will feature the same crown.
Inside the envelope is the usual postcard-sized photocard, along with a letter.
The letter is from Claudia Spens, who is head of the Correspondence Section at Clarence House. As Meghan's pregnancy was announced right as the couple was starting their Autumn Tour, I had, of course, mentioned it in my letter.
The letter reads:
Dear Miss Daly,
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have asked me to thank you for your letter of 15th October, in which you wrote about their Autumn Tour of Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand. I apologise for the delay in replying to you. We have been overwhelmed by the thousands of letters and cards received recently.
Their Royal Highnesses are grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex very much enjoyed their visit to of Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand and greatly appreciated the warm welcome they received. At the Invictus Games closing ceremony, His Royal Highness said, "These men and women are role models. They are who every child should look up to. In a world where negativity is given too much of a platform, our Invictus competitors – many of whom have been given a second chance at life - are achieving extraordinary things." I am sure you will agree that over the week we saw some truly remarkable achievements.
The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness thank you for your kind message following the happy news that they are expecting their first child, and they have asked me to send you the enclosed card along with their warmest thanks and very best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Claudia SpensThe letter is wonderful; it is always great to get a personal response. I think it is the longest I've ever received from Claudia Spens. I particularly loved the quote from Prince Harry's speech during the Invictus Games. It's a great quote about the games, but I can't help feel like it has a double meaning, as Harry & Meghan are about to have a child, and there has been so much negativity in the press.
The photocard is the first reply I have gotten to features the new design for the Cambridge/Sussexs, (which I refer to as Version #3).
I did a blog post of the evolution of Prince Charles & Duchess Camilla's postcard-sized photocard. I will do one eventually for the Cambridges/Sussexs, but it's more complicated as they have also changed their stationary over the years. The Cambridge/Sussex photocards have followed the same basic evolution as Charles & Camilla's, except version #3 features the Black Crown/Kensington Palace, instead of the Prince of Wales feathers. (I expect we will see a Version #4, as the Cambridge/Sussex household is set to split sometime in the next few months. But they may not change their reply right away.)
The front of the card is basically the same as Version #2. The big difference is the photo doesn't feature a glossy finish anymore. The photo is from the couple's Autumn Tour. This was taken on October 17th, 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Not only is this an adorable photo of the couple, but it was such a memorable moment. I loved the juxtaposition of the downpour of rain as the couple meets with farmers who had been hit hard by persistent drought in the region.
The back of the card features the biggest change from Version #2. This new design now has the black Crown/Kensington Palace at the top. Version #3 is also printed on thinner card stock.
The card says:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were touched by your very kind message following the happy news that they are expecting their first child. It really was most thoughtful of you to write as you did and Their Royal Highnesses send you their warmest thanks and best wishes.
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