A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Duchess Sarah for Christmas.
The envelope looks like the typical from British Royals. But you will notice it doesn't feature the EIIR or circle with the date and Buckingham Palace/Windsor Castle. This is likely because this didn't get process through either the Court Post office at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace.
It is interesting to see that Sarah is again using the Royals PPI number, W7047. The PPI (Printed Postage Impressions) number is a way of pre-printing the postage on the envelope (see the red box on the envelope). Each account has a unique number; the Royal's is W7047. The Royal Mail uses that number to charge the correct account.
Sarah has her own PPI number, HQ6515. But it seems like whenever she uses one of Andrew's envelopes, she uses the Royal's PPI number. I don't know if she is repaying the Royal Household for the postage, or envelopes.
The back of the envelope features Prince Andrew's badge. It's understandable if the Yorks are ordering their Christmas Cards, that they would also order a set of matching envelopes. So, it's understandable that Sarah would use Andrew's envelopes for the Christmas Card.
Sarah replied with the York Family's personal Christmas card. This would have been sent out to family, friends, etc.
The card is a lovely tri-fold.
The outside of the card
Like past years, the front of the card feature's Prince Andrew's badge. The badge contains the York Rose, surrounded by the Order of Garter belt and topped with a coronet (smaller crown). This year, however, the front of the card also includes a photo of Princess Eugenie & Prince Andrew walking into St. George's Chapel on her wedding day. This was arguably one of the most important days in 2018 for the York Family.
That side of the card also features a photo of Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank during the post-wedding carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. The photo isn't the best quality and I was initially wondering why they didn't choose the stunning photo of the couple in the carriage kissing that was released as part of their official wedding photos.
But then, I thought about when this photo was taken, and who took it. This was from right in front of the steps of St. George's Chapel, moments after they got in the carriage. And if you remember, outside St. George's Chapel was a large group of people who had been specially invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle. They included Royal Staff, charity representatives, school children, etc.
So, I'm thinking this photo was taken by some family friend of the Yorks. I'm thinking it could have been Jessie Huberty, the women Sarah hugged when she arrived at the Chapel, or someone with Jessie, as it appears to be taken from where she was standing.
You can actually see a clip of the moment this photo was taken
here.
The photo on the back features Prince Andrew during Trooping the Colours. This was an especially important moment for Andrew as this was the first time he had ridden on horseback during Trooping the Colours. This new honor was because Andrew is now Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. The honorary military appointment had previously belonged to his father, Prince Philip.
The Inside of the card
The inside of the card features a lovely blue background that matches the blue in Andrew's badge. This is the 1st time I've seen the York's include a blue background on their card, and I think it is rather lovely.
The photos on the left of the inside feature Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank at Balmoral Castle. It is unclear when exactly this photo was taken, but as they are at Balmoral and Eugenie is wearing her engagement ring, this would likely have been taken this summer sometime during the Queen's annual stay at the Castle.
The center of the card features a lovely message:
"Life is such a celebration. Wishing you Joy & sparkles at this time." The signatures of the York family are in gold and embossed onto the card. The signatures are the same ones used on past Christmas cards, except for Jack's which was copied from
Eugenie & Jack's wedding reply.
The inside of the card also features a photo of Princess Eugneie & Princess Beatrice at the Serpentine Summer party in June. The photograph was taken by David M. Benett.
It is interesting to see that for the 2nd year in the row, Sarah is not included in any of the photos.
I assume Andrew is always paying for the Christmas cards, which is why they feature his badge on the front and envelope and why he is always featured predominately.
It's also interesting to see the York's Christmas cards year to year, as they vary slightly in size and style.
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| The York Family Christmas Cards: 2016, 2017 & 2018. All tri-folds |
Included with the York Christmas Card was a leaflet for Street Child UK, one of Sarah's patronages. Sarah founded the charity, Children in Crisis in 1993. It merged with Street Child UK earlier this year. Sarah serves as Street Child UK's Founder Patron. Eugenie & Beatrice, who had been ambassadors of Children in Crisis, have continued on as ambassadors of Street Child UK.
I had mentioned Sarah's work with Street Children UK and it's merger with Children in Crisis in my Christmas letter to Sarah, which is why this was included.
The front of the leaflet says:
Count Me In
Give before 21st Feb 2019 and public donations to Street Child's 'Count Me In" campaign will be matched by the UK government.
The back of the leaflet says:
Count Me In
There are 121 Million school-aged children around the world who are not in education. That's not acceptable. Millions more are not in school but failing to learn because the resources simply aren't good enough.
We won't stand by and let this continue.
At Street Child, we are fighting for a world where it is seen as unacceptable for a child not to be in education.
Street Child provides simple and sustainable solutions such as paying school fees, buying uniforms and learning materials, training teachers, refurbishing classrooms and building schools to ensure that children have access to education.
By providing more children with access to a quality education we give them better life chances through employment opportunities, better health and we empower girls to have a voice in decisions that affect their life.
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