The Wessexs - 20th Anniversary Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Edward & Countess Sophie last month for their 20th wedding anniversary.

This was a wonderful surprise. The Wessexs very rare reply. It seems like their office just picks out a few letters & cards for each occasion to reply to. So, I was not expecting anything. This is my 3rd reply from the couple.

The front of the envelope looks very different than most of the replies you see from the UK Royals. The main reason is the Wessexs's mail isn't processed through the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. So, their mail doesn't feature that postmark. (For more on the Court Post Office, and different UK postmarks.)

Unlike other UK Royals, The Wessexs's mail isn't sent to their office in London. Instead, letters to the couple should be addressed to their home, Bagshot Park, where they have staff there to answer them.

This postmark has been used in the past for various royal residences, which is why it is not specific to Bagshot Park.

What is interesting is the postmark still feature's the old royal PPI (Printed Postal Impression) number W7047. The Royals changed the number in March to W4047, which is why they redesigned a number of their postmarks, including the one for the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. I expect they will update this postmark eventually. But, it's understandable that they would be a few months behind.

The back of the envelope features Prince Edward & Countess Sophie's joint coat of arm, along with the name of their residence, Bagshot Park. This envelope is used for both joint things from the couple, and solo letter sent on behalf of one of them.

In the envelope is a simple letter written by Jackie Phipps, their Secretarial Assistant.  

The letter reads: 

Bagshot Park 

05 July 2019 

Dear Miss Daly 

The Earl and Countess of Wessex thought it very kind of you to write to them on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary. 

 Although unable to reply personally, Their Royal Highnesses send you their best wishes,  

Jackie Phipps

Household of TRH the Earl and Countess of Wessex

The bottom of the letter features the address for Bagshot Park, which is what you want to use if you write to them. There is also a telephone and fax number. 

Wessex Family Replies - Main Page

Here are my replies for Prince Edward & Countess Sophie, AKA the Earl & Countess of Wessex. 

Their office very rarely replies to letters. So, while I've written to them a number of times over the years, I've only gotten a few replies. 

2019

• Edward & Sophie's 20th wedding anniversary

2018

• Edward & Sophie - Christmas (2017)

2017

• Sophie - DofE Diamond Awards Challange (Email)
• Edward - Birthday (Hand-written letter by Private Secretary)

2016-2015

• None

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Princess Charlotte of Cambridge - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince William & Duchess Kate for Princess Charlotte's birthday.

The envelope is usual from the British Royals.

The back of the envelope features the black crown/Kensington Palace that is used by the Cambridges.

Inside is a letter and a postcard-sized photocard.

The photocard features a lovely photo of Princess Charlotte taken by Duchess Kate. This is from the
set of official photos that were released for Charlotte's birthday.

The back of the card features the usual sort of message. It is similar to past years, but they change it up slightly every year. The top of the card features the black crown/Kensington Palace. This was added to the Cambridge & Sussexs cards in January, so this is the first time we've seen it on Princess Charlotte's birthday reply. 

The card reads:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appreciated your kind thought in writing to Princess Charlotte as you did on the occasion of her fourth birthday.  

This was greatly appreciated by Their Royal Highnesses who send you their best wishes.

Included with the card is a letter from Claudia Spens, head of the correspondence section at Clarence House. In my birthday letter to Princess Charlotte, I had also sent my congratulations to Duchess Kate on being appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order by the Queen. I had sent my anniversary wishes to the Cambridges in my birthday letter for Prince Louis, and received a letter in reply. But as I had written & sent that letter before their anniversary, when this honor was announced, I wasn't able to include my congratulations to Kate for her Royal Victorian Order.

The letter reads:

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked me to thank you for your kind letter of 2nd.  

Their Royal Highnesses are grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did and were touched by your kind words of support regarding Her Royal Highness's recent appointment as Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). It really was most thoughtful of you. You may be interested to know that the order of chivalry was established in 1896 by Queen Victoria to recognise personal service to the monarch. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked me to send you their warmest thanks and best wishes.  

Yours sincerely,  

Claudia Spens

---

Clarence House's annual report reveals that they received 123,303 letters/cards from well-wishers from April 2018-March 2019.  (Clarence House answers all of Charles, Camilla, The Cambridges & Sussexs mail.) This is a big increase from previous years:

2018-2019:   123,303
2017-2018:   53,716
2016-2017:   39,783
2015-2016:   43,036

To deal with the increase in mail, Clarence House has hired more staff for their Correspondence Section. They now have equal to 5.0 full-time staff members.

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Prince Philip - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Philip earlier this month to wish him a happy 98th birthday.

The front of the envelope is the usual from the British Royals. One interesting thing is my address is printed on a label, instead of straight on the envelope. This is often a sign of a form reply. It allows them to prepare replies in bulk, with form letters in unaddressed envelopes. They can then print out batches of labels as they go through the letters and cards from well-wishers.

The back of the envelope features Prince Philip's badge. There has been some discussion about what exactly this thing is called, as it is not a monogram, cypher or coat of arms. And I can confirm that this is called a "badge." I found an article on the old Royal website where they refer to it as a badge. 

In the center of the badge is Edinburgh Castle. It is surrounded by the Order of Garter belt and topped with a coronet. 

Inside the envelope is a form letter. Pretty much everyone who wrote for Philip's birthday got the same thing.

The letter is from Mrs. Suzy Lethbridge, Prince Philip's correspondence secretary. The signature is printed on the letter. Everyone who received this form letter had the same signature.

But it is not the same signature as past replies (e.g. Philip's birthday last year). It looks like, each time they create a new form letter, Mrs. Lethbridge creates a new copy of her signature. This is done to make harder to tell the signature isn't real. If I compare this letter with other replies I received, the signatures are all slightly different, which usually means it's real.  But when I compare my reply with other people's, for both this birthday & past events, I can see the form letters for each occasion use the same signatures.

The letter reads: 

Buckingham Palace

June, 2019

Prince Philip is most grateful for your message of good wishes for his birthday.  

Suzy Lethbridge 

Correspondence Secretary to 

H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh

The bottom of Prince Philip's stationery has the address, telephone number and fax number for Buckingham Palace. The numbers are general for the Palace, not specific for Prince Philip's office. 

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Queen Mathilde of Belgium - Birthday Reply (2019)

I received this reply way back in March, but because I was really busy at the time, I never posted it. I had written to Queen Mathilde of Belgium in February for her birthday.

The front of the envelope is pretty usual for the Belgium Royals. They have they have a lot of different ones that they use, but this one is pretty common. The front features a Palace of Brussels underneath.

Inside is a typed card & a photo of Queen Mathilde.

The photo was taken at Castle of Laeken, the King & Queen's residence. The [Royal] Palace of Brussels is a working palace where they have their offices.

The card is the usual from Queen Mathilde.

The card reads:

Palais fo Brussels

Her Majesty The Queen thank you wholeheartedly for the wishes you have addressed to her on the occasion of her birthday.

The kind words you have expressed greatly her heart.

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The Cambridges - Louis's birthday & 8th Wedding Anniversary (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written in April for Prince Louis's 1st birthday. As Prince William & Duchess Kate's anniversary was only a few days after, I, of course, mentioned it in my letter.

The front of the envelope is the usual from the British royals.

The back of the envelope features the usual black Crown/ Kensington Palace that is currently being used by the Cambridges & Sussexs. No word on when the Sussexs will update their stationery to reflect their office move to Buckingham Palace. But I would expect the Cambridges will likely keep this stationary. At least for now.

Inside is a photocard & letter. The photocard is for Prince Louis's birthday. The front features the photo of Prince Louis that was released for his birthday. The photo was taken by Duchess Kate at Amner Hall. 

The back of the card features the usual sort of message. I must say the card redesign, that debuted earlier this year, is growing on me. I do like the addition of the black crown/Kensington Palace at the top. But the message doesn't seem as formal as before. 

The card says: 

Kensington Palace 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are most grateful for the thoughtful message you sent to Prince Louis on the occasion of his first birthday. 

It really was kind of you and greatly appreciated. 

Included with the card is a letter from Claudia Spens, Head of the Correspondence Section at Clarence House. Like the letter for Archie's birth, the "From" line on the letter has been changed to reflect the Cambridge/Sussex household split. Previously, it said "The Office of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex."

The letter says:

From: Miss Claudia Spens M.V.O.The Office of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 

6th June, 2019 

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked me to thank you for your letter of 22nd April, and kind message which you have sent on the occasion of their eight Wedding Anniversary.  

Their Royal Highnesses are most grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did. The Duke of Cambridge was particularly touched by your kind words of support following his poignant visit to Christchurch in New Zealand. His Royal Highness was moved by the strength and courage of the people of Christchurch in the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack.  

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge greatly appreciated your good wishes which you have sent on the occasion of Prince Louis's first birthday and have asked me to send you the enclosed photograph along with their warmest thanks and very best wishes.  

Yours Sincerely,  

Claudia Spens

It is always very touching to get a personal letter. I especially like the mention of Prince William being "moved by the strength and courage of the people of Christchurch." As William was visiting New Zealand in a few days, I had wished him a productive trip. I, like the rest of the world, was deeply shocked and saddened by the attack at the mosque in Christchurch. And, I was glad to see William was going to be meeting with those affected by the attack. So, I had mentioned that in my letter.

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Queen Elizabeth - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to The Queen in April to wish her a happy 93rd birthday.

The envelope is the usual from the British Royals. This is my first reply from the Queen since the postmark changed. This new postmark is growing on me. I like that the crown is bigger and the "EIIR" is a little clearer.

The back of the envelope features the Queen's coat of arms.

Inside is a form letter thanking me for my birthday and Easter wishes. I don't normally write for Easter, but as it fell on the Queen's birthday this year, I mentioned it in my letter.

The letter reads: 

The Queen thanks you for the message you sent for Easter and on the occasion of Her Majesty's ninety-third birthday.  

The Queen is most grateful for your kind words and your thoughtfulness in writing as you did at this time.  

2019

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