Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein - Christmas Reply (2016)

Today, my first Royal Christmas reply of 2016 came! This was a pretty quick reply. It helps that I wrote early when they weren't swamped with Christmas Wishes. Don't expect this good luck, even if you wrote to Liechtenstein around the same time as me. Remember it takes a while for them to reply to everyone so you could get your's weeks apart from someone else.

I had sent my letter to Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein on November 20th, so it took just over 2 weeks to get a reply. It is very lovely. The card is the same style as one I received for Princess Sophie's Birthday. But, obviously, a different typed message.

  

The message is in German, Liechtenstein's official language. The card reads:

Dear Miss Daly 

Blessed Christmas and all the best in the New Year 

Sophie Liechtenstein Alois Liechtenstein

The signature of Princess Sophie and Prince Alois are printed on. It looks like a secretary filled in the "Dear Miss Daly,"

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Prince Charles - Birthday Reply (2016)

Just as I was fretting about getting all my Christmas Letters written in time, this lovely piece of royal mail arrived in my mailbox yesterday.

I could immediately tell that this was from Prince Charles by the red Prince of Wales' Feathers on the back of the envelope. (They also appear on the top of the letter.)

I had written to Prince Charles for his 68th birthday last month. Usually, Clarence House responds with a photo with a typed message on the back. It's a generic birthday thank you, they send out to everyone.

But this year I received a very nice and personal letter from Miss Claudia Spens. (I know other people received the usual photo reply.)

The letter reads:

Dear Miss Daly, 

The Prince of Wales has asked me to thank you for your letter of 3rd November.  

His Royal Highness was grateful for your wonderful words of support and he greatly appreciated the generous nature of your comments regarding Poundbury. This really was most thoughtful of you.  

The Prince of Wales thoroughly enjoyed his recent tour of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. His Royal Highness was overwhelmed by the warm reception and wonderful welcome he received throughout his visit and he appreciated your good wishes.  

The Prince of Wales was touched that you should take the trouble to write as you did. His Royal Highness was heartened by your greetings on the occasion of his 68th birthday and has asked me to send you his sincerest thanks and very best wishes.  

Yours sincerely, 

Claudia Spens

I really liked that the letter mentioned all the things I talked about in my birthday letter to Charles. Often letters can be kind of vague, "Thank you for your kind wishes," but this mentions specifically what I wrote about.

I also think this is one of the longest letters I have received from a royal.

I sent my letter on November 3rd. This came December 1st, so it took just under a month.

https://gertsroyalreplies.blogspot.com/p/replies.html

Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein - Birthday reply (2016)

 I was quite excited to come home from a holiday break to find a piece of royal mail waiting for me. It was even more exciting to see that it was from Liechtenstein. This is the first reply I have gotten from Liechtenstein, in reply to the first letter I sent them. I sent my 2nd letter to them just a little bit ago for Christmas. 

I had written in October for Hereditary Princess Sophie's birthday. Hereditary Prince/ss means the same thing as Crown Prince/ss; different countries use different titles. Some countries use neither and have a special title to denote the heir instead (e.g. Prince of Wales, Princess of Asturias, etc.).

The envelope is lovely. It reminds me a lot of Luxembourg's envelopes. It has a simple front, with a postmark and actual stamp, and on the back is the royal's address. 

Of course, the excitement of getting mail from Liechtenstein was doubled when I saw what was inside. 

Inside is a very lovely note. It's gorgeous. I especially love the edges and the embossed coat of arms. (You see a lot of embossed coats of arms on royal mail, but this is nicest I've seen. The paper is really nice and thick, so the coat of armed is raised quite a bit.)

It looks like the card is a pre-made thank you card, with "Many thanks for your kind wishes" pre-printed on it. They then added the mention of her birthday, before Princess Sophie signed it.

I really like how they have this basic card they can use for anything that they were then able to personalize. It certainly must make their life earlier.

Princess Sophie wrote: "Dear Miss Daly" & "Sophie Liechtenstein"

I think this reply is definitely in my top 10.

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Queen's 90th Birthday Reply (2016)

Over the years many of you have come to me worried about not having received a reply yet. My response to you has usually been, "You just need to be Patient. It will come; you just need to give it time." And this reply has certainly tested my patience.

I had written Queen Elizabeth II 7 months ago, in honor of her 90th Birthday in April, and today I finally received my reply. It has been a long wait. It started when a friend received his reply, postmarked The Queen's Birthday from Windsor Castle. I remembering thinking, they are really on top of things, and surely my reply can't be too far off.

Well, after the longest response time I've ever had, here it is. Unlike the Queen's usual responses, this is a card (accompanied by a note, apologizing for the delay).

The front of the card features the Queen's Royal Cypher, EIIR, which stands for Elizabeth II Regina. (Regina is Latin for Queen.)

The cards says: 

Buckingham Palace

I send you my grateful thanks for the kind words you have sent to me on the occasion of my ninetieth birthday. 

Elizabeth R

2016

The photo on the inside of the card was released last year to mark the Queen becoming Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch.

This Mary McCartney photograph has been released to mark The Queen becoming the longest reigning British Monarch pic.twitter.com/ZrsUlIsB7n

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 9, 2015

With the card was a little note apologizing for the delay. 



The note says: 

Buckingham Palace 

The Queen hopes you will understand that, because of the enormous number of letters, cards and messages she has received in the last few months, it has not been possible to reply to you until now. 

It's a very lovely reply and certainly worth the wait!

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Queen Paola of Belgium - Birthday Reply (2016)

This arrived yesterday from Belgium. I had written to Queen Paola (King Philippe's mother) last month for her 79th birthday.

The reply came in a very beautiful envelope. The back has her address on the sides in French and Dutch, and the name of the Castle where she lives with her husband, Chateau du Belvedere.

What is most special about the envelope is the inside has this purple tissue paper. I think this is definitely one of my favorite envelopes.

Purple, as you know, is the color of royalty (in certain parts of the world) and Paola uses it for her Royal Cypher. Some of you will complain that this color isn't purple, it's too red. But, did you know what is considered the color purple is different in various parts of the world?

Inside is a typed note, in French. The signature and date are printed on. Queen Paola would have hand-signed one copy, that was then scanned and printed on all the cards.

The message translates to:

Thank you for your kind wishes sent on the occasion of my birthday. 

Your attention really touched me.

Paola 11.9.2016 

The date is her birthday, 11th September. The 9 is written in Roman Numerals.

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Prince Harry - Birthday Reply (2016)

A lovely reply arrived today from Clarence House. Yes, the envelope and stationary say Kensington Palace, and the Cambridge/Harry office is at Kensington Palace. But their mail is handled by Prince Charles's office at Clarence House.

Claudia Spens works for Clarence House, as head of their Correspondence Section.

I had written to Prince Harry earlier this month for his 32nd Birthday. The reply arrived 2.5 weeks after I sent my letter, which is a quicker response time than Harry's birthday reply in 2015 & 2014.

Typically, Clarence House sends out a postcard size photo with a typed message on the back for birthdays. This year I got a letter instead. I have seen many people get the typical postcard-sized photo with message this year. It features the same photo as last year's reply with a similar message.

The letter reads:

Dear Miss Daly,  

Prince Harry has asked me to thank you for your letter of 9th September. It was so kind of you to take the trouble to write as you did and His Royal Highness greatly appreciated your kind wishes on the occasion of his 32nd birthday.  

Prince Harry has also asked me to thank you for your thoughtful and generous words of support for all he does to help the many charities and causes he so passionately cares about. His Royal Highness asked me to send you his warmest thanks and best wishes.  

Yours Sincerely,  

Claudia Spens

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Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg - Pregnancy Announcement (2016)

I love getting Royal Mail, and it's especially nice during the long wait of a royal tour.

I had written to Princess Claire and Prince Félix of Luxembourg in July when they announced they were expecting their 2nd child, this Autumn. We haven't been given any more specifics about the baby or the due date (October or late November seems likely).

This reply came 2.5 months later.

The envelope is typical for Luxembourg. The lovely stamp was created by Mariepol Goetzinger, and released in September 2015 as part of a set to celebrate Luxembourg's bio-diversity.

The postmark celebrates the anniversaries of two Museums: the Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art's 10th Anniversary (MUDAM) & Casino Luxembourg's 20th Anniversary.

Inside is a very simple card, typical of what you see from the Luxembourg Royals. A bit interesting that the card doesn't mention why I wrote to the couple.

The card reads:

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg were so touched by your kind message. They thank you very much. 

Luxembourg, September 2016 

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Princess Beatrice - Birthday Reply (2016)

Quite excited to receive this reply over the weekend.

I wrote to Princess Beatrice early last month for her 28th Birthday. This reply came about a month later, which makes it a few weeks earlier than last year's birthday reply.

The envelope is the usual from the British Royals with Prince Andrew's badge on the back. What is a bit unusual is the Royal Mail's postmark (in black). Usually, letters from the British Royals just feature their red postmark (w/ EIIR and Buckingham Palace). This red postmark is used by all the London-based royal offices.

The black Royal Mail postmark reads the ‘Royal Mail proud to support Stroke Association.’ Stroke Association is the Royal Mail's charity partner and their "Charity of the Year" for September 2014-September 2016. This postmark is used over that two year period to raise awareness for the cause. 

The Queen is Patron of Stroke Association and the Duke of Kent is President. 

The second part of the postmark reads "Royal Mail, Mount Pleasant Mail Centre." The Mount Pleasant Mail Centre is in London and use to be one of the world's largest sorting offices.

The letter is the typical reply from Prince Andrew's Office. The letter was written by Andrew's Private Secretary, Amanda Thirsk, and is hand-signed.

The letter reads:

Buckingham Palace

30th August, 2016

Dear Miss Daly,  

Princess Beatrice has asked me to thank you for your kind letter dated 5th August, 2016. Her Royal Highness was very grateful for the Birthday message.  

Princess Beatrice sends you her best wishes.  

Yours Sincerely,  

Amanda Thirsk LVO

Private Secretary to The Duke of York

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Prince George 3rd Birthday Reply (2016)

 

This arrived today! I had written to the Cambridges last month for Prince George's 3rd birthday, and received this lovely card in reply. It's their typical response, postcard size photo with typed message on back.

The picture on the front was a part of the set released for Prince George's birthday. It was taken at Anmer Hall. This is the first time George's birthday response has used one of the photos released for his birthday. Usually the Cambridges use an earlier photo, so they can get the card printed ahead of time.

The message on the back is the same as the ones for George's 1st and 2nd birthday.

The card says: 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are most grateful for the very kind message you sent to Prince George on the occasion of his third birthday. 

It really was most thoughtful of you and greatly appreciated. 

George's birthday replies are always very special to me, cause the first time I wrote to the royals was Prince George's 1st birthday. So, Gert's Royals is now entering it's 3rd year of letter writing.

The back of the Envelope features a Black Crown with Kensington Palace written underneath. (The crown in the same one used in William, Catherine & Harry's Monograms.) We have been seeing this monogram get used more and more by Kensington Palace, usually for joint mail.

The British Royals don't usually do joint monograms, like you see with other royals. Instead they use the monogram of the more senior royal.

So this "new" black monogram is nice in that it can be used for joint things from the 3 royals or 2 of them. It's not exactly new, I remember seeing a few things with this years ago when their office was still at St. James Palace. But we've seen it on a number of royal letters now, and in official things. I think this is here to stay, and we will see a lot more of it.

The Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry have sent this message to @TeamGB #Rio2016 #BringOnTheGreat pic.twitter.com/QvGC2BqL2c

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 22, 2016

Duchess Camilla - Birthday Reply (2016)

A very exciting piece of royal mail arrived today. from the UK.

It was from Duchess Camilla, thanking me for the Birthday wishes I sent her. The card is similar to last year's birthday reply, a picture with a typed message on the back, which she hand-signed. The card is double the size of the typical Cambridge/Harry reply.

The picture is from October 2015, when Camilla attended the Man Booker Prize Award Ceremony. Camilla presented the award to the winner and gave a Speech.

The Man Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded to the best new novel, written in English and published in the UK. The Prize is awarded every year.

The name, Man Booker, comes from the award's founder & sponsors. The award was founded and sponsored in 1968, by the company Booker, McConnell Ltd (a food distributor). It was originally called the Booker–McConnell Prize. Over time the award became know, as simply, the Booker Prize. 

In 2002, the Booker Prize broke off from Booker, McConnell Ltd, and started its own foundation, The Booker Prize Foundation. The Man group (an investment firm) became the Prize's new sponsor, and the award was renamed the Man Booker Prize. 

Camilla is a big supporter of literacy and is Parton of a number of organizations that support literacy. 

Camilla has attended the Man Booker Prize, every year as of late, and it is one of Camilla's favorite events. No surprise that a book lover like Camilla would choose something literary-themed for her birthday card. 

By pure coincidence, I actually talked about some of Camilla's work with literacy in my Birthday letter to her, particularly the Roald Dahl 100th Anniversary.  

The back of the card is particularly special as well.  The message reads:

Dear Gertrude, 

Thank you very much for your kind message on my birthday. It seems to come round faster every year.

With best wishes, 

Camilla

I love the playfulness of the line: "It [Camilla's Birthday] seems to come round faster every year!" You also have to appreciate that Camilla took the time to hand-sign each card, and write the person's name. 

The envelope looks like the normal royal mail. Since this was something that Camilla hand-signed, it was sent by registered mail. 

What is very very very interesting is, the letter was sent to my old address. I moved in February, long before I sent my letter for Camilla's birthday. I was able to check since I had typed them on my computer, both the letter and the envelope used my new address. So if you had just looked at what I sent, they would not have my old address. 

This tells me Camilla's office stores people's address on their computer (which if you have to print them on the envelope each time they reply makes sense). So when they typed in my name, my old address came up. 

The blue monogram on the back of the envelope tells us that this was sent from Clarence House. 

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Prince Philip - Birthday Reply (2016)

This arrived over the weekend.

I had written to Prince Philip, in June, for his 95th Birthday.

The reply is almost exactly the same as last year's birthday Reply & written by the same person, Captain Frederick Moynan.

Captain Moynan is an Assistant Equerry for Prince Philip. Equerry's are Officers in the Armed Forces who serve in a Royal's household for a 2 year period. Equerries often help coordinate engagements, travel, etc. The position rotates through the different branches of the Armed Forces every 2 years. (Should not be confused with the Crown Equerry, who is in charge of the Horses at the Royal Mews.)

I would expect next year's reply will be written by someone else as Captain Moynan will likely have finished his time serving in Prince Philip's household.

It took the Palace a little longer to send the birthday reply this year, as would be expected given that this was a milestone birthday. But this is still a very good response time!

  

The telephone number and fax are the general numbers for Buckingham Palace.

You will notice that the letter referred to him as Prince Philip. Phillip's replies are the only ones I have seen from the British Royals who uses the royal's name.

The Palace almost always refer to the royal by their title. This is why since his wedding Prince William has always been referred to as Duke of Cambridge and never Prince William by the Palace. This is the same reason why the Palace calls her Duchess of Cambridge and never Princess Catherine. They do the same with the other Prince and Princesses: It is always Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex, Duke of Kent, etc. and never Prince Charles, Princess Camilla, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince Edward, etc.

(Harry, George, Charlotte don't have titles of their own, so they always use their name.)

Since I know people will ask: No, I haven't gotten a reply for the Queen's 90th Birthday. Buckingham Palace has been very busy, but working hard. I keep seeing somebody get a reply every week or so, so they are working on it.

Prince Philip's mail and the Queen's mail are dealt with by different offices at Buckingham Palace, so don't read anything into Philip's reply arriving first.

Prince William - Birthday Reply (2016)

 The Envelope:

From the front of the envelope, we can tell that this letter is from one of the British Royals. The postmark "Buckingham Palace" is used on almost all royal mail, regardless of what residence it is sent from. We have even seen it on mail from Scotland. (Buckingham Palace on the postmark just refers to the post office where the letters were stamped/franked.)

With the British Royals, you can usually tell who the letter is from by the monogram on the back of the envelope. The back of this envelope has a black crown with the words "Kensington Palace" written underneath.

As you may know, the Cambridge-Harry office is at Kensington Palace. But a bunch of other royals live there and have their office there as well. Part of Kensington Palace is also a museum, a public garden, and spaces that can be rented out for events. So Kensington Palace could mean a lot of things, not just the Cambridge-Harry Office.

I have never gotten a piece of mail with this monogram on the back, although I do recognise it.

The Royals all use different monograms, but a sharp eye will notice that William, Catherine and Harry's Monograms all use the same crown. And that it is the same crown used on this envelope.  That means this letter has to be from one of them. We have seen this smilar design used years ago, when their office was at St. James.

The Letter:

The letter inside is in reply to my Birthday Letter to Prince William.

This is a personalized letter. It mentions specific things about my letter: my comments on his work with mental health charities, his birthday and Charlotte's birthday.

I love the phrase "Generous Nature"! I talked in my letter about William's work on mental health, & specifically his new Anti-bullying campaign. I also talked more generally about William, Catherine and Harry's work.

Normally I don't like to go into what exactly I wrote, but I found a copy of my letter in my laptop and was looking over it as I wrote this blog post. And because this part was really cute I thought I would share it with you:

"... I would like to point out that your “Dad” is totally showing. I can’t help but look at these causes, and the other ones you and Catherine support and think about Prince George and Princess Charlotte. It seems quite obvious that you are doing this, in part,  for your own children and their future..."

I did briefly mention Charlotte's birthday in my letter because I was a little sad I didn't get the birthday photo reply everyone else got. I had written to the Cambridges for their 5th Anniversary/Charlotte's 1st Birthday, but the reply I got was just for their 5th Wedding Anniversary. And a part of me was hoping if I mentioned her birthday, they might include Charlotte's birthday photo reply with William's birthday photo reply.

Obviously, this is not the typical photo reply we see from the Cambridges

I know other people have gotten the usual photo birthday reply for Prince William's Birthday this year. They said it is the same as last years.

For any event, there are always letters that get replied to more personally. Obviously, there are a lot of factors that go into who gets a more personal reply and who gets the generic reply. Part of it is just luck. They can't personally reply to everyone, even if they get a bunch of amazing, thoughtful letters.

But the short answer is: if the generic reply is the appropriate response, that is what they send. If the generic reply would not be the appropriate response, or if they think the letter deserves a more personal response, then they send a personal response.

My advice is to always make your letter a bit personal. Don't just mention general things, like the Royal does great work and that it is important, mention specifics. Another little except from my letter:

"[Talk about William, Catherine & Harry's work, then] ...What I especially admire is your new Anti-Bullying task-force and the Head Start campaign. They both seem like incredible projects. And although they are obviously relevant for all ages, they are very important for young adults.... [I then went on to talk about young adults and mental health]."

If you want a personal letter that was meant for you, write a personal letter that could only be written by you.

Why "Kensington Palace" Stationary?

I feel like this should have been written on Prince William's red "W" stationary. It is a little odd that it is not. I have gotten a reply from Claudia Spens on Prince William's red "W" stationary & Harry's blue "H", and I feel like this reply and those are similar. So, black "Kensington Palace" stationary is interesting.

(Update: They have since used the Black Kensington Palace stationary more often. I think most of the letters from Clarence House's correspondence section use it now. And we will mainly see William's red "W", Kate's yellow "C" for Catherine, and Harry's blue "H" on letters from their private secretary.)  

We have gotten a few replies written from Miss Spens before, and you can see the differences:
(Notice the name of the office)

Claudia Spens works for Clarence House, in the Correspondence Section. The Correspondence Section at Clarence House handles all the mail for Charles, Camilla, The Cambridges & Harry. Unless your lucky enough to get something from a Private Secretary.

Miss Spens and the other people in the Correspondence Section are the ones sending out the typical photo replies.

Even though the letter is sent from Clarence House, they use the Royal's Stationary. William's stationary says Kensington Palace, since that is where his office/residence is. The name of the office changes as well (Office of Charles & Camilla vs. Cambridges & Harry), despite the fact that Miss Spens is always working at Clarence House.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark - Birthday Reply (2016)

 A new piece of Royal Mail! This time from Denmark.

I had written for Crown Prince Frederik's 48th birthday in May. The Crown Prince Couple always send the same very basic replies, so there isn't much to say.




The reply was sent last month, and took almost month to arrive. The Crown Prince Couple are the only royals I know who send mail economy, which means it can take awhile for it to arrive.



What is interesting about the reply is the half-circle hole that was made at the bottom of the envelope and card. I assume this was made sometime during the mailing process, but I don't know if it was intentional or the envelope just got caught on some machine used in the mailing process.

More Replies from Crown Prince Couple 

Prince Albert & Princess Charlene of Monaco - 5th Anniversary Reply (2016)

This arrived while I was on holiday.

I had written to Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco to congratulate them on their 5th wedding anniversary, which is July 1st/2nd (Civil/Religious). I had written much earlier than I normally do because I had gotten June and July mixed up. Surprisingly this arrived well before their actual anniversary.

The front of the envelope looks like typical mail from Monaco.

The stamp is for the 150th Anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union. It was released in May 2015. The postmark is for Jardin Exotique de Monaco (Exotic Garden of Monaco).

Two interesting about this envelope: (1) No monogram on the back. (2) The envelope is not as nice quality as we normally see from Monaco. It is hard to tell from the picture, but you can definitely feel and see the difference in person. Monaco envelopes usually vary in color (white, cream, etc) and have different textures, but they are very nice quality. This envelope is a very basic envelope.

Many Royals use basic envelopes with little/no adornment, which is fine. It's just surprising for Monaco. Their Royal Family has a long history of being Stamp Collectors (Philatelist). There is a Royal Stamp Collection museum, and every stamp & postmark that Monaco uses has been approved by the Prince for generations. So, obviously, mail is an important thing for the Royal Family. They take great care & pride in it. (I have long considered them to send the nicest replies out of all the royals).

Another interesting thing about the reply is that it is a letter. Normally they send a pre-typed card for the occasion. (Which are always very lovely, on very nice quality cardstock.

Letter replies are usually sent, when they don't have a pre-made card (either because they didn't make one for that occasion, or you wrote too early or late).

The letter was written by Christine Sprile, one of Prince Albert's Secretary, and is fairly short, printed on nice paper. You will notice they took care to put the text between the two folds.

The letter says: 

Dear Ms Daly,  

TT.SS.HH Prince Albert II & Princess Charlene asked me to thank you most sincerely for your kind wishes sent on the occasion of Their fifth wedding anniversary.  

Your thoughtfulness has been greatly appreciated by Their Serene Highnesses. 

With all my best regards,  

Christine Sprile

What is interesting is the date on the letter, July 4th, which is next week. (Obviously not when the letter was written.) Sometimes replies are dated with the date of the event, but their wedding anniversary is on July 1st/2nd, not 4th. This letter was also written too late for it to be a June/July mistake, where they had meant to write June 4th.

The red print on the top of the page reads "La Secrétaire Particuliére De S.A.S. Le Prince Souverain De Monaco" which translated mean "The Private Secretary of His Serene Highness, the Sovereign Prince Of Monaco."

TT.SS.HH. means Their Serene Highnesses. I'm not really sure why they write each letter twice since TSH (Their Serene Highnesses) is already the plural of HSH (His/Her Serene Highness). But they do it in French as well, writing LL.AA.SS (Leurs Altesses Sérénissimes), which is plural of S.A.S. (Son Altesse Sérénissime). Monaco and Luxembourg are the only Royal countries I have seen do this.

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Prince William & Duchess Kate - 5th Wedding Anniversary Reply (2016)

This arrived on Friday. I had written to the Cambridges for their 5th wedding anniversary and Princess Charlotte's 1st Birthday.

A month and a half later, this arrived. It is the Cambridges' usual picture reply.

The picture certainly surprised me. This is the 1st time, I've gotten a photo that hadn't been released to the public. This is unusual, as we usually get a picture from an official engagement or some official photo that was released.

The photo was taken by Chris Jelf. He was the photographer behind the Cambridge's Christmas Photo taken last October.

The message is what we typically see.

The card reads:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were so touched that you took the trouble to write as you did on the occasion of their 5th Wedding Anniversary. 

It really was most thoughtful of you and Their Royal Highnesses send you their warmest thanks and best wishes. 

My letter for the Cambridge's 5th wedding anniversary was also for Princess Charlotte's 1st Birthday. I had hoped to find two cards in the letter, one for each event. But no.

I'm hoping that Princess Charlotte's Birthday reply might come separately. But it could be whoever was answering the mail only glanced over my letter and didn't see the part about Princess Charlotte's Birthday.

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King Harald of Norway - Birthday Reply (2016)

Today, I received a reply from King Harald of Norway. I had written to him in February for his 79th birthday. 

The envelope is the usual from the Norway Royals. "Det Kongelige Hoff" in the bottom corner is Norwegian for "The Royal Court."  The envelope is postmarked 16 April, just under two months after his birthday.

The letter looks exactly like the other letter I had received from Queen Sonja for her birthday last year. The letter is printed on a half-size sheet of paper. 

The letter reads:
Dear Miss Daly, 

H.M. The King has asked me to thank you for your friendly letter which His Majesty has been very pleased to receive. 

Yours sincerely, 

Åse-Marie Berg
Palace's Royal Secretariats

The letter is nice, but it doesn't mention why I wrote, which confused me. I had sent three letters over the last few months to the Norway Royals (Christmas, Silver Jubilee in January, and King Harald's 79th Birthday in February) and this was the only reply I've received. I was able to figure out that this was in reply to my birthday letter since I had moved in late January, and the birthday reply was the only one that used my new address.

The words "friendly letter" made me smile. Usually, they just write "your letter" or thank you for your "kind wishes."

The letter is hand signed by Åse-Marie Berg, who is one of the Palace's Royal Secretariats. Royal Secretariat is a department in the Royal Household that organizes engagements, responds to invitations, answers mail, etc. Should not be confused with a Private Secretary.

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King Philippe of Belgium - Birthday Reply (2016)

So I must admit I was utterly puzzled when I arrived home today and found two envelopes from the Belgium Royal Palace waiting for me. I could remember one recent letter I had written, but I could not for the life of me remember the 2nd letter.

Sheepishly, I opened the two envelopes to see what I had forgotten and found that it wasn't my mistake, it was the Palace's. For some reason, they sent me two copies of the same letter. They are exactly the same, except for the small differences of two hand-signatures.

I had written for King Philippe's 56th birthday, on April 15th. But had also expressed my sympathies for the recent attack in Brussels.

The letter reads: 

Dear Miss Daly,  

I have been directed by Their Majesties the King and the Queen to acknowledge the receipt of your letter following the attacks in Belgium on March 22nd, 2016.  

The King and the Queen, deeply touched by your message of heartfelt sympathy, have asked me to convey to you Their warmest thanks for your deepest solidarity with the Belgian people and your pious thoughts.  

The King and The Queen have asked me to send you Their best wishes of health.  

Yours sincerely, 

Frans van Daele

Head of Cabinet of His Majesty the King

This is the first time I have ever received a letter from the Belgium Royals, previously I've just received cards. The letter makes no mention of the fact that I had written for the King's birthday. 

One thing I found very interesting was the letters and number on the top of the page, CC /MF /P 612.935. I have no idea what they mean. I assume they are some sort of way of documenting this letter. 

The letter was written by Frans Van Daele, the Head of the King's Cabinet. The reply came super fast, it was written about the same day it was received. 

As I said, I received two identical letters. But, one of the letters was accompanied by two pictures. (The other letter had no pictures.) 

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Prince Albert of Monaco - Birthday Reply (2016)

A lovely reply arrived from Prince Albert of Monaco. I had written for his Birthday in March.

The envelope looks exactly like you would expect from Monaco.

What got me really excited was the stamp.  Not just because I love Monaco's stamps, but because I mentioned the Lillehammer Youth Olympics in my letter to Prince Albert. So it was a lovely touch they used the Lillehammer stamp on the envelope. The stamp is from February, which is pretty recent. Monaco's stamps on replies aren't always that recent. So, I would like to think this stamp was used because I mentioned the Games in my letter.

Even though Monaco has zero Olympics medals and only 1 Youth Olympic medal, Prince Albert has always proudly supported and encouraged Monaco's athletes. Prince Albert flew to Norway in February to watch Monaco's one athlete competing in the Youth Olympic Games. And we, of course, expect to see him at the Rio Olympics this summer. (I'm thinking it will be unlikely Charlene and the twins, Gabriella and Jacques will join him. But you never know.) Currently, Monaco does not have any Athletes qualified for the Rio Olympics. But there is still time, and they haven't missed a Game since 1980.

Monaco is usually very predictable when it comes to sending replies. They usually send pre-made cards, DL sized (i.e. size of a normal envelope), on very nice quality paper, and often with the message in English & French. The reply will have the Royals' monogram (either engraved or embossed) and their signature printed on.

The message says: 

I would like to thank you warmly for your kind birthday wishes 

Albert de Monaco

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Crown Princess Mary of Denmark - Birthday Reply (2016)

Sorry for posting this late. I was a bit busy with the Easter Holidays and this is nothing we haven't seen before.

I wrote to Crown Princess Mary in February for her 44th birthday. A little over a month and a half latter, this arrived. The Crown Prince Couple's replies always look just like this. In fact this is identical to last year's Birthday reply.

The response time was the same as usual for this couple. They usually reply quite quickly, but since they sent the letter economy, it took forever to arrive.

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Duchess Kate - Birthday Reply (2016)

Today, I received a reply to the letter I wrote to Duchess Kate for her Birthday in January! The reply was sent a little over a month after her birthday, which is a great response time.

The envelope looked just like the usual. But what was most interesting is it came in an envelope with William's monogram on the back. Kate's mail usually comes in envelopes with her Golden monogram. So, this was either a simple mistake, or they ran out of her envelopes.



If the card looks at all familiar it's because it is. This is the exact same picture and message used for Kate's reply last year. There is no way to tell them apart. I was comparing the two, and I mixed them up. I was luckily able to figure out which was which, because one of them had gotten slightly dented in the mail, and I could match the dent with the dented envelope, which of course has a postmark on the date and different monograms.

The picture was taken by Arthur Edwards during the Cambridges visit to Only Connect's Head Office on 19th November 2013. Only Connect works with ex-offenders and young people at risk of offending to give them the skill, tools, and opportunities to develop and pursue their life goals in a productive way.

This is quite an old photo (26 months old), even old for last years reply (14 months old). Of all the photos I've gotten from various royals, Kate's birthday replies (and Duchess Sarah's) are the only ones I've gotten that have pictures over 6ish months old. Usually, the photos are fairly recent.

The card reads: 

The Duchess of Cambridge was touched that you took the trouble to write as you did on the occasion of her birthday. It really was most thoughtful of you and Her Royal Highness sends you her warmest thanks and best wishes. 

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Princess Charlene - Birthday Reply (2016)

Replies from Monaco are always one of my favorites!

One of the things you have to appreciate is the fact that they use actual stamps. Prince Albert's father really loved stamps. He oversaw the production of all of Monaco's stamps and opened the Museum of Stamps and Coins. (Monaco's two Princes before Albert's father were also big stamp collectors.)

This stamp features "La nymphe Salmacis," a work by Monaco sculptor François-Joseph Bosio (The nymph Salmacis - from Greek mythology). The stamp was released in April 2015.




An interesting thing about the envelope is the circle on the left side. All the letter I've gotten from Monaco have said "Service de S.A.S. le Prince/la Princesse de Monaco" (Service of HSH the Prince/ss of Monaco). But it is usually written in two lines. This is the first time I have seen it in a circle with the Monaco coat of arms.

Inside is a typed, thank you card for Princess Charlene's birthday, with a printed signature. The reply is very similar to her card from last year.

The card reads:

I was deeply touched by your kind wishes on the occasion of my birthday, and I would like to thank you most sincerely for this kind gesture. Charlene de Monaco

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Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg - 95th Birthday Reply (2016)

I was very excited when I saw this in the mailbox today. Not just because it's royal mail, which is always exciting, but because this was the 1st time I had written to the Luxembourg royals. And I really didn't know what to expect in response.

I had written to Grand Duke Jean for his 95th Birthday last month.

The front of the envelope is pretty standard looking. And yes, that is Grand Duke Henri (Jean's son) on the 2nd stamp.

The back of the envelope features a crown and where the letter was from, Chateau de Fischbach (Fischbach Castle), which is the residence of Grand Duke Jean.

Inside the envelope is a typed thank you card. This is quite similar to the type of responses usually send by the King & Queen of Belgium and the Crown Prince & Crown Princess of Denmark.

The card reads:

Château de Fischbach

Luxembourg 

February 2016

Grand Duke Jean appreciated your kind wishes on the occasion of His 95th birthday and send you many thinks.  

This was a pretty good response time. The reply was sent almost exactly a month after the Grand Duke's Birthday.

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