Friday, April 22, 2016

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.)