Princess Stéphanie of Monaco - Christmas Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived yesterday from Monaco. I had written to Princess Stéphanie a number of times over the years, including Christmas last year. This is the first time I've gotten a reply, which makes this extra special.

The front of the envelope looks pretty much like the others from the Monaco Royals. One thing that is interesting, is instead of left justifying my address, it is centered. And there are some other little things that make this different than Prince Albert & Princess Charlene's envelopes. Each office handles their own mail. So, sometimes, the formatting of the address is one way you can tell which office the reply comes from.

The stamp is of Prince Charles III of Monaco. And was released from 2018 to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth.

The postmark is to celebrate the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Monaco's post offices rotate through postmarks every few days. This postmark is one of the postmarks that we see every year, usually in December the week or two before Christmas. This postmark would have stamped on everything mailed in Monaco during the few days the postmark was running.

Inside is a lovely card. The front of the card features a wreath with a red bow, with the words "Best Wishes" written underneath in French.

Inside the card is a typed message and Stephanie's signature printed on.

The message is in French and English, and reads: 

Best wishes for a Happy New Year

Stéphanie de Monaco

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Prince Guillaume & Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg - Christmas Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived while I was out of town for the Holidays. I had written to Prince Guillaume & Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg to wish them a Merry Christmas.

This is extra special as this is my first reply for Christmas 2019! You can see a list of all the royals we wrote to for Christmas 2019 here. 

The envelope is the typical from the Luxembourg Royals. The Luxembourg Royals are one of a handful to use real stamps on their envelopes. These stamps feature Grand Duke Henri. The bottom left of the envelope says "Service of the Grand Duke."

The back of the envelope features a Luxembourg blue crown.

Inside is a handmade Christmas card made by the Foundations Autisme Luxembourg, which Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is patron of. The card is from a set sold by the charity. The front features a lovely star design along with the message "Happy Holidays" in German, one of Luxembourg's official languages. 

The card is made of heavy cardstock and the design on the front is layered, so the card has a nice weight and texture. 

The inside of the card is blank. The charity did this to allow people to write in their own message. Guillaume & Stéphanie instead included an insert. This allows them to send out replies in multiple languages. 

Inside of the Card. 

The insert is the typical flat card from the Luxembourg Royals.

Insert

The card says:

Their Royal Hignesses the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess wish to thank you for your kind greetings and send you their best wishes for the New Year.  

Luxembourg, December 2019 

The back of the card is blank, except for a stick from the charity. 

The sicker says: 

Made by people with autism

Foundation Autisme Luxembourg

Autisme@fal.lu

(+352) 269 111-1 

We carry all types of cards

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Sending your Condolences for the Passing of Ari Behn

Ari Behn, the ex-husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, passed away on December 25th at age 47. He left behind 3 daughters with Märtha Louise: Maud, Leah & Emma Behn. If you would like, you can send a letter of condolence to his family.

You can find general info on writing to the Royals here. Along with some specifics on writing a letter of condolence here.

Who to write to: 
Even though they are divorced I think it would be very appropriate to send a letter of condolence to Princess Märtha Louise and/or her daughters.

I could either address your letter/card to:

• HH Princess Märtha Louise
• & mention in your letter that you are sending your condolences to her and her daughters.
• Maud, Leah & Emma Behn
• The Family of Ari Behn

The Norway royals don't regularly reply. So, I really have no idea if they would reply or what it would look like. 

Note: When referred to in English, Princess Märtha Louise is an HH (Her Highness), not an HRH (Her Royal Highness).

The Address: 

Det Kongelige Hoff
Det Kongelige Slott
Postboks 1 Vika
0010 Oslo, NORWAY

When to write: 

Don't feel like you need to write the minute you hear the news. Give yourself a few days to reflect, see what information is being released by the Palace, family, media, etc.

I think anytime within 2 weeks after the passing or shortly after the funeral is acceptable.

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg- Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Luxembourg. I had written to Prince Guillaume last month to wish him a happy birthday.

The front of the envelope features two lovely stamps of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. The stamp was released in 2015, to mark the 15th Anniversary of Grand Duke Henri's enthronement.

The back of the envelope features a blue crown.

Inside is a flat card with a typed message. This is fairly typical of the Luxembourg royals.

The card reads:

His Royal Highness, The Hereditary Grand Duke, greatly appreciates your kind wishes on his birthday and sincerely thanks you. 

Luxembourg, November 2019

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Archduke Maximilian (Belgium) - Birth Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from Belgium. I had written to Prince Amedeo and Princess Elisabetta in September to congratulate them on the birth of their 2nd child, Archduke Maximilian.

The Purple Crown/ Palais de Bruxelles envelope is one of the most common used by the Belgium Royals. The Royal Palace of Brussels is where King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and many of the Belgium Royals have their office.

This reply is not actually from Amedeo & Elisabetta, but Amedeo's mother, Princess Astrid. This is understandable, as she is a working royal and has her own staff, and they don't.

One thing I love about the envelope is my address has been typed in a pretty cursive font. We see this occasionally from the Belgium Royals.

Inside the envelope is a flat card & photo. The flat card is fairly typical of the Belgium Royals. The signature is printed on. 

The flat card says: 

Royal Palace of Brussels

September 2019  

My husband, our children and I would like to thank you warmly for your mark of affection and your delicate attention on the occasion of the birth of our grandson, Maximilian.  

Astrid

The photo is of little Archduke Maximilian with his name and birthday printed on. 

On the back of the photo says "Maximilian small text black final" in dutch along with some jibberish letters and numbers. 

 

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Congratulating Prince Guillaume & Princess Stéphanie on their Pregnancy Announcement

The Basics:
We have a lot of helpful general information on writing to the Royals under our "How to" tab. This post will just cover some specifics about writing for today's announcement.

The Address: 

Palais Grand-Ducal

B.P. 331

L-2013 LUXEMBOURG

There are a lot of ways you can refer to the couple, including:

• TRH Prince Guillaume & Princess Stéphanie 
• Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume & Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie 
• The Hereditary Grand Duke & Hereditary Grand Duchess 
• etc. 

What you use is a matter of personal preference and how formal you want to be.

When to write?

You don't need to worry about getting your letter/card out the same day as the announcement. I think a good rule is to try to send out your congratulations within 2 weeks of the announcement. 

Will they reply?

Yes, I would expect so. The Luxembourg Royals usually reply with a flat card printed for the occasion. I expect it will be similar to Prince Felix and Princess Claire's pregnancy or birth reply for Prince Liam. 

And I would expect a longer response time than usual given that the Palace will have to deal with Pregnancy and Christmas mail all at once, and both are big occasions to write to the royals. 

Christmas Replies (2019)

Replies I Have Received

Belgium 

• King Albert & Queen Paola
• King Philippe & Queen Mathilde

Denmark 

• Queen Margrethe
• Crown Prince Frederik & Crown Princess Mary

Luxembourg 

• Grand Duke Henri & Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
• Prince Guillaume & Princess Stéphanie

Monaco

• Prince Albert & Princess Charlene
• Princess Stephanie

Netherlands

• King Willem-Alexander & Queen Maxima

Spain 

• King Felipe & Queen Letizia

Sweden

• Prince Carl Philip & Princess Sofia

UK

• Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip
• Prince Charles & Duchess Camilla
• Prince William & Duchess Kate
• Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan 
• Princess Anne & Sir Tim
• Duchess Sarah

Replies I Have Sent Out

• Black - I have received a Christmas Reply from them every year I have written
• Red - I haven't always/ever gotten a Christmas reply from them
• Blue - This is the first time I've written to them for Christmas

UK

• Prince Edward & Countess Sophie

Denmark 

• Prince Joachim and Princess Marie

Liechtenstein 

• Prince Hans Adams & Princess Marie
• Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie

Monaco

• Princess Caroline

Norway 

• King Harald & Queen Sonja

Spain 

• King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia

Sweden

• King Carl Gustaf & Queen Silvia

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Princess Elisabeth of Belgium - 18th Birthday Reply

A lovely reply arrived this week from Belgium. I had written to Princess Elisabeth for her 18th Birthday in October.

The Belgium Royals have quite a few different envelopes that they use. But, this is one of the most common. The front of the envelope features a purple crown with "Palais de Bruxelles" written underneath. The back is blank. The Palace of Brussels is where state functions are held and the King and Queen have their offices there.

As this is an extra special birthday, this birthday reply is extra special. Inside is a lovely card, that folds out into 4 panels. (The back is blank.) I really like that they formated the card so that you can see everything from one side. It makes it much easier to display the card.



The first panel, which also acts as the cover of the card, features a red border and Princess Elisabeth's monogram. The front of the card is similar to her parent's Christmas card.

The 2nd panel features a lovely photo of Princess Elisabeth. The photo was taken by her father, King Philippe and is used on a commemorative stamp released for the Princess's 18th birthday.

The 3rd panel of the card features a typed message with Elisabeth's signature printed on. The message is in Dutch, French and German, Belgium's 3 official languages. 

The card reads: 

Thank you very much for your warm wishes on the occasion of my eighteenth birthday. 

Elisabeth  

Her Royal Highness Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant

The 4th panel features a lovely photo of Princess Elisabeth that was taken at Château de Laeken, the King and Queen's home, this summer. The photo is from a set released for Elisabeth's 18th birthday.

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Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein - Birthday Reply

A lovely reply arrived today from Liechtenstein. I had written to Hereditary Princess Sophie for her 52nd birthday last month.

The envelope is the usual from the Liechtenstein Royals.

The back of the envelope features the castle's partial address.

The reply is the typical from the Liechtenstein Royals, a flat card, with typed message and the embossed coat of arms. You will notice the typed message uses two different fonts. This is because they used this same card for all sorts of events.

The cursive part, "Many thanks for your kind wishes" is the most generic form of the card that can be used for any event.

The text, "on the occasion of my birthday," is added for birthday replies. The cards are usually then either auto-penned or hand-signed by the particular royal. (& often we will see a mix of both for an event.)

I've gotten both hand-signed and auto-penned replies over the years. But, this is the first time I've gotten a hand-signed personal message on my card.

The card reads:

Dear Miss Daly, 

Many thanks for your kind wishes

on the occasion of my birthday. 

Sophie Liechtenstein

Thank you for your kind words, 

especially for the 300th birthday of our country. 

Obviously, I had mentioned Liechtenstein's 300th Birthday in my birthday letter to Princess Sophie. Liechtenstein officially turned 300 in January 2019. But, there have been celebrations to mark this special birthday all year long.

It is always great to get a personal reply that mentions something you wrote in your letter. But it's even more touching when that personal reply is from a royal themselves.

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Sarah, Duchess of York - 60th Birthday Second Reply

A lovely reply arrived this week from the UK. I was very surprised to get this, as I had already received a birthday reply from Duchess Sarah. This isn't the first time I've accidentally gotten a double reply from Sarah. Last year I got two Christmas replies from her. And I have gotten a few other double replies from other royals over the years.

But this is the first time the two replies have been are drastically different. My first reply was a personal letter from Duchess Sarah that was hand-signed. This 2nd reply is what Duchess Sarah sent out to almost everyone who wrote for her birthday.

The envelope features the red first-class box with the Royal's PPI (Printed Postage Impressions) number. PPI numbers are unique numbers that allow people/organizations to "print their own postage" and then the Royal Mail can use the number to charge their account. The Royal's PPI number is W4047. The number changed earlier this year. Previously, it was W7047.

It will be interesting to see if Sarah stops using the Royal Family's PPI account (which is paid for by the sovereign grant) now that Andrew has stepped down from official duties.

The back of the envelope is blank.

The reply is a photo card, with typed message on the back. The photo is actually quite large. It is bigger than the typical photo card from Clarence House. 

The photo is of Sarah arriving at Claridge's in London for the Hello! Magazine's Mother & Daughter Afternoon Tea to mark the International Day of the Girl. Sarah was joined at the event by Princess Eugenie. The photo was taken by Neil Mockford on October 10, less than a week before Sarah's birthday. It is interesting that they choose such a recent photo. This means, of course, that these cards weren't made that far in advance. 



The back of the card features a typed message and printed on the signature. It is the same signature we have seen Sarah use for years. To compare the size of the card and signatures, the photo includes Duchess Sarah's birthday reply from last year.

Duchess Sarah's 2019 & 2018 Birthday Reply 

This year's card reads:

Thank you so much for your birthday wishes. It was most kind of you to think of me on the occasion of my 60th birthday.  

I take great pleasure in sending you my heartfelt gratitude.  

Sarah 

15th October 2019

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Sarah, Duchess of York - 60th Birthday First Reply

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Duchess Sarah last month for her 60th Birthday.

The envelope is definitely different than what we normally see from the British Royals. This is the first time I've ever gotten a blue envelope. And besides shades of white and cream, I think this is the first time I've gotten a solid-color envelope.

You will notice this doesn't feature the usual Crown/EIIR and circle with the date. That is because this was not processed through one of the Court Post Offices at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The red 1st Class box does feature the Royal's PPI (Printed Postage Impressions) number, which changed earlier this year. So, we know the cost of the postage was charged to the Royals' account. Since 2001, the Sovereign Grant has paid for the Royals' postage. Previously, the service was provided for free by the Royal Mail. Sarah has been using the Royal's PPI number for years. No word if she repays the Sovereign Grant for the cost of postage.

Normally, the replies you get from Sarah featured an autopen or printed-on signature. One way to tell an autopen/printed-on signature is to compare the reply with others. (And it is best to compare it with other replies from the same event, as autopen/printed-on signatures can be changed for each event.)

Given that this letter includes personalization (Dear Gertrude and the date), and the signature looks different from others I have seen, I believe this is a real signature from Sarah. And one of the few real signatures I've seen well-wishers get from her.

The letter says:

Nov 2nd, 2019 

Dear Gertrude,  

Thank you so much for the letter you send me for my 60th birthday. I always enjoy receiving personal correspondence and reading your kind words. It is most kind of you to donate to Street Child in my name. Street Child operates in over 10 countries and hopes to expand to more. Throughout the world, 121 million children around the world are not being given the chance to go to school because of war and conflict. Street Child is committed to helping millions of children back into school and to transform their lives. Thank you for helping them to do so.  

Best wishes, 

Sarah, Duchess of York

Miss Gertrude Daly [My Address]

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; there are the charming gardeners who make out souls blossom." 

Marcel Proust (1871-1992)

Street Child UK is a UK charity that works to give every child the chance to go to school and learn. Duchess Sarah worked in this area for decades with the charity she founded, Children in Crisis. 
In 2018, Children in Crisis merged with Street Child UK. Duchess Sarah has stayed on at Street Child UK as Founding Patron. And Princess Beatrice & Princess Eugenie, who were Ambassadors of Children in Crisis, are now Ambassador of Street Child. 

In honor of Duchess Sarah's birthday and the charity's "Mind the Gap" Campain, I made a small donation to Street Child UK. 

---

For those of you thinking about writing to the Royals for Christmas, now is the perfect time. Our recommended send by date is December 14th, less than a month away. You can find our 2019 guide to Writing to the Royals for Christmas here.

Just FYI: 
Normally, I write to all of the Queen's children for Christmas. But this year, I've decided, I won't be writing to Prince Andrew.

If you want to write to him, to show your support, or yell at him, you can. I've just made a personal decision not to. (But I likely will still write to Duchess Sarah for Christmas)

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Duchess Meghan - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from the UK. I had written to Duchess Meghan back in August for her birthday.

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

The back of the card features Harry & Meghan's joint monogram.

Inside is the typical photocard from Clarence House.

The front of the card features a photo by Doug Peters, a UK photographer. We know Clarence House always asks the photographer for permission before using the photo. Doug shared a bit about this experience on his Instagram:

Honoured to have my image of her chosen for the Sussex Royal birthday message. [...] Thanks to the team back at EMPICS and PA for tracking me down on a Saturday night to sort out a few last details to get this done.

The photo is from Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan's visit to Tonga during their 2018 Autumn Tour. I always like it when the royals use a tour photo, as it brings back memories of the trip. I remember on this day, Meghan was laughing a lot. So it is nice to look at the photo and know Meghan was really happy at that moment (+ she had just announced her pregnancy so everyone was super excited).

I think this photo is a better choice than last year's as Meghan is actually looking at the camera. And  I know a lot of people will frame these cards, so a headshot or full body like this, works best. It is a bit of a shame they choose a photo with the white blur on the edge. The lighting really isn't the best. But as Meghan was sitting in the shade under a canopy, while the photographers were standing in the sun, there isn't much you can do about that. 

The back of the card has the usual sort of birthday message from Clarence House. But they changed it up a little from last year.

The card reads:

The Duchess of Sussex was so touched by your very kind Birthday wishes. 

Her Royal Highness sends her warmest thanks for your thoughtfulness and wishes you all the best. 

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Guide to Writing to the Royals for Christmas (2019)

The Royals absolutely love to get letters and cards from the public, and Christmas is no different!

Writing for the 1st time?
If you are writing to the Royals for the 1st time (or want a refresher on the basics) check out our "How To" tab. This post will only cover the specifics for Christmas 2019. 

When to start writing?
My feeling is Christmas letters and cards should arrive no more than a month before Christmas (i.e. after November 25th). So I usually start writing mid/late November. 

You don't want to start writing too early as it can affect what you get in reply. (Same with being too late.) If they don't have the Christmas reply printed when they open your letter, the office staff may just send you some generic reply, as they don't want mail stacking up in the office.

Send by Date?
It is always hard to choose a "Send by Date" to recommend to you all. When you should send your letters varies: from country to country, where you are sending it to, the type of mail (economy, standard, first-class, priority, etc.), if it is a standard size envelope, etc.

Our general recommended Send by Date is:
Saturday, December 14th!

This may not get your letter/card there by Christmas, but it should be there in a timely fashion. 

To find the exact "send by date" for you, check out your national postal service's website. Some of you may need to send your letter earlier, while others will have more time.

Remember during the Christmas season, it takes longer for mail to arrive. 

What if I miss the Dec 14th Send By Date?
That is okay. Feel free to continue sending your letters/cards after this date, it just may not arrive until after Christmas or in January. 

If you are sending your letter after Christmas, I would re-focus it a little and wish them a Happy New Year and 2019. I think at the lastest you can write until the end of the first week January. But do keep in mind that writing late, might affect what you get in reply. 

Addresses?
You can find all the addresses for the Royals under our "Addresses" tab. 

(We also created a Google Doc this year with all the address for the Current European Monarchies, which you can print off.)

Note:  A lot of monarchies outside Europe are not Christian and don't celebrate Christmas. If you wanted to write to them, I would figure out what it is they are celebrating this time of year, or just send them good wishes for the season/new years.  

What if I don't celebrate Christmas?
Don't worry! You can still send the Royals a Holiday/ Winter Season/ New Years letter or card, whatever it is you are celebrating this season. Be aware, however, most royals send out pre-made cards, that aren't personalize for each person, so their reply may thank you for your Christmas wishes.

What to write?
I very often get asked this question. The answer is, write whatever you feel like writing about. There is no one right answer. As long as you are being respectful and thoughtful, it is hard to go wrong.

For Christmas you could mention things like: 

• Some event in 2019 that was particularly meaningful to you
• or a cause, royal visit or tour, etc. 
• Royal wedding, baby/pregnancy announcement, etc. 
• What you are most excited for in 2020 
• How this royal has inspired you 
• What you admire about the royal family 
• December or January birthdays/anniversaries
• etc.

We have some sample letters/card to the Royal on the "How To" tab. 

What to expect?
Royals get thousands of Christmas cards and letters each year, full of well-wishes and hopes for the coming year. Unfortunately, most are unable to send out personal responses. Responses vary greatly across the different royals. Most respond with a pre-made thank you, and the response will usually be sent sometime in January, or February (December if you are lucky!  March if you are unlucky! & possibly longer for Clarence House). There are sadly some royals don't send replies or don't reply to everyone who writes.

And, do remember that it takes them a while to answer everyone. So people may get their replies weeks or months apart. You can find a chart of past Christmas Response times here.

You can check out my replies from past Christmases here.  

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Prince Harry - 35th Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from the UK. I had written to Prince Harry is September to wish him a happy 35th birthday.

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

The back of the envelope features Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan's joint monogram. The Sussexs just changed their stationery to reflect their household's move to Buckingham Palace. We had a post earlier this month on the evolution of the Sussexes's replies. 

Inside are a letter and photo card. The letter is from Claudia Spens, who is head of the correspondence section at Clarence House. Clarence House will continue to answer the Sussexes and Cambridges mail, as it has always done. 

This letter is the first I have received with the Sussex's Joint Monogram, but otherwise, it is the same layout as all the past letters I have received from the couple. 

The letter reads: 

Buckingham Palace

17th October, 2019

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Duke of Sussex has asked me to thank you for your letter of 15th September, and kind message which you have sent on the occasion of his 35th birthday. It really was thoughtful of you.  

His Royal Highness is grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did with such kind words of support in connection with the launch of 'Travalyst," a new global sustainable travel initiative and for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Royal Tour of Africa. Their Royal Highnesses very much enjoyed their visit to Africa and greatly appreciated the warm welcome they received. As a thank you for your letter, I have enclosed a photograph that I hope you will like.  

This letter comes with The Duke of Sussex's warmest thanks and best wishes.  

Yours sincerely, Claudia Spens

With the letter is a photo card. It is the same photo that was used for Prince Harry's birthday reply, but this card has a blank back.  I believe this is the first time I've gotten a photocard from Clarence House without a message on the back. But, I know they have had blank cards like this for years, that they use when needed.

The photo is of Prince Harry at the Founders Day Parade at Royal Hospital Chelsea in June. It is interesting to see that Prince Harry chose a group photo this year instead of the usual headshot. Duchess Meghan's birthday card last year was one of the first birthday cards I had gotten from Clarence House that used a group photo. 

The back of the card is blank, except for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mark. This indicates that the card is made from paper from FSC-certified, well-managed forests. 

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Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank - Wedding Anniversary Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank earlier this month to congratulation them on their 1st wedding anniversary.

The envelope is the usual from the British royals.

The back of the envelope features Prince Andrew's badge. 

The letter is the typical from Prince Andrew's office. This was written by Ms. Charlotte Fenn, who is one of Prince Andrew's Assistant Private Secretaries. Princess Beatrice & Princess Eugenie don’t have any of their own staff, but so their mail is answered by Andrew’s staff.

Pretty much everyone who wrote for this occasion got the same form letter. The letter is dated with the couple's wedding anniversary.

The letter reads:

Dear Miss Daly,  

Princess Eugenie of York and Mr. Jack Brooksbank have asked me to thank you for sending them your congratulations on their first Wedding Anniversary.  

They are very grateful to you for thinking of them and send you their best wishes.  

Yours sincerely, 

Ms. Charlotte Fenn 

Assistant Private Secretary of HRH Princess Eugenie of York

You will notice that the letter refers to Princess Eugenie as "of York." Most of the time, women after marriage drop their parent's territorial designation. And we have seen Buckingham Palace in general drop the "of York" from Princess Eugenie's name since the wedding. But, Prince Andrew's office still insists on using it, probably because it improves name recognition.

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