Princess Marie of Liechtenstein - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Liechtenstein. I had written to Princess Maire to wish her a happy 79th birthday.

The envelope is the same as usual.  One thing that is nice about the Liechtenstein' replies is they use real stamps.

The back of the envelope is the same as usual and features their partial address. Should you wish to write to them, you can find their mailing address here.

Inside was the usual flat card, along with two postcard-sized photos. 

The flat card is the same as always and features an embossed coat of arms. 

The card reads: 

Many thanks for your kind wishes. 

Marie Liechtenstein 

The Liechtenstein Royals use this same flat card for most events. Usually, there is a typed note added to mention the event you are writing for. But not this time.

I can not say for sure if this is an autopen signature or real. I have gotten auto-penned signatures from them before. 

Also included with the card are two photos. This is the 1st time I've gotten a photo from the Liechtenstein Royals. I never ask for a photo, as I find it kind of rude. But it's certainly nice to get one.

The first photo is of Prince Hans-Adam & Princess Marie of Lichtenstein. It was taken by Roland Korner. The two signatures, "Marie Lichtenstein" & "Hans Adam Liechtenstein," are engraved in gold.

The back of the photo is a postcard. 

The 2nd photo is of Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie of Lichtenstein. It was taken by Roland Korner. The two signatures, "Sophie Lichtenstein" & "Alois Liechtenstein," are engraved in gold.

The back of this photo is a little different. 

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Sending Your Condolences for the Passing of Grand Duke Jean

HRH Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg passed away on April 24th at age 98. 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: 
As Jean's wife passed away in 2005, the closest living relatives are Grand Duke Jean's children.
I would recommend sending your letter to Jean's eldest son, HRH Grand Duke Henri (Or TRH The Grand Duke & Grand Duchess.) In your letter, you can then mention you are sending your condolences to "you and your family."

But you can also address your letter to "The Family of Grand Duke Jean," or another member of the Royal Family if you wish.

The address: 

Palais Grand-Ducal
B.P. 331
L-2013 LUXEMBOURG

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.

Princess Marie of Denmark - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from Denmark. I had written to Princess Marie in February for her birthday. 

I was not expecting a reply from Princess Marie, as I had never seen one before from Prince Joachim & Prince Marie's office. I had written to them a few times over the years but had never gotten a reply. 

However, in the last month or so, I've seen at least 3 replies from their office for Princess Marie & Princess Athena's birthday. So, it looks like the couple may have changed their policy and are now starting to send out replies. 

The envelope is rather large, as they opted not to fold the letter. But otherwise, the postmark on the front is identical to the other Denmark royals.

The back of the envelope features the same Crown & address that was used on the old version of Crown Prince Frederik & Crown Princess Mary's envelopes. You will note that this address is different than the address at on the bottom of the letter. And different than the address you should use when writing to them.

Inside is a letter from Charles-Henri Keller, who is the late Prince Henrik's nephew. (That would make him Joachim's cousin.) Charles-Henri is officially listed on the Denmark Royal website as a "Funds Secretary" for the Office of Treasury in Queen Margrethe's Household. But since Marie's lady-in-waiting, Britt Siesbye, resigned last October, Charles-Henri has been seen accompanying Marie on official engagements. So, it looks like Charles-Henri now has some official role in Joachim & Marie's office. Although, I'm not sure what exactly his position is.

The letter reads: 

Amalienborg, April 12, 2019

Miss Gertrude Daly 

[Address] 

Her Royal Highness Princess Marie has asked me to convey her warm thanks for your kind birthday letter.  

Yours sincerely,  

Charles-Henri Keller 

Court of T.R.H. Prince Joachim and Princess Marie 

Christian VIII's Palace, Amalienborg, Postboks 2143, 1015 København

Do note that this address is slightly different than the one you should use when writing to them.

The letter and envelope are printed on matching paper, which is always a lovely touch. Both of them use laid paper, which is my favorite as it looks really pretty and has a nice texture. Laid is a  process of making paper, that leaves these lines. 

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Princess Eugenie - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived a few days ago from the UK. I had written to Princess Eugenie last month to wish her a Happy Birthday.

The front of the envelope features the new postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. The envelope is one of the smaller ones, as the reply is on a half-sheet of paper.

The back of the envelope features Prince Andrew's blue badge. Princess Eugenie & Princess Beatrice's mail is answered by the staff at Prince Andrew's office. 

The badge features the York Rose in the middle, surrounded with the Order of Garter belt and topped with a cornet. 

Inside is a letter from Charlotte Fenn. The letter describes her job title as "Assistant Private Secretary to HRH Princess Eugenie of York." But officially, she is Prince Andrew's Assistant Private Secretary. 

Princess Eugenie & Princess Beatrice don't have any of their own staff members. But Prince Andrew's office does handle some stuff for them. 

The letter reads:

Dear Gertrude, 

Princess Eugenie of York has asked me to thank you for sending her your good wishes on her birthday. Her Royal Highness is very grateful to you for thinking of her and send you her best wishes.  

Yours sincerely, 

Charlotte Fenn  

Assistant Private Secretary to HRH Princess Eugenie of York  

A few interesting things to note. First, the letter addresses her as "Princess Eugenie of York." Normally a British Princess drops her parent's territorial designation, in this case "of York," when she gets married. And we did see a number of things from the Palace post-wedding that indicated Eugenie had dropped the "of York." But we have also seen her use "of York" for various things recently. So, it looks like she will continue to use it.

Another interesting thing is the letter is dated March 23rd, which is Princess Eugenie's birthday. As I send my letter on March 21st, it would have been impossible for the letter to have gotten from the USA to UK in two days. So, the letter was likely not actually written on March 23rd, it was probably closer to the envelope's postmark date of March 27th. And I've seen other people's birthday replies and they were all worded the same with the same date, so it likely Charlotte Fenn just didn't update the date each time she sent the letter out to a new person.

This letter is also the first time I've gotten a letter from Andrew's office that refers to me as "Gertrude." It's quite personal and informal. Usually, they address the letter to "Miss Daly," or incorrectly to "Mrs. Daly" or "Ms. Daly.

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The Sussexs - Christmas Reply (2018)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan back in December to wish them a Merry Christmas.

I received this reply exactly 4 months after I had written. This is the first time I've gotten a Christmas reply in April. And I expect this is likely my last 2018 Christmas reply. You can look back on all of our 2018 Christmas Replies here. 

I have also updated our chart of response times for Christmas to include 2018. You can find that chart here. 

The front of the envelope is the usual from the British Royals and features the new postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. 

The back of the envelope features the usual Black Crown/Kensington Royal. I expect sometime in the future the Sussexs will update their stationary to reflect moving their office to Buckingham Palace. But it may not happen right away.  

Instead of the usual photo reply, I received a letter from Claudia Spens. Miss Spens is head of the correspondence section at Clarence House, which answers all of Charles, Camilla, The Cambridges & Sussexs' mail. They will continue to handle the Sussexs' mail even after the Sussexs move offices to Buckingham Palace. 

The letter reads: 

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have asked me to thank you for your letter of 8th December. I apologise for the delay in replying but due to the enormous volume of correspondence received in the last few months it has not been possible to respond to you until now.  

Their Royal Highnesses are grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did and appreciate your kind words of support. 

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

Yours sincerely,  

Claudia Spens

---

For those of you who are thinking about writing for the birth of the Sussex's baby we have a handy guide here. The reply should be similar to their Pregnancy Announcement Reply.

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Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from Luxembourg. I had written to Princess Stephanie (AKA the Hereditary Grand Duchess) in February to wish her a happy birthday.

This was the 1st time I had written to Princess Stéphanie for her birthday. Usually, I just write for the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess & Grand Duke Jean's birthdays, but I wanted to send my condolences to Stephanie on the passing of her father, Count Philippe de Lannoy.

The envelope is the usual from Luxembourg Roayls, except it is missing the usual "Service du Grand-Duc" on the bottom left corner.  The postmark says "Weltdag von der Trisomie 21/ International Down Syndrome Day."  

The back of the envelope features the usual blue crown. 

Inside is a card.

The card reads:

Her Royal Highness, The Hereditary Grand Duchess, greatly appreciates your kind wishes on her birthday and sincerely thanks you. 

Luxembourg, March 2019

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Prince Albert of Monaco - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from Monaco. I had written to Prince Albert last month to wish him a happy birthday. 

The envelope is the usual from Monaco, although this features a different postmark than usual. It looks like it was probably hand canceled due to the number of stamps.

The back of the envelope is the usual from Prince Albert featuring his double A monogram. 

The card is the usual birthday reply from Prince Albert. It is dated with the Prince's birthday, March 14th.

The card reads:

Palace of Monaco 

March 14th, 2019. 

I would like to express my sincere thanks for your kind wishes received for my birthday.  

Albert de Monaco

The message is similar to past years, but worded a little different.  The signature is printed on and is the same one used in the past.

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Congratulating the Sussexs on the Birth of their 1st Child

Sussex Pregnancy Announcement Reply

As the Sussex Royal Baby watch is getting closer, here is a guide to sending your congratulations to the couple. 

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 writing to the Sussexs for the birth of their baby.

And remember, International Mail requires extra postage! Check with your local post office for the correct amount.

(If you are from the USA, sending a normal letter/card that isn't extra thick, square, etc. you will need 1 Global Forever Stamp or 3 normal Forever Stamps.) 

Where to write?

TRH Duke & Duchess of Sussex
Clarence House 
London SW1A 1BA
UNITED KINGDOM

The Sussexs' mail is answered by the Correspondence Section at Clarence House. (& They will continue to answer the Sussexs' mail, even after the Cambridge/Sussex household split.) If you write to the Sussexs at Kensington Palace or Buckingham Palace, your letter will be forwarded to Clarence House to be answered there. 

When to write?
While you could write before the baby is born, I would recommend waiting till after. I like to know the name, title & sex of the baby when I write. And you may want to comment on something that happened. 

Plus, Clarence House doesn't answer mail in the order it comes in. So, writing a little bit early is no guarantee you will get a reply any quicker. In many cases, it's the opposite. 

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.

 You can send a letter or a card, either is perfectly fine. 

You don't need to write something long and elaborate. You can keep it simple and just give your congratulations. Or, if you want you can write something longer. Keep your letter to 1-page max. 

Sending a Gift?
The Royals prefer well-wishers make a donation to charity instead of sending a gift. The couple has selected 4 charities which they encourage well-wishers to donate to:

• The Lunchbox Fund
• Little Village
• WellChild
• Baby2Baby   

But feel free to make a donation to a local children charity if you prefer. 

What to Expect in Reply?
They should reply with their usual postcard sized photo with typed message on the back.  It should be something similar to the Sussexs' Pregnancy Announcement Reply. 


Clarence House has been very busy and behind for a while now. So, expect a much longer response time than normal. Some of you will be lucky and get a reply really quickly. But don't worry if it takes forever! Based on their current response times, it will probably take them 8+ months to send out all the replies.