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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Queen Maxima of the Netherlands - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the Netherlands. I had written to Queen Maxima last month for her birthday.

The envelope is the usual from the Netherland Royals. It features the blue crown with "Service of the Royal House" written underneath in Dutch.

The card is identical to Maxima's birthday reply from past years.

The card reads:

Her Majesty The Queen of the Netherlands would like to express her thanks for the good wishes she received on her birthday. 

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Archie Mountbatten-Windsor - Birth Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan last month to send them my warmest congratulations on the birth of their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The reply arrived just under a month after I had written. This is a very excellent and a bit surprising of response time. But don't expect to get so lucky, or start worrying if you wrote for an earlier event and haven't gotten a response yet. Clarence House gets a lot of mail for big events like this, and it can take them months of answer everyone. And, they don't answer letters in the order they arrive. So, be patient. They will likely take 4 or 5 months, maybe more, to send out all the replies.

The front of the envelope is usual from the British Royals and features the new postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace that debuted in March. The Court Post Office is mail's first stop on its way to well-wishers after being picked up at Clarence Hosue by the Royal Mail.

The back of the envelope features the Black Crown/Kensington Palace we have seen since 2016. This is currently used by both the Cambridges & Sussexs. I would expect the Sussexs to get new stationery eventually to reflect their office move.

Instead of the usual photocard from Clarence House, I received a personal letter from Claudia Spens. Miss Spens is the head of the correspondence section at Clarence House and is in charge of the team that answers all of Charles, Camilla, Cambridges & Sussexs' mail. 

While they are still using Kensington Palace stationary, it is important to note that the "From:" line now reads, "The Office of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Sussex." This is the first time I've seen this. The letter I got from the Sussexs for Christmas in April, still listed them together with the Cambridges. 

The letter says:

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have asked me to thank you for your letter of 8th May.  

Their Royal Highnesses are grateful for your kind words of support and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were touched that you took the trouble to make a donation to The Rainforest Alliance on the occasion of the birth of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Your thoughtfulness and generosity were very much appreciated.  

Their Royal Highnesses have asked me to send you their warmest thanks and best wishes.  

Yours sincerely, 

Claudia Spens

It would have been great to get the typical photo card, as I would love a photo of little Archie. But it is nice to get a personal letter that mentions specifically the charity I donated to. As I choose this for personal reasons. I had mentioned in my letter I had made a donation to The Rainforest Alliance and had written a bit about why I had chosen this charity specifically. I even included a little fact sheet about The Rainforest Alliance's work.

(Fun Fact: Prince Charles received the Rainforest Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award from them in 2008.)

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Grand Duke Jean Condolence Reply from King Albert & Queen Paola of Belgium (2019)

A very touching reply arrived today from Belgium. I had written to King Albert in April to send my condolences on the death of his brother-in-law, Grand Duke Jean. Grand Duke Jean had married King Albert's sister, Princess Joséphine Charlotte (1927-2005).

The Belgium royals have 10 or so different envelopes that they use. But this one is my favorite.

The front of the envelope is pretty typical for the Belgium Royals.

The back of the envelope features a purple crown, with the name of Albert & Paola's residence, Belvédère. And on the side of the flap is the partial address in French and Dutch. 

But the most beautiful part is the inside, which is lined with purple tissue paper.

The card is pretty typical of Queen Paola, and is on cream colored paper. This is similar to the condolence reply I received from Paola for the passing of her brother, Don Antonello Ruffo di Calabria, in 2017.

The card translates to:

Belvédère 

Their Majesties King Albert II and Queen Paola thank you wholeheartedly for the note of sympathy and compassion that you have addressed to them on the occasion of the death of their dear brother-in-law, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.

You can look back at all of my replies from Grand Duke Jean here.

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Replies from Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (2016-2019)

All of my replies (2016-2019) from Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Grand Duke Jean passed away on April 23rd, 2019.

2016

• 95th Birthday 

2017

• Birthday & Illness

2018

• Christmas (2017) & Birthday 

2019 

• Christmas (2018) & Birthday 
• Death of Princess Alix

Condolence Reply for Jean's Passing

• From King Albert & Queen Paola of Belgium

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Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg - Birthday Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived last month from Luxembourg. I had written to Grand Duke Henri for his 64th birthday.

The envelope is the usual from the Luxembourg Royals. The back of the envelope features the same blue crown as the card.

The card is similar to past years. But the message is gets changed each year. 

The card reads: 

Luxembourg, April 2019 

All my thanks for your kind wishes on the occasion of my 64th birthday.  

Henri

Included with the card is a photo of Grand Duke Henri. The photo is from a set that was released in December 2017. This is the first time I've gotten a photo from the Luxembourg royals included with a birthday card.

Credit: Grand Ducal Court / Lola Velasco

The back of the photo includes a notice about "conditions of use of this photo," which are all pretty standard. 

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