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.
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.
Back to Christmas - Main Page
