I've written to the Norway Royals a number of times over the year. But this is my third reply from them. And my first since 2016! So, I am very excited & surprised to receive this.
The envelope looks pretty similar to my past replies from the Norway Royals. At the bottom, in red, it says "The Royal Court" in Norwegian. The back of the envelope is blank.
Inside is a letter and photo. The photo is from the set of photos taken before Princess Ingrid Alexandra's confirmation. Princess Ingrid Alexandra is wearing a Bunad, Norwegian traditionally dress. Her grandmother, Queen Sonja, helped to design & make the dress.
Sadly, a little bit of the ink from the letter's signature got on to the photo.
The letter is written by Heidi Thingelstad, a senior secretary to the Royal Court.
The letter says:
The Royal Court
Gertrude Alexandra Daly [My Address]
Your ref.: Our ref.: 19/00574-130 File code: 552 Date: 30 September 2019
Dear Ms Daly,
Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess have asked me to thank you for your king greeting and for the donation to The Rainforest Allicnce which you were so kind and send on the occasion of Her Royal Highness Princess Ingrid Alexandra's confirmation on 31 August 2019.
The gift were very much appreciated.
It's a lovely letter and it's always really special to get a personal message. As it mentions in the letter, I had made a donation to The Rainforest Alliance in Princess Ingrid Alexandra's name in honor of her confirmation. I had chosen the charity because of Princess Ingrid's commitment to the environment, which we saw highlighted during her confirmation. Her grandfather, King Harald also mentioned it in his speech at her confirmation luncheon:Yours sincerely,
Heidi ThingelstadAdviser
Over the past 15 years you have developed into an insightful, knowledgeable, beautiful and sociable young woman, who cares deeply about people, animals and nature.
The plantable seed paper that you have chosen to give your guests as a memento of this day says a great deal about you: Ever since you were a tiny girl, you have had a focus on the need to protect nature. I hope that commitment will follow you for the rest of your life. It also symbolises in a meaningful way that it takes time and care for a thing of beauty to germinate and blossom. In this case it is the summer flowers that are hidden in the seeds. Investing the necessary time and effort will lead to a rich harvest.
The "Your ref.: , Our ref.: 19/00574-130, File code: 552" is their way of recording letters in their system. I've seen things like this a few times before, like our Birthday Reply from King Philippe of Belgium in 2016. I don't know what the code means exactly, but the "19" at the beginning of "Our ref." likely refers to 2019.
