Guide to Writing to the Royals for Christmas (2020)

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 2020. 

When to start writing?

My feeling is Christmas letters and cards should ideally arrive sometime in December. So I usually start sending out my letters in 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. Or alternatively, your letter could get set aside and as it is at the bottom of the pile, it could be one of the last to get replies. 

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 for International Mail is:

Saturday, December 12th!

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 12th 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 2021. I think at the latest you can write until the end of the first week of January. But do keep in mind that writing late, might also affect what you get in reply. Some royals will only print a limited number of cards, and so if you write too late they might. 

Addresses?
You can find all the addresses for the Royals under our "Addresses" tab. There have not been any recent changes in Mailing Addresses. 

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

Note: The Correspondence Section at Clarence House said in March that they were still handling the Sussexes mail. The Sussexes do not have a public USA mailing address. So, letters/cards should still be sent to Clarence House. As we haven't seen any birthday replies from the Sussexes this year, I would not expect a Christmas reply from them. 

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 2020 that was particularly meaningful to you
• or a cause, royal visit, etc. 
• Royal wedding, baby/pregnancy announcement, etc. 
• What you are most excited for in 2021 
• How this royal has inspired you 
• What you admire about the royal family 
• December or January birthdays/anniversaries
• etc.

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

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 to expect?
The 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. And, there are sadly some royals don't send replies or don't reply to everyone who writes.

Most respond with a pre-made thank you, and the response will usually be sent sometime in January, or February.  (You might get lucky with a December reply, or be made to wait until March. We have gotten a Christmas Reply in April before, and with the Pandemic slowing things down, some royals might have longer than usual response times.)

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 also check out my replies from past Christmases here.  

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Princess Beatrice & Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi - Wedding Reply

 A lovely reply arrived last week from the UK. I had written to Princess Beatrice & Edoardo to congratulate them on their wedding in July. I waited 4 months for the reply, which is very reasonable for a wedding reply.

The front of the envelope feature's the postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. While Prince Andrew has officially stepped down as a Working Royal, his office has continued to send out replies from Buckingham Palace.

The front of the card features a lovely photo of the couple taken by Benjamin Wheeler. This was part of the set of photos released the day after their wedding. The card is similar to Princess Eugenie's Wedding Reply, except Beatrice's card is slightly smaller. But is probably more expensive given the glossy finish and heavier paper. (We saw a similar thing with Beatrice's Engagement Reply. It was a flat card compared to Eugenie's folded card. But had a more expensive finish.)

The inside of the card features a lovely handwritten note by Princess Beatrice that has been this printed on to the card. At the top is Beatrice's monogram. We have yet to see a joint monogram for the couple.   

The card says: 

July 2020

Thank you so much for the wonderful note you so kindly sent us on the occasion of our wedding this summer at Royal Lodge.  

Edo and I had a magical day filled with special moments with our families.  

We are so grateful to all those who have worked hard to protect our communities over the last few months, we owe them so much.  

Thank you for thinking of us as we begin our married life. 

Beatrice & Edo

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Prince William & Prince George - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived last week from the UK. I had written to Prince William and Prince George for their birthday. I don't remember if I had written for both birthdays in one letter, or sent separate letters. 

The envelope is the usual for the British Royals, featuring the postmark from the Court Post office at Buckingham Palace.  

The back of the envelope is the usual from The Cambridges, featuring a black crown (technically the coronet of the child of the Prince of Wales) over Kensington Palace. 

The front of the card features a photo of Prince William taken by Norman Jean Roy for the July 2017 cover of British GQ.  This photo has been used on William's birthday reply for the last 4 birthdays. 

The back of the card has a typed message. The message is identical to last year's birthday reply except for William's age. 

The card says:

The Duke of Cambridge is most grateful to you for writing as you did on the occasion of his 38th birthday. It really was most thoughtful of you and His Royal Highness sends you his warmest thanks and best wishes. 

Prince George's card features a photo taken by Duchess Kate on the front. This was part of the set of photos released for Prince George's birthday. 

 

The back of the card features a typed message. The message is identical to last year's birthday reply except for George's age. 

The card says: 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appreciated your kind thought in writing to Prince George on the occasion of his seventh birthday. 

This was most thoughtful of you and greatly appreciated by Their Royal Highnesses who send you their best wishes. 

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Prince Charles of Luxembourg - Birth Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Luxembourg. I had written to Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie to congratulate them on the birth of their son, Prince Charles. 

The front of the envelope is the usual. The bottom left says "Service of the Grand Duke" in French. 

The back of the envelope features the Grand-Ducal Crown in blue. 

Inside is a card from the couple. The front of the card features the Greater Coat of Arms of Prince Guillaume. I think it is especially lovely that they used a version that is hand drawn/painted. You till notice that the supporters on the Coat of Arms are both lions and on the shield are 4 more lions.

The inside of the card features a lovely photo of Prince Charles. This photo was part of the set of photos released a few days after the Prince's birth. The photos were taken by Céline Maia at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital before the little prince was taken home. 

The other side of the card features a lovely drawing/painting of a baby lion, with a bow in the colors of the Luxembourg flag. The drawing features a lion as it on the different Luxembourg Royal Coat of Arms. You till also notice the wreath of flowers is shaped in a "c" for Charles. 

The message is in French, one of Luxembourg's official language. The signatures are printed on. 

The message says, 

We sincerely thank you for your kind attention on the occasion of the birth of our son, Prince Charles.

Guillaume        Stephanie

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Congratulate Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank on their Pregnancy

If you would like to congratulate Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank on the announcement they are expecting their 1st child, you can write to them at:

Duke of York's Office

Buckingham Palace

London SW1A 1AA

UNITED KINGDOM

Prince Andrew's office has always handled Princess Eugenie & Princess Beatrice's mail. We know Prince Andrew is supposed to be moving his office out of Buckingham Palace at some point. But, the royal website still lists this as his mailing address and we have still seen some mail sent from there this year. 

We haven't seen many replies from Prince Andrew's office in the last few months. But, I expect they are just slow due to reduced staff & funding, and COVID. 

How you style Eugenie & Jack on the envelope and letter is up to you and how formal you want to be. But some options are: 

Envelope: 

HRH Princess Eugenie & Mr. Brooksbank

Mr & Mrs. Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank

Dear Line: 

Your Royal Highness & Mr. Brooksbank

Eugenie & Jack

Note: Pre-tradition, Eugenie dropped her father's "of York" territorial designation after her wedding. (Although you will see it used accidentally on occasion.)

For more on how to style the different UK Royals. 

Princess Anne - 70th Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived from the UK last week. I had written to Princess Anne in August to wish her a happy 70th Birthday. 

The front of the envelope is the usual sort from the British Royals. But what is a little unusual is the envelope is handwritten with the address indenting a little with each line. 

For Anne's special birthday, her office has created a card. The front of the card feature's Anne's coat of arms. The back of the card includes a copyright for the photographer, John Swannell, who took the photo featured on the inside. 

The inside of the card features a photo of Princess Anne along with a typed message. This photo was never officially released by the Palace but was likely taken at the same time as the photos released on her birthday, also taken by John Swannell. Swannell has taken the official portraits for Anne's 40th, 50th, and 60th birthday. 

The inside of the card says: 

The Princess Royal appreciated your kind thoughts sent on the occasion of her 70th Birthday, and sends you her thanks and best wishes for the future. 

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Duchess Camilla - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived yesterday from the UK. I had written to Duchess Camilla in July to wish her a happy birthday. 

The front of the envelope is a little different than the normal British replies. We know from past experience that this tells us the reply came from Camilla's staff, opposed to the correspondence section at Clarence House. 

And that is one of the ways to tell if Camilla's signature is real or auto-penned. If Camilla hand-signed something, the envelope will look like this and come from her staff. If the reply was sent by the Correspondence Section, then it is an auto-pen signature. They always send out a mix of both for Camilla's birthday.

The address is written in a very lovely way, where each line is indented. Camilla's staff are the only ones I have ever seen to do this. And at the bottom is an International "Tracked and Signed" Registered Mail sticker. (Obviously, if you are in the UK, you would have a different registered mail sticker.)

I wasn't asked to sign, for the letter. I think I had to sign for the first few pieces of mail I've gotten from Camilla. But I haven't been asked to sign for something like this in years.

The back of the envelope features Camilla's badge in green. This indicates the reply came from Birkhall, Charles & Camilla's home in Scotland. Pretty much anything from Camilla sent from Birkhall will be hand-signed. (When sent from Clarence House, Camilla's badge is blue.)

Instead of the usual photo card for Duchess Camilla's birthday, I received a letter. The letter does not specifically mention that I had written for Camilla's birthday. But, mentions other things I had written about in my letter. Mainly, I had talked about Camilla guest editing the Emma Barnett Show. (Sadly the episode is no longer available online.)

The letter says: 

Birkhall

11th August 2020

Dear Gertrude, 

Thank you for your kind letter about my recent Guest Edit of the Emma Barnett Show. I am so glad you enjoyed the programme. It was a wonderful experience, and I was delighted that so many of my charities, including SafeLives, were able to participate. 

I do hope you and your family have been safe and well during this challenging time. 

With best wishes

Camilla

I've gotten a lot of questions over the years about what I write in my letters. And, as I happen to have this letter saved on my computer, here is an excerpt:

I very much enjoyed your guest edit of The Emma Barnett Show. It was very enlightening to hear more about your patronages and their work. I found Tanya’s story of her escape from domestic abuse particularly moving. We have been hearing that domestic violence is likely increasing during this pandemic. And, so I am very glad to see you are making this issue a continued priority. And I think hearing a survivor’s story helps to bring this issue and its importance to life. 

I also wanted to congratulate you on your new patronage, SafeLives. I think you will be a great champion of their work. 

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Princess Charlotte & Prince Louis - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived from the UK today. I had written in May for Princess Charlotte & Prince Louis's birthday. Last year, I had written separate letters for the two kids' birthdays. 

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

The back of the envelope features the Black Crown/Kensignton Palace that the Cambridges have been using since 2016. 

Inside are two photo cards that are pretty identical and the same type we have been seeing for years. 

Princess Charlotte's birthday reply features a lovely photo of her taken by Duchess Kate. This was part of the set of photos released for Charlotte's birthday in May. 

The back of the card features the Black Crown/Kensington Palace along with a typed message. The message is the same as last year's except for Charlotte's age. 

The card reads: 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appreciated your kind thought in writing to Princess Charlotte as you did on the occasion of her fifth birthday.  

This was greatly appreciated by Their Royal Highnesses who send you their best wishes. 

Prince Louis's photo card also features a photo taken by Duchess Kate. This photo is from the same set of photos released for his birthday in April, although this photo was never officially released. This is the 2nd time I've gotten a reply from the Cambridges that used an unreleased photo. The 1st time was their 5th wedding anniversary reply. 

The back of the card features the same message as Princess Charlotte's card except for the obvious changes. 

The card says: 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appreciated your kind thought in writing to Prince Louis as you did on the occasion of his second birthday.  

This was greatly appreciated by Their Royal Highnesses who send you their best wishes. 

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Prince Albert - 15th Anniversary of Accession/Enthronement

A lovely reply arrived today from Monaco. I had written to Prince Albert in April to congratulate him on the 15th Anniversary of his Accession. 

The front of the envelope is the usual sort of thing. The text in the left upper corner says, in French: "Service of H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco." 

As you can kind of tell by the yellow sticker attached, this envelope was addressed to my old address, and then forwarded to my new address. I moved in March. I used my new address when sending my letter to Prince Albert, but they must have pulled my old address from their database when addressing this envelope. So far, since the move, Monaco has been the only monarchy to send mail to my old address. 

The back of the envelope is blank. And from the feel of the paper and inside of the envelopes we can see that this is different than what we usually see from the Monaco royals. Normally they use a high-quality envelope that matches the reply's paper. But, of the few letters I have received from Monaco, they have all come in a business envelope like this. 

Inside is a letter from Christine Sprile. She has been Prince Albert's Chief Private Secretary since 2019. Before that, she was his Assistant Private Secretary. The letter is almost identical to the letter I received 5 years ago for the 10th Anniversary of Prince Albert's Accession. Although I had written for Albert's accession, this letter instead refers to Prince Albert's enthronement. (Accession is when you become monarch. Enthronement is a formal ceremony similar to a coronation.)

Prince Albert's accession was April 6th, 2005, when his father died. Prince Albert's enthronement ceremony took place on July 12th, 2005 after the 3-month mourning period had ended (with continued celebrations on Monaco's National Day in November.) 

The letter says: 

The Private Secretary 

of  

HSH the Sovereign Prince of Monaco

Palace of Monaco, 

July 16th, 2020. 

Dear Mrs. Daly, 

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II has received with great pleasure your kind wishes sent on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of His enthronement and your kind wishes of prompt recovery. 

The Prince has asked me to send you His most sincere thanks for your thoughtful attention which was very much appreciated. 

With all my best regards, 

Christine Sprile

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Queen Elizabeth - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived last week from the UK. I had written to the Queen in April to wish her a Happy Birthday. 

The front of the envelope looks pretty much the same as most of the other British Royals. There is however one thing on the front that tells me this is from the Queen. The Queen's office is the only one who will write my first initial "G," instead of spelling out my full first name. 

The envelope features the postmark from the Court Post office at Buckingham Palace. 

The back of the envelope features the Queen's Coat of Arms. 

Inside is a typed letter. For the Queen's birthday each year, we see a variety of responses, from a personal letter from a lady in waiting, a form letter signed by a lady-in-waiting, and then this, an unsigned form letter. It tends to be the more personal replies are sent first and then they get more generic as time goes by. 

This letter is written on Windsor Castle stationery. But as we can tell from the postmark, this was sent from Buckingham Palace as it was processed through the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. This is my first birthday reply from the Queen to be sent on Windsor Castle Stationary. 

The letter says: 

Windsor Castle 

The Queen thanks you for the message you sent on the occasion of Her Majesty's ninety-fourth birthday.  

In this current situation, The Queen is most grateful for your support and your kind thought for Her Majesty is greatly appreciated. 

2020

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Prince Albert of Monaco - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Monaco. I had written to Prince Albert in March for his birthday. This reply came about 4.5 months later, which is one of the longest response time I have had from Monaco. 

The stamp is for the 44th Monte Carlo International Circus Festival which took place on January 16th-26th. Each year, the Monaco Post releases a new stamp in celebration of the festival. (Princess Stephanie is President of the Festival.)

The postmark is for the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology in Monaco. This postmark ran the week of July 13th-18th, ran again in August & will run again in September. This is one of those postmarks that is used multiple times a year when there isn't a special postmark. 

The back of the envelope features Prince Albert's monogram.

Inside is a flat card. This card is the same as Prince Albert's past birthday replies, except the message has been changed and the date updated.

The monogram is embossed. And the signature is printed on. The date is Prince Albert's birthday. 

The card says:

Palace of Monaco 

March 14th, 2020. 

I was very grateful to receive your kind wishes on the occasion of my Birthday and I send you my very best regards. 

Albert de Monaco

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Crown Prince Frederik - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Denmark. I had written to Crown Prince Frederik for his birthday in May. 

The front of the envelope is the usual. 

The back of the envelope features a crown with the address for Amalienborg written underneath. This is the envelope the couple has been using for years. 

Inside is a flat card. This is the same card I've received for a number of Crown Prince Frederik's past birthday. But, what is interesting is that the couple redesigned their cards in 2017. And this card features their old style. The reason is for things like birthdays, The Crown Prince Couple print off a bunch of cards that can be used for multiple years. And, so this is just a leftover. They will switch over to the new design next time they need more. 

However, Frederik's Birthday Reply last year did feature the new design, as they printed off a unique card for his 50th birthday. 

The cards says: 

His Royal Highness The Crown Prince has asked me to thank you for your kind congratulations on the occasion of his birthday

Cheif of the Court of Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark

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Prince Philip - Birthday Reply

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Philip in June to wish him a happy 99th birthday. This response came a little later than most of Prince Philip's past birthday reply, but understandable due to the pandemic.

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

The back of the envelope feature's Prince Philip's badge. 

Inside is a letter from Prince Philip's Correspondence Secretary, Suzy Lethbridge. Prince Philip's mail used to be handle by his Assistant Equerry. But when he retired, Prince Philip reduced his staff and his Assistant Equerry went to work for Prince Andrew. 

The letter is similar to Prince Philip's past birthday replies. He does change up the message on the letter from year to year, but the messages often get repeated. This year's message is the same as his 2016 reply.  

The letter says: 

Buckingham Palace

July 2020 

Dear Miss Daly, 

 

Prince Philip has asked me to say how much he appreciated your good wishes for his birthday. 

Your Sincerely, 

Suzy Lethbridge 

Correspondence Secretary to H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh 

Prince Philip's office sends out the same letter to everyone who writes for an occasion. This is why only the month and year is given for the date and there is nothing printed on the letter personalizing this to me.  However, this is the first birthday reply I have gotten from Prince Philip that has "Dear Miss Daly" written in.  It's only a little thing, but it is nice to have that personalization. 

I do wonder why the change now, after years of not personalizing the letter? I know from experience that the more overwhelmed an office is by mail the less personalized they tend to be. So, could it be they have more time on their hands? Less mail than past years?

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Queen Margrethe of Denmark's 80th Birthday

A lovely reply arrived today from Denmark. I had written to Queen Margrethe for her 80th birthday in April. The response time is about 3.5 months, which is the longest response times I've gotten from the Queen Margrethe. But, not unexpected with the current pandemic. 

The front of the envelope is the usual from Queen Margrethe. The Postmark has the Royal Crown over Amalienborg, the main Danish Palace where her mail is sent from. 

The back of the envelope features the Royal Crown of Denmark. The envelope paper has a lovely edge, which you can sort of see. 

Inside is a letter from one of Queen Margrethe's Aides-de-camp.  The Denmark royals don't usually do special replies for milestone events. So, I was expecting something similar to her part replies, which is what I got. This letter is almost identical to Queen Margrethe's past birthday. But, the one change they did make, is this mentions that this is her 80th birthday. 

The paper has a lovely textured edge. 

The letter says: 

Dear Miss Gertrude A. Daly

 

Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to express to you Her sincere thanks for your kind greetings on the occasion of Her Majesty's 80th birthday. 

Yours sincerely

[Signature]

Aide-de-camp

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King Albert of Belgium - Birthday Reply (2020)

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

The Belgium Royals have a number of different envelopes that they use. This version is the most common for King Albert & Queen Paola, with a purple crown and Belvédère [Castle], the name of their home, on the front. 

What is unusual however is my address is handwritten on the envelope. I have gotten a number of replies over the years with handwritten envelopes, but this is the first time from Belgium. 

Inside is a flat card, similar to past birthday replies. 

The card says: 

His Majesty King Albert II warmly thanks you for the kind wishes sent on the occasion of His 86th birthday.

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Condolence reply for Elizabeth-Ann de Massy

A lovely reply arrived today from Monaco. I had written to Prince Albert to send him and his family my deepest condolences on the passing of his cousin Elizabeth de Massy last month.  

The envelope is the usual from the Monaco Royals. Although this features no monogram. The postmark says, in French, "Women’s Rights Committee, the Prince’s Government, Promotion and Protection." The Monaco Post Service has lovely postmarks. They usually rotate every week between a special postmark for an event and their standard postmarks. This postmark would have been stamped on all the mail sent in Monaco at that time.  

As I said previously, I moved in March. I had written my letter of condolence using my new address. But what is interesting is this was sent to my old address. The Monaco Royals store addresses of people who write in a database. (Other monarchies do this as well.) And so, when replying had pulled my old address off their database. 

This isn't surprising since the same thing happened last time I moved. Some monarchies note the address change right away, others take a while. My strategy has just been to include in green "New Address" on my envelope. 

Inside is a flat card, with a printed message. The card features a black border for mourning. 

The card translates to:

TSH The Prince and Princess of Monaco

and their children

Mr. Jean-Léonard Taubert de Massey and his son

Miss Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy de Lusignan

Baron Christian de Massy

Mrs. Leticia de Massy and her children

Mr. Brice Gelable de Massy

Mr and Mrs. Sébastien Knecht de Massy and their children

HRH The Princess of Hanover, her children and grandchildren 

HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and her children

The Noghes family and the Polignac family

Deeply touched by the kind attention that you showed them following the passing of

Mrs Elizabeth-Ann de Massy

They express their feelings of deep gratitude

The people listed on the card are Elizabeth's family. Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and their children are listed first, and then the rest are listed based on their relationship to Elizabeth. 

Children: 

Mr. Jean-Léonard Taubert de Massey

Miss Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy de Lusignan

Siblings:

Baron Christian de Massy

Nieces & Nephews:

Mrs. Leticia de Massy 

Mr. Brice Gelable de Massy

Mr. Sébastien Knecht de Massy 

Cousins: 

Prince Albert, Princess Charlene, Princess Stephanie, Princess Caroline

Extended Family: 

Noghès Family

Polignac Family

---

This reply came fairly quickly, just over a month since I wrote. 

Each monarchy is making their own decisions about how to handle mail during the pandemic. But in general, things have been slower than usual. This is my first reply in over a month. 

I would be prepared for long response times. 

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Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Luxembourg. I had written to Grand Duke Henri in April for his 65th birthday. 

On the front of the envelope are two stamps of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume that were released to mark his 30th birthday in 2011.

The postmark is a special postmark to celebrate the birth of Prince Charles of Luxembourg. It features the Grand-Ducal Crown in one corner and "Vive le Prince" (Long Live the Prince) in the opposite corner. 

The back of the envelope features the Grand-Ducal Crown.

Inside are two cards. The first card is the usual sort of flat card with a typed message. 

The card says: 

Luxembourg April 2020

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

Henri

The date on the card corresponds with Henri's birthday, and not the date the card was actually sent. 

The other card is a photo of Grand Duke Henri, that was taken by Lola Velasco. I am not 100% sure when this photo was taken, but it is over a decade old. & possibly taken just after Henri's accession. Besides throwback photos for anniversaries or condolences, I think this is the oldest photo I've gotten from the Royals. 

This is only the 2nd time I have gotten a photo from the Luxembourg Royals. The first time was for Grand Duke Henri's birthday last year. 

We can tell from the back of the card, that is was created by the German Souvenir company, Creation Gross (Gross means big in German).  The company creates souvenirs that they then sell to gift shops, tourist attractions, etc. It is interesting that the Luxembourg Palace bought postcards from a 3rd party, instead of just creating photo cards themselves, or contacting a printer directly. 

I have received a postcard before from the Liechtenstein Royals, but that is something they created themselves. 

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