Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan - Christmas Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan in December to wish them a Merry Christmas. As I hadn't seen any replies from them since Christmas last year, I wasn't excepting anything in reply. This was a very lovely surprise. 

With the Sussexes stepping down as working royals last year there was a big question on how their mail is going to be handled. The Correspondence Section at Clarence House said last year that they are still handling the Sussexes mail as it was always done. And this reply is pretty much the same as the replies from before the Sussexes stepped down. 

The front of the envelope is the usual. It features the postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. The Post Office is run by the Royal Mail. All incoming/outgoing mail for one of the London Royal offices/residences is processed through this post office. For incoming mail, the Royal Mail will run additional security checks, before sorting the mail and delivering it to each office. The Royal Mail collects outgoing mail from each office, with frank it with this postmark, and sort it before sending it on to its next stop. 

The PPI (Printed Postage Impression) number in the red box is W4047, which is the Sovereign Grants account. So we know the cost of postage is being charged to the Sovereign Grant.

The back of the envelope features the couple's monogram. It is the same one they have always used, a combined M/H under the coronet of the child of the Prince of Wales. (William & Kate use this same Coronet on their monograms & coat of arms. The coronets you see on other royal's mail are slightly different. E.g. The York Princesses use the coronet of the child of the son of the monarch.)

Inside is the typical photo card we see from Clarence House. The front of the card features a photo of the couple in Dubbo, Australia. This is the same photo they used on their reply for their 2018 pregnancy announcement. (Although this card has a glossy finish.) It is very common for Clarence House to reuse photos. And now that the couple has stepped down, I expect we will see this more often for them as reusing photos will save time and money. 

The back of the card has a typed message.  The message is different than what we've seen in the past. It is in some ways more personal, as it is worded as if it is from the Sussexes, not written on their behalf. (This is the 2nd year their Christmas reply has neglected to mention Archie.) The message is sort of generic, which will allow Clarence House to use this card for multiple occasions/years. 

The message says: 

Thank you for your thoughtful message. We appreciate your kind words and the time you have taken to write to us on this special occasion.  

Sending you our warmest wishes.  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

After months of not seeing any replies from Clarence House from the Sussexes, it is nice to see replies again. I think this also signals that Clarence House will continue to handle the Sussexes mail for the foreseeable future, as the Sussexes have yet to hire staff to take on that duty. It will be interesting to hear if the Sussexes are reimbursing Clarence House and the Sovereign Grant for this service.