So, I know I haven't been writing many letters to the royals lately or posting their replies. But when I received this one from Monaco this week, I had to post it.
While most Christmas Replies from the Royals arrive sometimes between December & March, I have gotten a few Christmas replies over the years in April & May. The previous record-holders for the latest Christmas Reply were King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain for their 2020 Christmas Reply, which I received in May last year.
From the postmark, we can tell this was mailed out on Christmas Eve last year. The yellow forwarding sticker on the bottom is dated June 11th, 2021, a few days before I received it. It is unclear where the card got delayed. The envelope and card were a little crumpled, so maybe it got stuck in some mailing machine somewhere.
While this certainly wasn't the cause for the big delay, this reply was sent to my old address, and forwarded to my current address. I moved in March 2021, so months before I sent out my Christmas letters. Monaco, like many other monarchies, has a database, where they store personal information about people who write to the royals, invited to events, etc. Often they use the information from the database to print off the envelopes for replies. It is much easier to do that than to re-enter your address in the computer each time they are sending you a reply. And that is why replies sometimes get sent to old addresses, or why there will be the same spelling error in your address each time.
Inside is a folded card from Princess Stéphanie. I have written to her many times over the years for Christmas. I didn't get a Christmas Reply from her the first few years. But I did get one for Christmas 2019 & 2020.
This card is pretty identical to her past Christmas replies, except it has a slightly different design on the front. Like past years, the front says "Meilleurs Voeux," which means "Best Wishes/ Happy New Years" in French. French is Monaco's official language.
