Sarah, Duchess of York - Christmas Reply (2022)

 I received this lovely reply from Duchess Sarah months ago, but never got around to writing a blog post about it. 

The envelope is a christmas red color. My address is printed on an label. You will notice this doesn't have the usual King's Cypher & Circle with date and Buckingham Palace on it. That is because this wasn't processed through the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. But box on the upper right has the Sovereign Grant's PPI (Postage Paid Impression) number, W7047, so we know the postage is paid for the the Sovereign Grant. 

I have long speculated the reason that Sarah's envelopes have an "S" written on the front maybe to track the mail sent by her, as she may be repaying the Sovereign Grant. But I have seen nothing in the annual Sovereign Grant Report to indicate it. 

Inside is a flat card, slightly larger than postcard size. It is in similar style as the typical replies from Clarence House, but photos and message are glued onto the piece of card stock. 

The front of the card features a photo of Duchess Sarah at a Train station. Sarah is holding Paddington Bear and Little Red (a character from her children's books). The sign behind Sarah looks to be in French, so the photo not taken in the UK.

The back of the card features a copy of a handwritten message. 

The card says: 

2023

Happy New Years

Communicate

Compromise

Compassion 

~Joy Bubbles~

Thank you so much for all your kindness. 

Love Sarah. 

The "Communicate, Compromise & Compassion" are Duchess Sarah's 3Cs for Life that she has discussed numerous times over the years, since at least 2010.  She often describes them as her & ex husband Prince Andrew's bywords that they try to live by. 

"Joy Bubbles" is another saying of Duchess Sarah's, dating back to at least 2020. It means just a little bit of joy. And Sarah encourages you to either find a "Joy Bubble" for yourself. Or create one for others. 

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Netherlands Palace will no longer send "Thank You" replies.

 The Netherland Palace has announced they are no longer sending out "thank you" replies to well-wishers for Birthdays, New Years, etc. 

"The warm wishes received by the Royal Family on the occasion of birthdays and New Year's are always greatly appreciated. You indicate that you have not received any thank you cards since last December. It is indeed true that thank you cards are no longer sent for birthdays and New Year: thank the King and Queen for the wishes received via the Government Information Service and the official social media channels of the Royal House."

The Palace has not given any reason for this decision. But I expect it was likely a cost thing. The Netherland Royals have always limited what they send replies for. And when they did reply, they did a number of things to help cut costs, such as creating cards that can be re-used for a few years. 

You can find some of my past replies from the Netherland Royals here.

Princess Beatrice of York - Birthday Reply (2019)

 This lovely reply arrived from the UK, back in October 2019.

The front of the envelope is the usual. The envelope features a double postmark. The first is the typical postmark from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace from that time.  It also features a postmark from Mount Pleasant Mail Centre. The postmark is to celebrate the 50 years of Monty Python's Flying Circus. 

The back of the envelope features Prince Andrew's badge. As Andrew's office was handling all of Princess Beatrice & Princess Eugenie's mail at the time, they used   

Inside is a letter from Charlotte Fenn. The letter describes her job title as "Assistant Private Secretary to HRH Princess Beatrice of York." But officially, she was Prince Andrew's Assistant Private Secretary. 

Princess Eugenie & Princess Beatrice didn't have any of their own staff members. But Prince Andrew's office does handle things for them.  

The letter says:

Buckingham Palace 

8th August, 2019

Dear Gertrude,  

Princess Beatrice of York has asked me to thank you for sending her your good wishes on her Birthday. Her Royal Highness is very grateful to you for thinking of her and sends you her best wishes.  

Yours Sincerely, 

Charlotte Fern

Assistant Private Secretary to HRH Princess  

Beatrice of York

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