Liechtenstein Royals Envelope (2016-Present)

The Liechtenstein Royals use the same envelope most of the time. 

Usual 

The Lichtenstein's usual envelope has a blank front. The palace uses real stamps and usually they are recently released stamps. But sometimes to you will see older stamps if they need a small domination. 

The postmark is stamped on at the local post office and unlike the british monarchy isn't special for the royals. The center part of the postmark is the "day - month - year - hour" of the postmark. The top part of the postmark often says, "9494 Schaan." Schann is one of Liechtenstein's Municipality just north of Vaduz Castle. "9494" is the postcode for that post office. 

The back of the envelope has the address of Castle Vaduz. 

Mourning Envelope

The envelope has a black edge for mourning. And like their normal envelope features a stamp. 

 The postmark features Vaduz Castle, the Liechtenstein Royal's official residence.

The back of the envelope features a Crown along with the name of the Royal's main residence Vaduz. 

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Prince Edward & Duchess Sophie's Mystery Reply (2022)

I received this reply from the UK back at the beginning on the year. I delayed in writing up a blog post on this reply because I was unsure which if my two recent cards this was replying to. 

I had written to Edward & Sophie in late 2022 for both Queen Elizabeth's death and for Christmas. And it is unclear from the message which of the two events this is for. I had hoped that I would eventually get a 2nd reply which would clarify. 

The front of the envelope is the usual from the couple. The Edinburghs Office staff is split between St. James's Palace in London and Bagshot Park in Bagshot. The Edinburghs are the only British Working Royals who mail is handled full time by an office outside of London. As a result their mail is not processed through the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace and does not have that postmark. 

This postmark is a special one that historically was used for a number of royal residences. But nowadays, I just see it used by Bagshot Park. The only change to the postmark from Queen Elizabeth II's reign to now, was the swapping of the cypher in the lower left of the envelope.  

The back of the envelope features the couple's joint Coat of Arms. 

Inside is a letter written by a member of the Edinburgh's staff. At the time the letter was written, Prince Edward had not yet been given the Duke of Edinburgh Dukedom, so the couple were still the Earl and Countess of Wessex. 

The letter does not make any mention about what occasion I had written for. The Edinburghs/Wessex's office rarely replies. I only have a handful of replies from them over the years. So, I am hesitant to think this is a Christmas reply. I have only received one Christmas Reply from them in all my years of writing. 

I know the couple had a pre-made card they sent out following Queen Elizabeth's death. But it could be they ran out of those cards and decided not to print off more. And so, just replied with a letter.

The letter says: 

6th January 2023 

Dear Miss Daly, 

Thank you for your recent letter with kind words to the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Their Royal Highnesses send you their best wishes. 

 [Signature]

Household of TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex

While the letter does not give the name of the staff member who signed the letter, the signature is similar to my 2019 reply from the couple signed by Jackie Phipps, their Secretarial Assistant.  

Leave a Comment about whether you think this reply is for Christmas or Queen Elizabeth's death. 

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Queen Camilla - Coronation Reply (2023)

This lovely reply arrived today from the UK. I had written to Queen Camilla to congratulate her on the Coronation. 

In the past, I had usually always written to King Charles & Queen Camilla jointly. But I've noticed they often have separate replies, so I decided to write to them separately. But otherwise I will continue to write to couples jointly. 

The envelope was the usual from the couple, featuring King Charles's coat of arms on the back. 

Inside is a folded card, similar to the ones Queen Elizabeth II sent on special occasions. 

The front of the card features King Charles & Queen Camilla's joint cypher. There are two Cs for Charles & Camilla and a large R for Rex/Regina, which means King/Queen in Latin. 

The design around it is taken from the Coronation Invitation designed by Andrew Jamieson, a heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator. This same front is used for King Charles's Coronation Reply. 

Inside is a photo of Queen Camilla taken by Hugo Burnand as part of the official coronation photos. On the right side is a typed message along with a printed on signature. 

The message says: 

I was deeply touched by your most kind and thoughtful  message following our Coronation. I am enormously grateful to everyone who took part in the celebrations, and particularly appreciate that you do generously took the the time to write to me on this very special occasion.  

With my best wishes, 

Camilla R 

The back of the card is blank except for a note: "Image by Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023."

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Prince François of Luxembourg - Birth Reply (2023)

This 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 François. 

The front of the envelope is the usual from the Luxembourg Royals. the back however is different. This is the first time I've gotten an envelope with the couple's joint monogram. The monogram is embossed with Guillaume's G in blue and Stephanie's S in Orange. 

Close up

Back of Envelope

Inside is a card, similar to the one for their older child, Prince Charles. The front of card features a drawing/painting by the same artist as Prince Charles's card. It features a baby lion. Lions are used on a lot of the Royal Family's coat of arms, flags, etc.  François's name is written at the top with his date of birth at the bottom (The 27th March 2023).

The inside of the card features a photo of François and a typed message along with the couple's signatures printed on. The couple's signatures are the same as the one used for Prince Charles's birth reply.

But one interesting in is this reply is personalized with "Dear Miss Daly," handwritten. 

The photo was taken a 2 days after François's birth by Céline Maia at StudioByC. François is being held by his father Prince Guillaume.

The card says: 

Dear Miss Daly, 

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

Guillaume & Stephanie 

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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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