Princess Anne & Sir Tim - Christmas Reply (2017)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim. I wrote to them Christmastmas and their 25th Wedding Anniversary earlier this month.

The letter is the typical reply from Princess Anne's office. It was written by Isabella Ward, Anne's Office Secretary. At the top of the page is Princess Anne's Coat of Arms.

The letter reads:

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Princess Royal & Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence have asked me to thank you for your letter dated 26th November with its kind message for the Christmas season and congratulations on their 25th wedding anniversary.  

Her Royal Highness and Sir Tim are grateful to you for thinking of them at this time of year and send you their best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.  

Yours Sincerely 

Mrs. Isabelle Ward

Office Secretary to HRH The Princess Royal 

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Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein - Christmas Reply (2017)

This is the 2nd year I've written to the Liechtenstein Royals for Christmas. Their reply is the same as last years. A premade card with an embossed coat of arms on top. The "Dear Miss Daly," and "Sincerely," have been written in by a secretary and the card is signed Sophie Liechtenstein & Alois Liechtenstein.

The message is in German, Liechtenstein's official language. It translates to, "Blessed Christmas and all the best in the New Year." 

There has been some question about whether it's a real signature or if the Liechtenstein Royals use a printed on or autopen signature. It is quite clear now that they do use a printed-on signature for at least some of their replies. The signatures on this reply & last Christmas reply are identical. But it is possible the Liechtenstein Royals hand-sign some of the replies, as I have gotten different signatures on other replies.

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Queen Sofia of Spain - Birthday Reply (2017)

As you may know, the Spain Royals aren't really good about replying. They always don't reply. And when they do, they often only reply to about half the people who wrote. I have only gotten one other reply from Spain from King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia last Christmas, despite numerous letters over the years.

So, when I wrote for Queen Sofia's 79th birthday last month, I wasn't expecting a reply.

Then this came in the mail. From the outside, it kind of looks like a piece of junk mail. But when you take a closer look it will sort of blow your mind, and make you feel like you've gone through a time portal.



It's a TELEGRAM!!!! A real-life sent, this century, telegram! I didn't even think telegrams still existed, but here one is. (This is the 1st Royal Telegram I've seen from this century. And my first piece of Royal Mail mailed from the USA.)

With this kind of telegram, the Spanish Palace sent the note electronically to the telegram company. The telegram company sent it to their Orlando, Flordia office, who printed it out and mailed it to me. (I guess this is a cheaper process than just mailing an international letter.)

Translated the message reads:

[Numbers & letters I assume are related to their Telegram Account] 

Palace of Zarzuela 

Mrs. Gertrude Alexandra Daly  

[My Address] 

As Chief of Protocol of the House of His Majesty the King & Her Majesty the Queen, Queen Sofia asks me to thank you for your kind words addressed to her on the occasion of her birthday. Warmest Regards, Alfredo Martinez Serrano

So bizarre to be getting a telegram. It lacks the polish of other Royal Replies, but this will definitely be one of my favorites because of its uniqueness.

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Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein - Birthday Reply (2017)

I had written in October for Hereditary Princess Sophie's 50th birthday. Hereditary Prince/ss means the same thing as Crown Prince/ss; different countries use different titles. Some countries use a special title for the heir instead (e.g. Prince of Wales, Princess of Asturias, etc.).

The envelope has a simple front, with a postmark and actual stamps. 

This letter marks the 1 year anniversary of me writing to the Liechtenstein Royals. This is my 5th reply from them. All the previous replies featured the same Butterfly stamp from 2009.

Butterfly Stamp from previous replies

So, it is really great to see a new 2017 stamp being used & it's even more wonderful that it is Winter Themed. The stamp is called "Winterwald/Winter Forest" and was released on November 13th as part of their 2017 Christmas collection.

On the back of the envelope is the royal's address.

The card is their standard pre-made thank you card, with "Many thanks for your kind wishes" pre-printed on it. They then added the mention of her birthday, before Princess Sophie signed it.

I really like how they have this basic card they can use for anything, that they were then able to personalize for the event. I really love the rough edges and the embossed coat of arms. (You see a lot of embossed coat of arms on royal mail, but Liechtenstein has the nicest. The paper is really nice and thick, so the coat of armed is raised quite a bit.)

Princess Sophie signed her name, "Sophie Liechtenstein."

This is the same reply I got last year, except last year's had "Dear Miss Daly," handwritten as well.

It is a very lovely reply, made extra special by the signature. I would have loved a mention that it was her 50th Birthday. I think it is important to denote the milestones. 

*****

Tuesday is our recommended Send By Date for Christmas Cards/Letters to the Royals. If you haven't gotten yours out yet, don't worry. It's not a big deal. It just means your card/letter may not arrive by Christmas. (Depending on your Country, some of you living closer to the Royals, have some extra time to send out your cards.) But I would get them ours as soon as possible. 

Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip - 70th Anniversary Reply (2017)

A lovely reply arrived today from the Queen & Prince Philip. I had written to them last month for their 70th Wedding Anniversary. 

Nothing special about the envelope, it is the usual from the British Royals. 

The back of the envelope features the Queen's coat of arms.

Inside is a very special tri-fold card. (The Queen's 90th Birthday card was similar, but had two panels instead of three.)

The front of the card features the Queen's Cypher, the distinctive EIIR. It stands for "Elizabeth II Regina." Regina is Latin for Queen. The front also features their years of marriage and a joint monogram. We don't often see joint monograms from the British Royals, so this is a real treat. (The Queen and Philip also have a joint monogram with their letters intertwined.)

The front of the card reads:

EIIR

70th Wedding Anniversary 

1947-2017

EP 

The inside features two photos and a message from Queen on behalf of herself and Philip. (You will notice the Queen refers to him as Prince Philip, not his title Duke of Edinburgh.) 

The photo on the left is from their wedding in 1947. Per royal tradition, it was taken in the throne room at Buckingham Palace.  

The photo on the right was taken by Julian Calder at Buckingham Palace in Early 2011. The photo is part of a special set of official photographs by Royal Images, the official library of official photos of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. 

Royal Images is an organization that manages the set of official photos that are available for Royal's charities, government organizations, etc. to use for official things.

The card reads: 

Buckingham Palace 

Prince Philip and I thank you for your kind words on the occasion of our 70th Wedding Anniversary. 

Elizabeth R

I would have loved to see them use one of the official photographs released for their anniversary in the card. But those were taken in early November, and there likely wasn't enough time to have those printed on the card. 

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Prince Charles - Birthday Reply (2017)

Today I received a reply from Prince Charles for the letter I sent for his Birthday earlier this month. The reply is the usual we see from Clarence House, postcard-sized photo, with typed message on back.

The photo was taken by Mario Testino at Clarence House earlier this year. Mario has photographed practically everyone in the royal family, as well as numerous foreign royals. He took William & Kate's official engagements photos and Princess Charlotte's christening photos.

Clarence House had previously released a photo from this session for Duchess Camilla's 70th Birthday.

To mark HRH The Duchess of Cornwall's 70th Birthday, we are releasing this new portrait, taken by @MarioTestino. pic.twitter.com/tD05etWVl8

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 16, 2017

The message on the back is similar to past year, but they've changed up the wording.

The card reads:

The Prince of Wales greatly appreciated the trouble you took to write on the occasion of his 69th birthday. His Royal Highness was so touched by your thoughtfulness and sends you his heartfelt gratitude and best wishes. 

With the card came a letter from Claudia Spens, Head of the Correspondence Section at Clarence House.

The letter reads: 

Dear Miss Daly,  

The Prince of Wales has asked me to thank you for your letter of 30th October.  

His Royal Highness is most grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did; he was particularly touched by your kind words of support and greatly appreciated your good wishes on the occasion of his 69th birthday.  

The Prince of Wales thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Autumn tour and was overwhelmed by the lovely welcome and warm reception he received from the countries he visited. 

His Royal Highness has asked me to send you the enclosed special picture along with his warmest thanks and very best wishes.  

Your sincerely, Claudia Spens

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Princess Elisabeth - Birthday Reply (2017)

Today I received a reply from Belgium. I had written to Princess Elisabeth for her 16th birthday earlier this month. I don't normally write for children's birthdays (except if they are one of my favorite like Prince George or Princess Charlotte). But this was sort of a milestone birthday, being her Sweet 16, and I was getting all emotional thinking about how she's almost an adult. It is hard to believe in 2 short years she will be 18 years old.

The reply is the typical thing you see from the Belgium Royals, a pre-made card and photo (although, they don't always send a photo). 

The message is in French. Translated the message reads:

Royal Palace of Brussels 

The wishes that you were kind enough to send to Her Royal Highness Princess Elisabeth on the occasion of her 16th birthday, have given her great pleasure. 

Their Majesties the King and the Queen thank you with all their heart for this beautiful gesture.

The photo is part of a set released for Princess Elisabeth's birthday. No details on the photo. But given the green glass door and plants, I assume this was taken at the Royal Greenhouses in Laeken.

The Royal Greenhouses in Laeken, is a favorite location for the Belgium Royal Family. The Greenhouses are located in the Royal Park at the Castle of Laeken, which is the Royal Family's home. (The Royal Palace of Brussels is just a working palace.) 

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