Duchess Sarah's Thank You for Princess Beatrice's Engagement (2019)

A lovely and a bit surprising reply arrived from the UK earlier this month. I had written to Duchess Sarah for Christmas and of course expressed my congratulations on the engagement of her daughter, Princess Beatrice to Edo.

I received a lovely Christmas reply from Sarah back in January. And I wasn't expecting anything more. So, this was a nice surprise. 

The card and envelopes are the same, but modified, as Princess Beatrice's Engagement reply from Prince Andrew's office. For events like this, Prince Andrew's office gives the extra cards (& envelopes) to Sarah so that she can then send out to well-wishers. 

The front of the envelope will look a little different than the usual from the British Royals. There is no EIIR, but from the postmark, we can tell this was processed through the Court Post Office at Windsor Castle. And the PPI Number, W4047 tells us that this was changed to the Royal's Postal account which is paid for by the Sovereign Grant. 

The back of the envelope features Princess Beatrice's monogram engraved in gold.

Inside is a flat card. The front of the card features a photo of Princess Beatrice & Edoardo taken by Princess Eugenie. This photo was released to mark the couple's engagement in September. 

The back of the card feature Sarah's monogram. Sarah does have a usual S with a crown monogram that she has used in the past. The monogram on the card was developed a few years ago as sort of a logo for a brand of tea that Sarah was promoting. The date and signature are printed on. 

 The card says: 

Thank you so much for your congratulations and kind wishes. We are so proud to be sharing this sensational and happy news.  

We are so delighted to welcome Edo into our family. Beatrice and Edo are so excited and thrilled to be embarking on their new life together. They are looking forward to a life filled with love and happiness. We are overjoyed that they have found one another.  

Thank you so much for your kindness and support over the years. 

2020 Sarah. 

This card is actually the same one sent out by Prince Andrew's office for Princess Beatrice's engagement. Sarah's staff just glued her message over Beatrice & Edo's thank you. If you hold the card up to the light you can see Beatrice's Monogram and the printed on message. You can see the full original card here. 

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Crown Princess Mary - Birthday Reply (2020)

A lovely reply arrived this week from Denmark. I had written to Crown Princess Mary to wish her a happy birthday.

The envelope is the usual for the Denmark Royals.

The back of the envelope is usual from the Crown Prince Couple.

The card has a typed message and is the exact same as last year's birthday reply. The card has lovely textured edges.

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Queen Mathilde of Belgium - Birthday Reply 2020

A lovely reply arrived today from Belgium. I had written to Queen Mathilde in January to wish her a happy birthday.

The front of the envelope is the usual from the Belgium Royals. What is interesting, it this has the postmark printed on twice, likely by accident.

Inside is the usual birthday reply from Queen Mathilde, a photo and a flat card.

No details on the photo, except that, is was released to mark her birthday this year.

The card's message is pretty similar to last year's, expect the wording is a little different.

The card says:

Her Majesty's The Queen thank you wholeheartedly for the warm wishes you sent her an occasion of her birthday.  

These expressions of good wishes made her very happy.

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The Cambridges - Christmas Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived from the UK last week! I had written to The Cambridges to wish them a merry Christmas.

You may notice these photos are much higher quality than my previous posts. I just bought a new printer that has a scanner. So, I will be able to get much better photos of my replies than I could get in the past with my phone.

The front of the envelope is the usual from the British Royals. This envelope features a double postmark. The Red is the usual from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. The black is an accidental postmark that was stamped when the mail arrived at the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, where most international mail from the London area is sorted before taken to Heathrow Airport.

The black postmark says "Working together to tackle climate change in this Year of Climate Action. Search UKCOP26." This year is the UN's Year of Climate Action. COP26 refers to the UN's 2020 Climate Change Conference that will be held in Scotland later this year.

The back of the envelope features the usual Black Crown/Kensington Palace that we see from the Cambridges.

Inside is Clarence House's usual photo card. The front of the card features a lovely photo of the Cambridges that was released for Christmas 2018 and used on their personal Christmas card that Year.  The photo was taken by Matt Porteous at Amner Hall in late 2018. It's not unusual for the Cambridges to use old photos. But, I would have liked something more current, especially given how much Prince Louis has grown.


The back of the card features the usual sort of typed message.  It is slightly different than last year's reply.

The card says: 

Kensington Palace 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis greatly appreciated your thoughtful Christmas message.  

Their Royal Highnesses send you their warmest wishes for Christmas and for the New Year. 

I am hoping for at least one more reply for Christmas 2019. 

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The Queen - Christmas Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from the UK. I had written to The Queen and Prince Philip to wish them a Merry Christmas.

The front of the envelope is the usual for the British Royals. This envelope features a double postmark. The Red is the usual from the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. The black is an accidental postmark that was stamped when the mail arrived at the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, where most international mail from the London area is sorted before taken to Heathrow Airport.

The 2nd Postmark says "Working together to tackle climate change in this Year of Climate Action. Search UKCOP26." This year is the UN's Year of Climate Action. COP26 refers to the UN's 2020 Climate Change Conference that will be held in Scotland later this year. Very likely we will see some royal attendance there.

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

Inside is a form letter thanking me for my Christmas letter. Each year, the Queen's office will send out a variety of responses: personal letter, form letter signed and personalized with the persons name, and an unsigned form letter like this. There is no way to guarantee which kind of reply you will get. I've gotten all 3 types over the years. (I have noticed that the first replies sent out for an event tend to be the most personal. And then they get less personal as her staff is trying to get through the overload of mail.)

The letter reads:

Buckingham Palace 

The Queen thanks you for the message you send for Christmas and the New Year.  

Her Majesty is most grateful for your kind word and your thoughtfulness in writing at his time.  

2020

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Condolence for Infanta Pilar of Spain's Passing (2020)

A reply arrived today from Spain. I had written to King Juan Carlos last month to express my condolence for the death of his sister, Infanta Pilar.

The front of the envelope is the usual from the Spain Royals. The back of the envelope is blank.


Inside is a letter from King Felipe written on behalf of himself and the Royal Family. This is the first letter I've gotten from Spain that was from the actual royal, not sent from a member of staff. Certainly, this is a form letter that would be sent out to pretty much everyone who sent their condolences. So, it was not personally written to me. But, I rather like the personal approach of having the letter written by the King. I think it is very appropriate given that this is about the death of his aunt.

And I think it is absolutely fine that the letter comes from King Felipe, rather than the person I send it to, King Juan Carlos. It makes a lot of sense to have one reply that can be used for everyone who sends a letter of condolence, instead of having a bunch based on who exactly the well-wisher addressed their letter of condolence to. And given that King Juan Carlos is now retired from all royal duties, he doesn't have an office full of staff anymore. This is the 2nd time I've written to King Juan Carlos and gotten a reply from Felipe's office.

The letter reads:

Office of His Majesty The King

Palacio De La Zarzuela

6th February 2020

[My Name & Address] 

From His Majesty The King of Spain 

His Majesty The King and his family are grateful for the condolences and expressions of affection received on the occasion of the death of Her Royal Highness The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbon, Duchess of Badajoz (Rest in Peace). 

Felipe R.

I spend a bit of time trying to figure out what (D.E.P.) meant at the end of the letter. At first, I thought this was referencing some order that Pilar had received. But then I found out it translates to R.I.P. or "Rest in Peace." I thought that was an especially lovely touch.

The "R." at the end of King Felipe's name stands for King in Spanish (Rey) & Latin (Rex).

The stationary is basically the same as all my past letters from Spain. However, this letter is the first one I've received to simply say "Casa De S.M. El Rey" at the top instead of giving the senders title/department.

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Princess Anne & Sir Tim Laurence - Christmas Reply (2019)

A lovely reply arrived this week from the UK. I had written to Princess Anne & her Husband Tim to wish them a Merry Christmas.

I was very glad to get a reply from them as Princess Anne's office doesn't always reply.

The envelope is the usual from the British Royals.

The back of the envelope features Princess Anne's Coat of Arms.

Inside is a letter from Isabella Ward, Princess Anne's Office Secretary. It is pretty similar to past Christmas Replies from the couple.

The letter reads: 

5th February 2020

Dear Miss Daly, 

The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Time Laurance have asked me to thank you for your letter dated 21st December with its kind and supportive message for Christmas and the New Year. Her Royal Highness and Sir Tim are touched that you had thought to write to them again and send you their best wishes for the future. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Isabella Ward

Office Secretary to HRH The Princess Royal

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