King Philippe & Queen Mathilde of Beligum - Christmas Reply (2023)

 I received this reply earlier this month from Belgium after I had written to King Philippe & Queen Mathilde for Christmas.

The envelope was the usual from the couple for Christmas. It matches the card, and is listed here #2B. 

King Philippe & Queen Mathilde create a similar card each year.  The front of the card features King Philippe & Queen Mathilde's joint Monogram. The F & P stand for the different spellings of King Philippe's name in the 3 official languages of Belgium:

• French: Philippe
• Dutch: Filip
• German: Philippe

The inside left side of the card has a message. The message is in Belgium's 3 official languages (Dutch, French, German) plus English.  The signatures are printed on and the same as recent years. The 4 children's names are arranged in order of age. The date reflects the new year. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Philippe Mathilde

Elisabeth Gabriel Emmanuel Eleonore

2024

The right side shows a photo of the family. The photo was taken by Bas Bogaerts.

L-R: Princess Eleonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth, Prince Emmanuel

The back of the card is blank except for a photo credit. 

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King Philippe & Queen Mathilde of Beligum - Christmas Reply (2022)

 I received this reply a year ago from Belgium after I had written to them for Christmas 2022. 

The envelope was the usual from the couple for Christmas. It matches the card, and is listed here #2B. 

King Philippe & Queen Mathilde create a similar card each year.  The front of the card features King Philippe & Queen Mathilde's joint Monogram. The F & P stand for the different spellings of King Philippe's name in the 3 official languages of Belgium:

• French: Philippe
• Dutch: Filip
• German: Philippe

The inside left side of the card has a message. The message is in Belgium's 3 official languages (Dutch, French, German) plus English.  The signatures are printed on and the same as recent years. The 4 children's names are arranged in order of age. The date reflects the new year. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Philippe Mathilde

Elisabeth Gabriel Emmanuel Eleonore

2023

The right side shows a photo of the family along with their two dogs. The photo was taken by Bas Bogaerts.

(2nd row L-R: Gabriel, Elisabeth, Emmanuel, Eleonore; 

1st row L-R: Queen Mathilde, King Philippe; 

Floor L-R: Jeep, Simba).

The back of the card is blank except for a photo credit. 

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Queen Sofia of Spain - Birthday Reply (2023)

This reply arrived this week from Spain. I had written to Queen Sofia of Spain for her birthday in November.  I have written to Queen Sofia a number of times for her birthday, but this is only the 2nd time I have received a reply. 

The envelope is the usual form the Spain royals. The letter is the typical from the Spain Royals are well. 

The letter says: 

From the Head of Protocol of HM The King

Her Majesty Queen Sofia instructs me to convey her sincere gratitude for the affectionate words you have addressed to her for her birthday. 

With kind regards, 

 

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Prince Guillaume & Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg - Christmas Reply (2022)

I received this reply last year for the card I had sent for Christmas 2022. This reply came in April, which is a late Christmas reply, but nowhere near the latest I have received. 

Inside is a handmade Christmas card made by the Foundations Autisme Luxembourg, which Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is patron of. The card is from a set sold by the charity. The couple have been using cards from this charity for a few years now. 

The front features a lovely tree design along with the message "Merry Christmas" in Luxembourgish.

The card is made of heavy cardstock and the design on the front is layered, so the card has a nice weight and texture. 

The inside of the card is blank but includes two inserts. 

The first insert is the usual sort of flat card. 

The cards says: 

Their Royal Highnesses the Hereditary Grand Duke and The Hereditary Grand Duchess wish to thank you for your kind greetings and send you their best wishes for the new year. 

Luxembourg, December 2022 

Included with the flat card is a family photos. (Prince Francois was not born until the following year, which is why he is not in this photo.) The photo is of part of set released by the Luxembourg monarchy in December 2022. 

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Princess Caroline of Hanover (Monaco) Christmas Reply (2023)

I had written to Princess Caroline of Hanover twice recently, for Christmas and her Birthday. The card does not mention specifically what event this is in reply to, but given the envelope is postmarked January 4th, I would guess this is in reply to my Christmas card. This is the first Christmas Card I have received. 

I have written to Princess Caroline a number of times over the years and have only gotten two responses before this. Or 4, if you want to count the 3 identical cards I received within a few days of each other last year. 

Princess Caroline's replies have always been the same flat card. 

The card says: 

Palace of Monaco 

H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover would like to thank you for your kind wishes which were much appreciated. 

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Princess Caroline of Hanover (Monaco Replies)

Princess Caroline's usual reply. 

I have written to Princess Caroline a number of times over the years. I have only received a handful of replies from her. And since I often wrote for Christmas and then her birthday in January, it is unclear sometimes what event the reply is for. 

Birthday/Christmas Replies 

• Christmas 2023
• Christmas 2022/ Birthday 2023 (3 replies)
• Christmas 2017

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Death of Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg (2023)

I received this reply last year when I had written Grand Duke Henri to express my condolence on the death of his aunt, Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg. Marie-Gabrielle was the sister of Grand Duke Jean and daugther of Grand Duchess Charlotte.

This is the 2nd mourning reply I have received from the Luxembourg Royals. I had previously written following the death of Princess Alix, who was Princess Marie-Gabrielle's sister. That reply was from Grand Duke Jean and written on slightly different stationary. 

The envelope was a special one. It features black edging for mourning. The inside of the envelope is lined with black tissue paper. You can find the the envelope here along with the standard envelope. 

Inside was the usual sort of flat card. This has the same black edging as the envelope. 

The card says: 

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg very much appreciated your message of sympathy on the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg. 

His Royal Highness would like to convey to you His sincerest thanks. 

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