August Q&A (2018)

As always, post your Royal Questions & I will get to them as soon as possible.

Question 1: For which kind of events would be appropriate to send a letter to Miss Rebecca Deacon? 

Answer: Mrs. Rebecca Priestley (née Deacon) hasn't worked for the Royals in about a year. But in terms of writing to a member of staff in general:

If you just want to send well-wishes or something to the Royals I would address it to the royals, that way it goes directly to whoever handles general correspondences.

I would only write to a specific member of staff if you have something that specifically concerns/relates to them or their job. And is not something for general correspondence. The main reasons to write to a member of staff is:

• If you are a charity or organization inviting the royals to come for a visit
• If you are a charity asking the Royal to consider becoming your patron
• You are media requesting an interview
• etc.

Royal.UK also has some info on its site about contacting various departments. 

In terms of what else you could write for, I would keep it work related. You are writing to them at their job. 

I wrote to the Cambridge staff in 2015 when Princess Charlotte was born to congratulate them on a job well done with everything surrounding the birth. And I received a reply from Rebecca. But other times I think I've just mentioned things in my letter to the Royals. Like with William's birthday this year, I said something like: "I hope that everything runs smoothly as you and Harry get new private secretaries this summer."

But if you are wondering if you can write for a certain assistant's pregnancy? It's not anything I would write for, personally. But if you want to, they aren't going to be insulted, you just won't get a reply. 

Question 2: How to write a letter to the Swedish Royal Family. What are the answers and what does it depend on?

Answer: For specific advice on writing to the Royals check out your page on "Writing to the Royals." There isn't anything special you need to do for the Swedish Royals opposed to the other royal families. The Swedish Royals just don't normally send replies. And they don't have set things they reply to. Nor do they reply to everyone who wrote for that occasion.

For our Replies from the Swedish Royals.

Question 3: Have you ever received a letter as a reply for Cammila's birthday together with a photocard or she sends only photocards?

Answer: I've just received photocards for Camilla's birthday. But unlike Charles, Cambs, & Sussexs, she usually replies with a large card which she has personally signed.

I have gotten a letter from Camilla before when I wrote to her when she will ill and had to cancel some engagements.

You can find all my replies from Camilla & Charles here.

Question 4: Which Royal Family send auto-pen? 

Answer: Pretty much anytime you see a signature it usually auto-penned or printed on. Very few royals take the time to hand-sign things. They just get way too much mail.

I've gotten autopen or printed on signatures from:

Belgium
Liechtenstein
Monaco
UK
Spain
Sweden

And the other royal families I just haven't gotten any Royal signatures.

Question 5: How to get a more personal reply? 

Answer: There is nothing you can do to guarantee a personal reply. But if write a personal letter/card, you are more likely to get a personal reply.

For example, if you write for a royal's birthday and all you say in your letter/card is "Happy Birthday Your Royal Highness," They are likely going to send you the generic reply, be your thing was pretty generic.

But if you say "Happy Birthday Your Royal Highness," and then go one and talk about how that royals work on that one cause is really meaningful to you, etc. Then maybe you will get a more personal reply that thanks you for writing to the royal's birthday and your well-wishes for their cause, etc.

But, as I said there is no way to guarantee a personal reply. They get way to much mail to personally reply to everybody. So, some royals just never send a personal reply. Others will do it for a few letters/cards.

Question 6: Did you ever write to Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands? 

Answer: I have written to her a few times over the years, all post-abdication. I've never gotten any reply from her.

Question 7: Have you ever written to Queen Letizia of Spain? 

Answer: Yes, a few times, for her birthday and stuff. The only time I've gotten a reply from Letizia was when I wrote to her and Felipe for Christmas last year.

Question 8: What member of the British Royal Family uses autopens?  

Answer: Sarah does. 

Question 9: Is there a chance to get a reply by the new address of Norwegian Royal Family? 

Answer: I don't think the chances of getting a royal for the Norway Royals have gone up any. But there has always been a small chance of getting a reply. I've gotten two over the years. 

Question 10: Do you usually send letters to Liechtenstein? 

Answer: Yes. I've written to them a number of times over the years. You can see their replies here. 

Question 11: Why do you think the Royal Family from Denmark does not send pictures?

Answer: Photos are relatively expensive. Sure one photo doesn't cost a lot, but when you receive thousands of pieces of mail a year it adds up. I lot of Royals don't send photos or will only do so if asked specifically. 

Denmark tends to be on the cheaper side of royal replies: generic replies, nothing special for Christmas or big events, etc. They have gotten better over the years though. They switched from sending mail economy to priority and they recently changed their card to nicer paper. 

Question 12: Did you ever sent a letter to Jordan?

Answer: I have written a few times to the Jordan royals, but have never gotten a reply. 

Question 13: Did you ever write to Princess Marie Astrid from Austria or to her family? 

Answer:  No

Question 14: This is probably a weird question, but why the blankets in the car? Do they not have heaters? 

Answer: I don't know why exactly the Queen likes to use a blanket in the car. I could just be becuase the Queen is wearing a dress and jacket, so she's warm on top but her legs are cold. She might just like blankets.

Question 15: Do you think that Crown Princess Mary would send me a picture if I asked her politely in my letter. I know that Denmark does not usually send pictures, but are there any chances?  

Answer: The Denmark Royals don't send out photos. It doesn't matter how politely you ask it is just not something that they do. I've never seen a photo from the Denmark Royals (other than the card for Princess Benedikte's husband's death, but that was more from the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg side of the family).

Question 16: Would it be appropriate to send a letter to The Duke of Cambridge or to the Duke of Sussex, for the Diana anniversary?


Answer: Certainly if this is something meaningful to you it would be appropriate to write. If you were just writing for the Anniversary I would probably address the letter to both sons. 

Or alternatively if you were writing for Prince Harry's birthday, it would be fine to mention Diana in that letter.