Letter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge follow-up: The response letter!

The envelope–back and front.

Earlier this year, I posted an open letter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine in order to tell them the story of how their wedding helped me deal with the stress and emotional trauma caused by the April 27 tornado (you can read the web version of the letter, which includes videos and an audio podcast, here).  I later sent a revised version of the letter to them in the mail around May or June after sitting on it for a while and fretting about whether I should send it or not. It was during a research interview about the tornado where I was given the final push to actually send the letter, thanks to the interviewee. So, several months later, here we are, with a RESPONSE LETTER!

I hoped to get a response letter, but I was sure that they get so many letters every day that mine might get lost in the shuffle (however, I thought the same when I mailed a letter to President Obama about an education initiative and I received a response from the Department of Education).

It’s not every day one sends a letter through the mail in 2011, and it’s certainly not every day you get a response back from royalty via their secretary, Claudia Holloway. Anyways, enough chatter–here’s the jist of what was written:

“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked me to thank you for your kind letter…Their Royal Highnesses are grateful to your for taking the trouble to write as you and were touched by our kind words of support.” The letter also went on to say that the Duke and Duchess wanted to send their thanks and their best wishes.

This letter isn’t a carbon copy of other letters people have received: after reading some other letters from the Office of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales, I see that they read not just my letter, but they read every letter. Every letter is individualized and even answers specific questions people have. (One girl wrote them asking what Catherine played sports, and she wrote back via Holloway that she played netball, table tennis and hockey;  a class of children sent in some wedding dress designs, and they also received a letter thanking them for the designs. There are plenty more examples in this Google search.)

Thanks, William and Catherine! If you happen to be reading this, I’m glad you received my letter well and appreciated it so. Hopefully, I can write to you again in the future!