From what little I know about royal correspondence, it seems like Prince Charles and Clarence House likely send out the most thank-you notes, letters and cards. That’s Charles’ thing, writing letters and corresponding with people through snail-mail. For years, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were not on top of sending out thank-you notes and letters of condolence. But I guess they’ve learned how to do it, especially when it comes to embiggening themselves. It seems that Kensington Palace has sent out cards to people who sent them notes of condolence following Prince Philip’s passing.
Kate Middleton and Prince William shared how their family is missing “their much loved grandfather and great-grandfather” Prince Philip.
Gert’s Royal Replies shared a note they received from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in response to a condolences message sent following Prince Philip’s death in April.
The reply, sent in an envelope adorned with royal mail stamp and the Kensington Palace logo, was a folded card featuring Prince William and Kate’s individual monograms on the outside Inside shows a photo of Prince Philip in military dress from 2012 when he attended the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Armed Forces Parade and Muster at Windsor Castle. There’s also a typed note, with both pages outlined with a black border that represents mourning.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge thank you for your kind words following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh,” the note reads. “Their Royal Highnesses have been incredibly moved by the many thoughtful messages they have received in recent weeks. They will all miss their much loved grandfather and great-grandfather, but your message has provided great comfort at this difficult time.”
I mean, staffers wrote that, not Will and Kate. And the whole “death of the family patriarch” wasn’t that difficult on them, considering William threw a tantrum about walking alongside his brother in the procession and issued a spiteful statement targeting Harry. Please don’t forget that before, during and after Prince Philip’s funeral, Kate made sure that she was the biggest story around, that Philip’s funeral was her launch pad to greatness, that she had “matured rapidly,” that she was “the rock the monarchy will depend on” for years to come.
The Condolence reply from the Cambridges following the death of Prince Philip.
"They will all miss their much loved grandfather and great-grandfather, but your message has provided great comfort at this difficult time." https://t.co/lWY84jueTG pic.twitter.com/0qFNL4EbHD
— Gert's Royal Replies (@GertsReplies) August 18, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
Were they handwritten? That’s when I’m impressed with effort! Non story
Did they use calligraphy? Another Meghan cosplay
Pre-printed, not even a rubber stamp signature. This tells you everything you need to know about these two.
Like everything else, handed off, and the minimal effort given (if ANY).
A signature would look odd, considering it’s written in the third person.
The royals never sign thank you cards. Princess Anne sent a similar, pre-printed thank you note.
When the queen sends you a birthday card for turning 100 years old she signs it and each signature is the same, but different to show it’s not stamped.
I literally have a hand signed thank you card for my boss from Prince Charles on my desk in front of me right now. Maybe they don’t sign fake form letters/cards, but it is NOT true that “the royals never sign thank you cards.”
Oops, double-post.
LOL ~ apparently my handwriting is difficult to read; folks (especially my mum) have asked me
not to handwrite letters anymore. I feel a bit stymied because I think best with a pen in hand.
Honestly, most fan-related cards and letters to members of the royal family are handled by staff at Clarence House, no matter if the reply seal and logo reference KP. All such fan mail from the public is routed to the correspondence unit at CH, even if it’s addressed to KP. The exception is correspondence for the Queen. Her staff generally send out typewritten thank-yous, as opposed to printed cards with a collectible photo on the opposite side.
Clarence House was still handling fan-related Xmas greetings addressed to the Sussexes, in December 2020. Shortly afterward, Charles and staff made a fuss about not being financially able to continue responding to Sussex fan mail.
Huh, I wonder what is the process. Some woman writes a lot of letters to the royals and then blogs about the replies she gets. So, how does People get hold of this, and why bother to write about a generic reply? Actually, I think Gert herself might be the more interesting story.
People has that sad little royals edition they are trying to promote and so someone scoured the internets for sad people who spend their time writing condolence cards to people they don’t know. Gert has been doing this to all royals for a while and frankly a card with no signature is meaningless. Their staff did all the work and I can promise you that neither W or K even know she sent this.
I never understand why some Americans are so obsessed with this family when their entire existence is contrary to the American mythos.
@Nic I’m glad you said that because I agree and find the whole thing very strange and kind of sad. I definitely wrote a few letters to celebrities, but I was about 12 years old, and even I knew back then it was a generic reply written by someone else and a stamp, not a real signature.
It’s the kind of thing lots of kids/tweens did, pre-internet (I think that magazines like Teen Beat and Bop used to print addresses for their fan clubs). But Gert is a grown woman. And people are interested in seeing these formal replies to someone else written by some random staffer which basically all say the same thing?
William and Kate didn’t touch any of the cards sent by peasants and these replies are perfunctory so why is it interesting to people? I don’t get it at all. If I knew Gert IRL I might try an intervention, lol.
What an odd ball getting is. . Her shtick is getting notes from the royals… she even has a logo? I’m baffled
I don’t follow Gert but she was pissed that Archewell didn’t include Heads Together In Archewell’s post about Haiti, Covid and Afghanistan, then had the audacity to say the Sussexes want to separate themselves from Royal Foundation projects. Like, does that make any sense? Odd egg that one.
It’s amazing how the organization that royalists claim was run by Kate because she picked the name suddenly shuttered when Harry was no longer around to be involved. It’s almost as if the Cambridges didn’t do a damn thing for it unless Harry was also there.
The Cambridges are currently hiding away for holidays and do not care enough about the peasants to even bother showing a sign of compassion for the tragedy in Haiti or Afghanistan. Maybe the tragic events can hold off happening until mid September and they may get around to pretending to care.
Allow me to step in for them…
William: I’m bored with the Taliban and I’m bored with earthquakes.
KKKate: How interesting!
Those pics of her from the funeral will never not make me shudder. She looks like an evil witch who’s coming to steal your husband and daring you to do anything about it.
She does look very ominous in those photos, particularly the ones from the car. But that look was a hit around here from some reason that I still can’t understand. Many people thought it was her best look yet and I’m scratching my head confused because she looks like she’s about to hex someone. And this look ages her on top of all that. She looks like the stereotypical evil step mother in fairy tales.
The weirdest part is that people think her “best look” was at a funeral. For her “beloved” family member.
She couldn’t even put up the act of mourning Phil’s death.
Her default is the cat that got the cream and that is something else.
@JT: If that was her best look what does it say for the times she wasn’t wearing furneral garb and a face mask? Part of her stans hatred for Meghan was that she made Kate look ordinary and downright frumpy.
@JT — It’s her best look because between the mask and the veil, most of her face is covered. No guffaws, no mania, no bared incisors, no faux-interested/concerned/I’m listening forehead furrow, etc. It’s amazing how covering up most of her attempts at being a person can do for a “look.”
A better look for her is the one in the photo above with baby Charlotte & fam.
It was not her best look for one thing, and it was not a red carpet event it was her grandfather in law’s funeral.
Eh, I think she looks really elegant here, but this is NOT a look for a funeral. If she was going to a cocktail party, yeah…appropriate. TOTALLY overdressed for THIS kind of scaled down funeral.
@AmyBee It means what we all know, and that’s on most occasions, Kate looks are boring and frumpy. As you’ve mentioned, it why Kate stans and even the firm were hellbent on telling Meghan to be “fifty percent less.” In my opinion, a part of the royal fairy tale is being a glamorous princess and to look that way. Royals, typically women, should bring the sparkle and magic. It’s why Diana became so iconic; she embodied what people thought a princess should be. Kate blows that image out of the water with her dumpy coat dresses and fugly fascinators. Meghan brought the sparkle, especially on the farewell tour. I only wish she would have said to hell with the courtiers telling her to dull her shine and dressed how she liked.
I thought it was one of her best looks too, and I also thought her catwalk stroll was completely inappropriate. You can sure see the mean glinting in her eyes.
@JT I think she dulled herself down cause she was still trying hard to fit in. I believe I read that somewhere….probably here!!
Let’s not forgot that Chris Jackson liberally uses photoshop with all her photos which also adds to the eeriness of the look.
But yes it came off as evil Queen in Snow White and not granddaughter in law dutifully mourning at a funeral. The coldness in her eyes was not photoshopped and shows the work she put into getting that look for the media.
I think she came off as Cruella DeVille: completely OTT and made the day all about her. The fact that she took a photographer to a world televised funeral and made it all about her and not the decedent tells me everything I need to know about Cannot.
I agree she looks very cold and sinister here, like a wicked witch or a gold digger at her sugar daddy’s funeral lol. I just thought everything about her behaviour at Phillips funeral was appalling.
The fact she was determined to make it all about herself was just cold. Planning this shot with Chris Jackson, getting Tominey to set the stage for ‘Kate the great peacemaker’ story and the bling jewellery and heavy eye makeup. she would literally trample on a dead body for her own personal gain.
Kate has crazy eyes in that picture.
I compared her once to Bane in Batman and I saw on Twitter someone compared her to Hannibal Lecter.
As if she could steal someone else’s husband when her own likes to wander.
This look also just makes her look old. Kate is still a young woman; I don’t know why she dresses the way she does. I thought the York ladies managed to look appropriate, yet fresh and modern.
I think she looks beautiful. Most would agree.
I don’t think so. IT was really inappropriate to pose for a picture at a funeral and she was staring right at the cameras.
She’s sitting in the back seat of a car looking at the camera. Not posing. Good grief! The woman is gorgeous. Without trying!
Lol, you call that “not even trying?” She had a photographer there. She is a gross human being. No respect for Sarah E., no respect for her grandfather in law.
@J: I think Kate is very pretty, but that she generally looks frumpy, and that her behavior on the day of the funeral was grossly inappropriate. It can all be true at the same time.
I think she looks photoshopped out of existence, and ‘most would agree’
She set the photographer up and set up various poses in for a family funeral. And he did all the photoshopping she prefers as she never has pics not done. Sure, effortless
Literally no one else who attended the funeral looked directly at the camera, unlike Kate and that is no coincidence. She remains vulgar and desperate for attention and no amount of photoshopping her skin to oblivion will conceal the cold nature of her stare. You can take 80% of the women in the world and fit them in a similar outfit with the jewels and photoshop and they would look as “stunning” as this one. But most women also have more class and would not act like the funeral of their grandfather in law is an occasion to pose as if one is in a magazine shoot.
@J: She arranged for a professional photographer to take “posed” pictures of her. She was dressed to the nines in ostentatious jewelry and clothing. She’s NOT merely sitting in the back of a car looking at a camera, she’s deliberately looking into the lens. She was determined to make the funeral all about her and her amazing peace-keeping mission to bring the warring brothers together. It was an obvious attempt that failed horribly and she should be ashamed of herself for hijacking Philip’s funeral to cheapen a solemn and dignified ceremony.
@J, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t think she’s beautiful. She has a hard face and looks so aged for her age. Someone says here that she looks like a Disney villain and I think it’s an apt description of Kate.
Well in my eyes she’s beautiful. And she didn’t hire a photographer.
Chris Jackson is a known photographer of royals and one of the few who has taken pictures of the Cambridge kids so let’s not pretend that any of this was a coincidence. He would not have been allowed to get so close for that photo if he didn’t have permission before hand. The only other person with a photo sitting in a car is Penny Knatchbull and the photographer is much further from her and she isn’t looking directly at the camera at all.
@Nic – Chris Jackson, who married Kate’s PA/stylist Natasha Archer? That one? You surely aren’t implying that Kate and Natasha would have arranged for Chris to get some close up shots of Kate at this funeral and no one else, are you??
She reminds me of my grandmother’s funeral around eight years ago, when one of the aunts, some cousin of my grandfather (who was already dead), turned up in a flashy purple, with jewelry and all and nail art. I was like wtf are you at a funeral or a wedding? I get it you had grudges with her but there’s a time and place for everything. It’s like, you are happy she’s dead.
I’m sorry but I’m still salty all these years later.
It showed a lack of class by seeking attention at a funeral where she is an in law and it was a grandparent. But it’s not the first time Kate has tried to be the centre of attention when she should step back.
Did she work out that pose before hand?
Probably and she always makes sure that her left hand is positioned a certain way so that her engagement ring is shown.
Yes, and had her pap (Chris Jackson) arranged *right there* to catch the photo.
When no one else at the funeral has similar photos set up like this, it becomes more obvious she set up these shots. There are also a few of her standing alone with no one else around, when she should have been standing next to the other spouses and the cousins who weren’t walking in the procession.
I really think this photo shoot set William off because this is when we start to hear rumblings of her not attending the statue unveiling. It was poor taste to turn Phil’s funeral into a fashion shoot, but that’s been the Middleton way since day one.
The individual pictures of her are the giveaway IMO (that she was posing and was very conscious of the cameras etc.) The other family members were too busy actually mourning their grandfather/father/husband to care about posing, but she was very aware and made sure Chris Jackson got the shots.
Yes. And we need to bring back that video of her posing for a photo at the Tour de France when they did a stop in London. She is filmed doing a fake surprise pose looking in one direction while the actual race is happening in the opposite direction and you can see Harry, William and the rest of the crowd actually looking at the cyclists in the opposite direction while Kate is doing her faux surprise look elsewhere. She knows where the cameras are at all times.
@Nic919: I’ve seen that video and I still don’t understand it. And other thing she does is throw back her head when she laughs so the photogs can get the shot of her laughing out loud. It looks really weird on video.
Do you happen to know where this video is? I’ve never seen it!
Do you remember the one of the massive crowd shot at some anniversary event? Thousands of people, huge set-up shot. Kate staring directly at the camera which was far, far away. Everyone else looking straight ahead, Kate looking directly at the camera set up on top of a building to the right.
@Bbybon, same! I’ve heard about it a few times but have never seen it either and I’m dying to. I think I tried searching once but couldn’t find it. If anyone has a link to post I’d be very grateful!
Oh please.. I wonder where the inspiration for hand written notes came from?? I’m sure there staff had cramped hands from having to respond as the FFQ handwriting proxies.
This reeks of self promotion and Prince Andrew deflection.
Are we to applaud the fact that two middle-aged do-nothings finally agreed to sign thank-you notes? My daughter did that when she was seven.
Exactly…
Their staff did the work. I bet if there is a signature (didn’t see one above) it’s a jpeg the staff add to correspondence.
No, because they did not even do that. Their staff sent out these notes and I’m sure any signature, if there was one, was rubber stamped. which is FINE – I’m sure that’s what most of the royals do, even charles, for these kinds of things where they are going to get thousands of condolence cards – but its funny how Gert seems to be trying to pass it off like she is special or something.
I invested in a set of thank you cards a few years ago and got back into the habit of writing them. With technology the way it is, it is a nice way to slow down and get your thoughts on actual paper.
@Tiffany, I really want to do that as well. I used to be so good about sending thank-you notes, since my mom made me do it starting when I was little, but I let things slide and often send a text when I should really send a note. I’m ashamed of myself! I also used to have pretty handwriting (imo) but now that I type everything, on the rare times I have to hand write anything, like filling out a form at a doctor’s office or whatnot, my handwriting is absolutely terrible. I want to work on both of these things and your comment reminded me to buy some thank-you notes, so thank you to you!
Just a heads up, CH handles William and Kate’s mail not KP. They used to also handle Harry and Meghan’s mail until the end of last year (that’s why Charles added their expenses to his annual report making it look like he was still paying for them after they left in March). That the Cambridges responded to Gerts letter of condolences just shows how eager the Royal Family is to use Philip’s death for support.
W&K and staff are fully aware Gert is a sh!t-stirring Meghan hater. Want to pat her on the head for all her good anti-Meghan work for the last few years? Respond to her with a formulatic fancy card. And what did she do in response? She went on a rant about how Harry and Meghan didn’t promote any of W&K’s ‘work’ in their Archewell statement about the state of the world.
@Notasugarhere: Like with most of their fans, I doubt the Cambridges care about Gerts. But I saw that mess she was trying to make about the Sussexes. The stupidest thing about that was she was upset that they didn’t include Heads Together and Shout in their mental health links. As if Harry and Meghan would ever include sites that belong to the Royal Foundation.
Why the hell would H&M promote the Keens work? And why do W&K need promoting by the “irrelevant royals?” That’s absurd. It’s not like Kant and Won’t don’t have plenty of time on their hands to do something.
This is the first I’ve heard of Gert. I only took a peek at her blog because I couldn’t figure out why People would single her out and not the hundreds of others who may have sent condolences. Of course, it’s stupid to wait for Harry and Meghan to promote the Cambridge’s charities. W&K can do that for themselves…when they return from holiday.
@Eurydice – her whole thing is just copying the court circular and reposting the events on twitter and then at the end of the year adding up the engagements for each royal. But somehow that’s made her an “expert” and has resulted in people think she has some sort of inside track to the royals. Also, she’s young. Like I’m not even sure she’s 30 yet? when I heard that it changed my whole perspective on her, lol – she’s not someone who has been following the royals for decades, she came on board bc of the Cambridges.
Amy Bee, they (and their staff) absolutely care about the ones who are out there bullying Meghan in their stead. There is too much inside information that shows up on those hate sites. Leads me to believe the staff leak certain things to tumblrs and sites who promote W&K and attack Harry and Meghan.
W&K started doing that years ago, when they sent attack dogs out to shut down tumblrs and other accounts claiming ‘copyright infringement’. They didn’t go after blogs using the same pics – but who were writing sycophantic things about W&K.
Kate was known for doing that. Two papers published identical pap photo. One wrote something positive, the other wrote that she was missing William after their breakup. She threatened the second paper with harrassment for using a pap pics, left the first (positive) paper alone.
If they purchased bots for IG then they have done the same for Twitter. There is a consistent pattern of how certain talking points are spread to attack Meghan within a short period of time. With the help of the rota as well.
A lot of people tried to take advantage of the fact Phillip died to make their agenda ( expand) while QE was vulnerable not just W and K. I hope the QE has people in her circle who care about her not just $$ and social standing. It would be a shame if she ended up like Stan Lee.
Stan Lee was not a literal monarch. She is. I think the monarch of the country is going to be fine beyond the expected grieving of her husband
Brooke Astor also suffered elder abuse. It is a possibility unfortunately.
@Kalana: Apologies then. I must have missed the part where Brooke Astor was the literal monarch of a country and had an entire country’s establishment and system behind her.
I want to add that elder abuse is absolutely a thing, is terrible and can happen to anybody, rich or poor but I think the literal monarch of a country with an establishment behind her is not going to suffer too badly.
Not if the power is actually wielded by Chuck, and Liz is sidelined.
I don’t think she’s sidelined as much as people think- she is supporting Andrew financially in ways Charles would love to curtail.
All royal replies are written by staff. The only exceptions I can think of is maybe Beatrice/Eugenie/Zara/Peter because the amount of people who would write to them is low so they can actually send out a handwritten/personal note and they don’t have their own staff to handle whatever three get.
And I used to not dislike the funeral photo of Kate. I thought she looked great. But the more and more I come across it, the more “creeped” I get by it.
Diana hand-wrote thank you cards. She said it was drilled into her by her parents–as soon as you get home from whatever function, you write a thank you note.
Diana soon after her wedding,sent out thank you notes.
I feel the same way about that picture. when I first saw it, I thought her eyes really popped, and overall she looked good that day (the necklace was a little much, but whatever.) But the more I look at that picture the more it kind of creeps me out. Her eyes look cold, and the whole way she was posing for Chris Jackson is just really off putting.
Isn’t this a form letter? I would not call it a ‘note’. How surprising the couple whose hallmark is laziness would send out a form letter to those who took the time to send them condolences.
Yes, exactly. Some staff member wrote the text, arranged to have them printed up and sent them out. There is nothing personal about this note – no signature, not even initials. The usual half-ass job from the Cambs.
That image of Our Kate disgusted me. I think/hope this was the beginning of the end. I had a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales when I was a child and the image of The Queen in Snow White was the model for this look. I wouldn’t be surprised if she consults the magic mirror each night. ‘Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?’. I also recall the articles about who would be attending the funeral. The entire Middleton family apparently I’d love to be a fly on the wall.
The way she behaved at Philip funeral, you would think it was her coronation
I’m no expert on etiquette, but I thought Kate’s stunting at the funeral was in really bad taste. I am anti monarchy and disliked Phil the racist. However, he was her husband’s grandfather and all Kate had to do was look somber and appropriate not act like she was on a catwalk. Very tacky behavior.
And all the other family members behaved properly and did not pose for a photograph. And others were more suitably dressed.
It was very interesting how no one else in the family was photographed like that. None of the photos of the actual grandchildren showed them posing. They were all photographed walking and not looking at the camera.
It only count if you personally wrote and signed it. Since they didn’t, this is just another typical keenbridge thing, copy and paste
Her posing for the cameras at the funeral was really over the top.
Completely agree. People always rag on Meghan whenever her eyes happen to look at the cameras, but this witch is staring down into the lens while dripping in Diana’s and the Queen’s pearl chokers and diamond earrings.. at a FUNERAL.
There was a Royal blog out there that would track whenever Kate stared directly at a cameras at events and it seemed to be a lot whereas you didn’t see William do that. But as with everything, once Meghan arrived they focused on her and basically pretended that Kate wasn’t still searching out the cameras at every engagement.
And pulling out diamonds and the elaborate pearl choker is tacky AF, especially when you aren’t the widow. While the Queen had a nice brooch, she was not showing off her necklaces and neither was Camilla, and we know they both have access to them.
I still think kate dressed up and went full glam to try and impress harry lol. You could tell she was excited to see him without Meghan there, she was literally making eyes at him the whole time.
All I see is poor George and the way he is dressed in that picture with TQ and PP. Who does that to a child. smdh. Poor child even looks uncomfortable in that outfit.
Wow she sure was tarted up for a funeral!
That photo at the top where Princess Charlotte and the Queen are looking at each other. I wonder if the Queen made a funny noise or face to get Charlotte (like many grandmas do) to look at her right before the photo was stamped.
That photo at the top where Princess Charlotte and the Queen are looking at each other. I wonder if the Queen made a funny noise or face to get Charlotte (like many grandmas do) to look at her right before the photo was snapped.
Still can’t get over what a Disney villainess Kate looked at the funeral. Such arrogance and indifference to the death of Philip. She was dressing to impress, to steal the whole show, to floss. If I were William (and I hate him), I’d be pissed off, too. No wonder he didn’t let her go to the Diana statue unveiling. He actually made the right decision since she obviously didn’t and wouldn’t care about a woman she never met (and I’d guess even if she had met her). Kate is just cold, the antithesis of Diana, Harry and Meghan. And it’s no surprise William would marry such an uncaring woman since she shares his selfishness and disconnect to others. Please delete this repeated comment. Sorry.
I really do think her behaviour at the funeral is what made William decide to keep her away from the statue unveiling. And I am going to bring back the truther theory that he snapped at her in the walk after the funeral was over when she was trying to insert herself in the chat with Harry.
I love the way British subjects are so quick to say what the Royals “never do”, then the royals do exactly that! For those who complain about American interest in the Royals, not really. Brits comprise a fair percentage of the American population and comments.
This may be the first time in a long time I’ve seen a photo of the Q without a hat. Frankly speaking, she looks slightly rumpled here as though it was a quick change for a photoshoot.