An elderly couple were among the final people to receive signed correspondence from the Queen, after opening a card from her on the day she died. Tricia Pont, 81, and her husband Ray, 84, opened the card for their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday (September 8) the day after it landed through their letterbox.
The couple, from Godalming in Surrey, first heard of the Queen's illness while enjoying a celebratory lunch and later returned home to learn of her death. The pensioners said it was a day of 'mixed emotions' and they would now cherish the 'precious and poignant' card from Her Majesty.
All couples who reach their diamond wedding anniversary receive a card of congratulations from the monarch. The hand-signed card read: "I am so pleased to know you are celebrating your Diamond Wedding Anniversary on 8th, September 2022. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion."
Ray, a retired surveyor, said: “It was our wedding anniversary having spent 60 years together and someone in the family decided they would like us to get a card from the Queen. It arrived on the day before our anniversary and we kept it to open on the morning of our anniversary.
“We were delighted to have received it and it had a nice picture on the front. I was so excited to open the card. I thought it would be such a lovely moment for our family.
“We then went out to have lunch together and when we were there my phone pinged, we were told we should look online as something was wrong with the Queen. Obviously that bought darkness on our lunch.
“We came home and turned the TV on and it was obvious that she was very unwell, and it ended with her dying. It makes the card even more precious and poignant as we were one of the last people to get correspondence from her."
The couple said they were tearful when they returned home and looked at the card and were later devastated when they learned of her passing. It features a photograph of the Queen smiling which was taken on the Buckingham Palace balcony at her Diamond Jubilee in June.
He added: “We are big supporters of her, she is a great role model for the whole nation and she was admired for her stoicism. She was really committed.
“It really put a downer on the day but then we thought about how privileged we were to be one of the last few people to get a card from her. We watched my granddaughter’s graduation in the afternoon and she graduated just after 6pm. We were so happy about that but were so sad about The Queen.”
Tricia, who used to work for Citizens Advice, saw the Queen as a child in 1947 when she was taken to London the night of her wedding to Prince Phillip. She later saw the monarch at a garden party for the Girl Guides Association in the late 1990s.
She said: “I remember her on her wedding day and at the coronation. We stood on the railings at Buckingham Palace when they came out on the balcony. It was wonderful. I have had lots of opportunities to see her. The garden party was a lovely day too.
“The Queen was just charming. I didn’t manage to speak to her but she was lovely and sparkly. I feel very privileged to have had contact with Her Majesty."
