A Welsh nursery received a very special delivery from the Queen just hours before her death. A letter from Her Majesty arrived at Footsteps Day Nursery in Llanbradach, Caerphilly on Wednesday, September 7, thanking the children for sending her notes and throwing a party as part of their Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier in the year.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away the following afternoon at Balmoral Castle, bringing to an end the longest reign in British history, having acceded to the throne 70 years ago at the age of 25. Her funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19. You can find the full details of the service here.
A letter sent from Balmoral arrived at the nursery on Wednesday, with children and staff alike stunned at receiving a response from the monarch. Get the latest news from across Wales sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletters.
Read more: The huge changes Wales has gone through during the Queen’s 70 years on the throne
The letter, which was signed by the Queen's Lady in Waiting, Elizabeth Leeming, thanked the children at the nursery for their efforts in celebrating the Platinum Jubilee in June. They had previously written notes to the Queen congratulating her on reaching the historic landmark, and told her about the tea party they were planning on holding as part of their celebrations.
After walking to a nearby post box and sending their notes off to the palace, the children did not expect to get a response, with the Queen receiving thousands of letters from across the globe. But there was much excitement on Wednesday when an envelope stamped with the Royal insignia dropped through their letterbox.
The note inside read: "The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for the splendid letters and pictures which you sent to Her Majesty on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee. The Queen was glad to hear from you and, although unable to reply to you personally, Her Majesty was pleased to hear of the party you were planning to celebrate this special event.
"Please accept my apologies for the delay in response; as I am sure you will understand, The Queen has received a large volume of post in recent months and, as a result, it has not been possible to reply to you until now. Nevertheless, Her Majesty hopes you all had a very happy time at the festivities and I am to thank you again for your messages of good wishes to the Queen in this, her Platinum Jubilee Year."
Lucy Rowles, owner and director of Footsteps, said that all those at the nursery "felt very honoured" to receive the letter, having not expected to get a reply. She added that the letter had helped the children to "develop a connection" with the Royal Family and given their work a "sense of purpose".
"The children wrote their letters back in May," she said. "They walked to the post box and posted them with the staff. Now we're obviously quite a few months on and the children and staff didn't think they'd receive a reply, so this has been a big surprise to everyone!
"When it arrived, we couldn't believe it. The children felt very honoured that out of all the letters the Queen would have received, and potentially had not replied to yet, they had got a reply from Balmoral from the Lady in Waiting, Elizabeth Leeming. It has given them a sense of purpose to what they do and is also helping them to develop a connection with the Royal Family."
Lucy added that the timing of the letter's arrival made the honour "even more poignant", with the nursery holding on to a "happy and personal memory" of the Queen during a time of national mourning.
"Although receiving a letter from the Queen would always be a special thing to happen, it is even more poignant and significant at this time," she said. "After the sad news was announced, we thought it was a really fitting time for us to have got the letter."
"At Footsteps, we can now have a happy and personal memory of Queen Elizabeth II in what is a sad time and a time of mourning. Receiving this letter is something we will cherish all the more now and is a lovely memory for us all to have."
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