This story has actually been bouncing around for a few years, but it goes like this. There is this lady in North Dakota who was born on the same day as Elizabeth II, and after her accession to the throne, sent her a birthday card. She got a birthday card in return. So she sent one every year, and each year, the Queen would send her one in return. North Dakota press has called her the Queen's "pen pal."
The problem for me is I can't see any evidence that any of this correspondence was ever personalized. It's quite possible that this nice lady was just receiving stock responses from someone in the Queen's household whose job it was to respond to birthday messages.
Especially difficult is the media's loose use of the words "card" and "letter" in these stories. Earlier stories make it sound like we are talking about birthday "cards" here, not "letters."
Still, the story about marmalade is suggestive. If they could produce any reason to think the Queen was actually active in this correspondence, that would make it a really cool story.
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The problem for me is I can't see any evidence that any of this correspondence was ever personalized. It's quite possible that this nice lady was just receiving stock responses from someone in the Queen's household whose job it was to respond to birthday messages.
Especially difficult is the media's loose use of the words "card" and "letter" in these stories. Earlier stories make it sound like we are talking about birthday "cards" here, not "letters."
Still, the story about marmalade is suggestive. If they could produce any reason to think the Queen was actually active in this correspondence, that would make it a really cool story.
Pen pals for 70 years: North Dakota woman tells of special bond with Queen Elizabeth II
Park River, North Dakota is five thousand miles away from Buckingham Palace. But for the past 70 years, letters have brought Queen Elizabeth II and one North Dakota woman together.
