I recently received a handwritten message of thanks from the Duchess of Cornwall.

I’m a big fan of Her Royal Highness and thought it would be nice to send her a birthday card. I sent an anniversary card to her and the Prince of Wales on their tenth wedding anniversary this past April. I received a very nice but unsigned card of thanks attributed to the couple in response and expected the same from my birthday card.

Members of the Royal Family receive a lot of mail and it’s unreasonable to think they read or respond everything that comes their way. But I figure they aren’t going to respond if you don’t send them something so I sent off a card with the slim hope that I might get a personal response.

And I did!

I received an A5 postcard with a photo of the Duchess at the 2015 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition taken by Thomas Alexander on the front and a message of thanks on the back.

Here’s the card I sent her:

My birthday is at the end of June but I couldn’t be bothered to organize anything this year. I really wasn’t in the partying mood after the death of my beloved cat Khan.

By mid-July, however, I kind of turned a page and was ready to celebrate with my friends and figured that anyone who would come to a party in honour of the Duchess was a true friend. I thought it’d be nice to let her know about the party and convey the well-wishes of all attendees.

I’m absolutely thrilled and will treasure this note for the rest of my life.