UK Child Gains a Pen Pal in the Queen
Tom Stancombe, Queen's Aide Exchange Letters After Boy Releases Balloon in Hopes of Finding Friend
The boy released a balloon in the hopes that it would travel outside of the UK so that he could gain a long-distance pen pal. Instead, the balloon traveled twenty miles away in the garden of Windsor Castle.
As the Queen was traveling around the grounds, she spotted the child's balloon, and the note attached with his address and his request for a pen pal. The Queen immediately took the note and had one of her assistants write the boy a letter.
Over the next few weeks, the assistant, under the direct order of the Queen, and the boy (under the tutelage of his parents) exchanged letters. The Queen was said to have been excited whenever a new letter arrived from her new friend.
The letters told about the child's life, and the about the lives of his parents. There was also information exchanged about an ancestor of the boy that once painted a painting that is displayed in Windsor Castle.
According to the child's parents, they are fairly sure that the exchange has come to an end. The believed that it was a great honor to have this correspondence with the Queen. They are also sure that their child will have a great story to tell for many years.
There was no word from the child's parents as to whether or not the child would be releasing another balloon in the hopes of gaining another pen pal. According to a joke that was related on British TV, the parents were worried that the next balloon might end up at the White House and be considered as a terrorist threat.
The British Press is both praising and speaking against this action by the Queen. On one side, the Press is stating that it was a great gesture for the Queen to have responses sent to this child. On the other hand, there are those that believe that it was cold of her to not have written the responses herself.
Another interesting point that has been brought out by the BBC is that this was a rare occurrence since there was contact between Windsor Castle and a child. The last time in which this was known to have happened was when Princess Di was still part of the Royal Family.
Sources:
Reuters
BBC TV
Published by NoPNA
NoPNA - No Pen Name Available loves to find out everything about everything. NoPna has tought literature at the college level for over a decade. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentWelcome aboard! You'll find us a friendly lot around here on the whole. This is such a sweet story! Kepp up the good work.
Sophie
Thank you all for your comments. It is going to make me work harder now.
very nice!!
Good news story, quick and to the point.
Very nice! Makes me smile!
Congratulations on your first story here! I enjoyed reading it and the fact that I hadn't heard this story anywhere else made it even more interesting. I won't judge "HOW" the queen corresponded since I'm not her. LOL! Personally, the article made me smile and tickled my heart. Good job!
Leave it to the mass media to pooh pooh a nice story. Let the kid have his moment. Great article.