South Shields schoolchildren receive one of final letters sent on behalf of the Queen from Balmoral

Lord Blyton Primary School, based in Blyton Avenue in South Shields, received a letter dated September 6, 2022. The Queen passed away on September 8 at Balmoral, aged 96.

Earlier in the year Key Stage One pupils had sent a card saying congratulations to the Queen on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee.

The reply was a letter which included an apology for the time taken to respond, due to the amount of correspondence the Queen’s staff had to deal with. It also contained a photograph of her.

It said: “The Queen was glad to hear from you and, although unable to reply to you personally, Her Majesty greatly appreciated you taking the time to create this card especially for her.”

The letter, delivered in an envelope stamped with the Queen’s royal cypher – the EIIR and crown symbol seen on many post boxes.

Lord Blyton head teacher Jo Atherton said the school was delighted to find the letter in the post.

She said: “We got one back on June 16 recognising some of the work they had done. It says on the envelope for this one ‘Buckingham Palace’ and dated 6th September 2022. It’s addressed to the boys in social, emotional and mental health resource Key Stage One.

“When you open the letter its on Balmoral note paper. It’s signed on the bottom by the lady-in-waiting, Annabel Whitehead.

“Maybe it’s been sat somewhere, or maybe it was waiting to be posted out.

“It says ‘thank you for the splendid card’, after they sent her a card for the Platinum Jubilee. There was, at the time, five children in the special needs resource base attached to our school. They were all boys.

“We’ll definitely get it framed. It’s got the hand-written signature of the Queen’s lady-in waiting, then underneath is the date, which is also hand-written.”

Dame Annabel Whitehead was lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth II for the last 20 years of the Queen’s life, but has served the Royal Family since 1971.