Opinion: No longer mail from the Dutch royals – What do fans think?

If you are still waiting for the reply of the Dutch royal family on the occasion of Christmas 2022, or one of the birthdays or other occasions in 2023, you unfortunately wait in vain. When Wills, a Dutch royal fan and owner of the website Koningsfan.nl, recently inquired at the Government Information Service, she received a reply from the general secretariat of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands saying:

The warm wishes the Royal Family receives on the occasion of birthdays and New Year are always greatly appreciated. You indicate that you have not received any thank-you cards since last December. It is indeed true that thank-you cards are no longer sent for birthdays and New Year: the King and Queen thank you for the wishes received through the National Information Service and the official social media channels of the Royal Family.

On the last day of his state visit to Belgium, on Thursday 22 June 2023, King Willem-Alexander personally reacted. He indicated that one consideration for not sending responses on paper anymore had been the environment. Furthermore he said:

We receive thousands and thousands of cards per birthday. So there’s an incredible amount of work that goes into that. We also have lots of other letters on other subjects that also need to be answered. We decided to put that capicity into that. Those questions and mail are still being answered.

But according to him it had been a tough decision, especially because it is, according to him, a very important group of people, who are always writing, but now will be answered electronically. He said:

Believe me it is incredibly dear to me that they are writing. We do read them, we do see them. We are really grateful for it, but we thank electronically and then that other category can get a little more attention.

Prior to the state visit, I already asked a group of fans from the Netherlands and Belgium what they thought of the royal family’s decision. They form the main part of the group that no longer will receive a reply. Many of them, like me, have quite a collection of royal replies, sometimes dating back tens of years. Myself I have been doing it quite irregularly over the past 30 years or so, but also bought or got some older replies. Some keep long lists each years, a “royal agenda” as Kathleen from Belgium (All About Royal Families) names it. These lists are mentioning the people that should receive a card for a jubilee or birthday, for Christmas, or even a small present. Add to that the babies, christenings, engagements, marriages and deaths that are being announced during the year. A group of (foreign) royalty watchers spends a lot of time and often a fair amount of money on this. Some even make their own cards.

Do you often send cards?

Els already sends cards to the Dutch royals since 1972, and started sending cards abroad 15 years ago, nobody I know tops that I think. She wondered – before the King’s answer – whether they had run out of stock, as the cards that were sent out, where always the same. N. replied to me that she sends about 10-15 cards a month, and even more with Christmas. Henriëtte even sends 20 to 30 cards a month, and around 100 at Christmas.

GH, also a longtime loyal fan, told me that, although the cards itself hardly changed, at least you always received something back. Only the Unicef cards at Christmas sometimes changed images. She noticed already since Willem-Alexander became the King, that one no longer received mail from royals as Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien or Princess Mabel. Kathleen already rarely sent cards to the Dutch royal family, especially because they sent back the same card each time. Conny however points out that when the daughters of the King and Queen Máxima are getting their own monogram and that is printed on the cards – like for the 18th birthday of Princess Amalia – it would be a nice addition.

What do you do with the cards?

Like several other modern royalty watchers Wills takes pictures of the cards she receives, places the pictures on social media, and then puts the cards in photo albums. Els has folders full of cards with envelopes, that now as she puts it “will become a collector’s item”. GH also stores them in albums, and says collecting royal replies is a really nice hobby. Also albums for N., who even keeps them sorted by country.

Also Henriëtte keeps them in folders by country or family, and she loves to grab a folder and just flip through it again. On the other hand Kathleen keeps the cards in royal biscuit boxes by Delacre, by year and country, although she is thinking of working with albums also. On a cold winter day she finds it nice to look at the cards from a few years ago. Conny keeps the cards with envelopes in storage boxes, and especially appreciates it when a photo or even an original signature is included. Jolanda from Royalty Twins says she also keeps the cards she receives and always finds it nice to look back, especially when something happens to that person.

What do they mean to you?

Receiving back cards according to Wills herself is a token of appreciation from the royal house, to acknowledge that you are thinking about them. She says that some cards are quite precious, like the reply she received after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. of the United Kingdom.

N. finds this question somewhat tricky. She says, it’s nice to get mail and it gives a sense of expectation of what’s in that envelope. The Netherlands always sent standard printed cards (the same one every year) but if you have the cards from the German nobility, for example, you notice that people read your wishes and make the effort to send something back, sometimes personally, sometimes by a secretary.

Henriëtte sends mainly to (unknown) royals and nobles abroad, that often answer their mail themselves, which she finds much more special. She says that the response does get less and less unfortunately, and that she sometimes thinks about quitting, but then suddenly gets something super nice again and carries on. At Christmas, she says, it’s always nice to get something back pretty quickly. Also GH told me it is always a nice way getting to know and bond with royals.

It is lovely to still send real letters/cards and receive replies back, Kathleen says. It is nicer than sending an email or a WhatsApp message. Jolanda says that the cards mean a lot to her, as it shows appreciation for the fact that you have made the effort to congratulate or condole the royals. She likes it that abroad photos are sometimes used, so one stays in touch a bit and sees photos more often.

What do you think of the Dutch royal house’s decision?

There is understanding for the sad decision. Wills however thinks it is not very nice that the Dutch royal family didn’t let the fans known. They could have made some kind of announcement. Instead they answered her email in June 2023 to the Government Information Service, nearly half a year after the royal house had stopped sending cards. The answer to her mail made it into the Dutch media, and she even granted the Eindhovens Dagblad an interview.

GH also finds it a great pity that the Dutch royals have stopped sending mail, although she had seen it coming for some months. She also points out that the King wants to be known as a unifying person, but is now hitting out at his most loyal subjects. A tip: it would have been nice if the King had sent fans a thank-you card with a nice picture on the occasion of the 10th jubilee of his accession to the throne in April 2023, including a note that this would unfortunately be the last thank-you card. She finds now it comes across as somewhat cold and chilly. Unfortunately also foreign royal houses send less replies than in the past.

In her answer N. says it is not a good idea, as it could reduce the popularity of the Dutch royal family even more. Also she would have appreciated an official message and an alternative, like allowing emails. Kathleen thinks it is a missed opportunity for the Dutch royal family. She says it is good for their budget, but less good for their public relations, especially now the royal house is a bit under fire in recent years.

Will you continue sending cards despite this?

I fear the Dutch royals soon will receive much less mail from their fans. As Wills says, and I agree: “I send cards to the royal houses that send mail back”. That means that she will stop sending cards to the Dutch royals. Also Els will stop sending after more than 50 years, as cards and stamps nowadays are expensive enough and she then can use the money for something else. GH no longer feels like sending a card either, nor does Conny, who adds that stamps have become quite expensive. So, if she doesn’t receive a response, she stops sending cards after several times.

Unfortunately also Jolanda will stop sending cards to the Dutch royals. The stamps are getting more and more expensive, and you send something to get something back. Among the people that will continue sending cards, is N., although she says she will send cards to a lesser extent. That means for example only for special birthdays, instead of each year. Kathleen says she will no longer send cards and will rather send cards to her (Dutch) friends instead, and to her Belgian royal family, that always sends lovely photos back.