West End nine-year-old receives Queen's letter day after monarch's death

Lois Hanson, from West End, received a reply from Buckingham Palace on Friday - the day after it was announced Queen Elizabeth II had died peacefully at the age of 96.  

She had penned a special Jubilee poem for the adored monarch back in June and was excited to receive a rather remarkable piece of post shortly after learning the sad news about Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

Family collection (Image: Family collection)

Lois told the Daily Echo: "She was a wonderful Queen and her Jubilee showed us all the wonderful things she has done for us and I wanted to do something for her.

"I was in shock. I felt happy that I had a card from her, but sad because she had died the day before."

ALSO READ: Churchgoers pay tribute to ‘amazing’ Queen with remarkable ‘life of service’

The ornate card, signed Elizabeth R and containing two photographs of The Queen and a Royal coat of arms, sent Lois 'grateful thanks for your kind message on the occasion of the Seventieth Anniversary of my Accession to the Throne'.

Mum Zoe, a broadcaster responsible for Southampton podcast The So So Show and local firm The Podcast Lady, added: "Lois wrote a poem for The Queen during the Jubilee weekend. She wanted to send it to The Queen and so we put it in an envelope to Buckingham Palace, never ever expecting a reply.

"It had completely disappeared from our minds over the last four months, until the postman came on Friday, the day after the Queen had died. The only letter through the door that day, it was a posh envelope, so I checked the postmark, which was Buckingham Palace, 07.09.22."

The lovely poem penned by Lois to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee read:

You shine oh so bright, like stars in the night

Happy jubilee, I know you’ll have a cup of tea

The jubilee will be history and it’s you they will see

Happy Jubilee.

Zoe is now busy finding a frame for the keepsake so Lois can mount it on her bedroom wall and treasure it forever.

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