‘I’m sure Olivia will cherish that letter for the rest of her life,’ said the girl’s mother.
After sending the late monarch a handwritten letter along with a series of adorable photos of herself dressed up as the royal, a young girl from the Australian state of Victoria became the proud owner of one of Queen Elizabeth II’s final letters. Olivia Akers, who lives with her family on a dairy farm in Tallygaroopna in the state’s north, wrote to the Queen following her Platinum Jubilee in June, according to Nine News.
“We wrote the letter because it was her Jubilee and I had an online fancy dress competition and we thought she might like the photos of me dressing up as the Queen,” the young girl shared.
“Dear Queen Elizabeth, my name is Olivia Akens. I am eight years old and live in Tallygaroopna in Australia,” Olivia wrote in her letter, before thanking the Queen for watching her video with Paddington Bear. Olivia and her mother, Natalie Akers, also included photos of their daughter dressed as Her Majesty at the Trooping the Colour ceremony. “I hope you like my photos? My side saddle is from England, and my pony’s name is Lady, and she is an Australian pony. How many horses do you have?” Olivia wrote to the monarch.
Eight-year-old Olivia Akers from Tallygaroopna in regional Victoria is the proud owner of one of Queen Elizabeth II’s last letters, received on the day of her passing. #9Today
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 11, 2022
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Akers revealed to ABC’s Victorian Country Hour with Warwick Long that her daughter has been patiently waiting for a response from the Queen since sending the letter in June. When the 96-year-old royal died “peacefully” at her Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands last week, the family assumed the letter would never arrive. Imagine their surprise when Olivia found something very special waiting for her at the Tallygaroopna post office that same day. “The lady at the post office says, ‘You’ve got a very special piece of mail today’,” Ms Akers recalled.
Did Olivia just get the Queen’s last letter? Royal post stuns young Australian on a ‘teary’ day https://t.co/ELXquUQLtg
— ABC News (@abcnews) September 9, 2022
“We had a bit of a greeting card for the Queen’s Jubilee thanking her for the letter, and then a personalised message from the Queen’s lady-in-waiting acknowledging Liv sitting there on her ‘splendid’ pony,” she added. The Queen wishes me to thank you very much for the kind message you sent following the culmination of celebrations for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee,” a representative of the Queen wrote in the reply, adding that the monarch “was interested” in the photographs “in which you and your splendid pony, Lady, are depicted in the costume… Her majesty was touched to know that you too enjoy horse-riding.”
Akers described the experience and timing of the letter’s arrival as “just beautiful,” revealing that she rushed the letter to Olivia, who was at school at the time, and that her classmates all took turns seeing it. “We all got a little bit teary to have such a special letter arrive and it’s probably one of her last letters that she would have written,” she said.”I’m sure Olivia will treasure that letter for the rest of her life.”