A Royal reply

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Reference date: June 3rd





I wrote to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands expressing my fondness for her country (In my early days as a NYC tour guide, I worked at the New Netherlands Museum, playing an early Dutch settler in New Amsterdam - which became the City of New York.) I've never been to Holland, but I also told her that I will someday.

Being a naive American, who writes letters to big American political figures and gets responses (see President Clinton, etc.) I was unaware of the protocol governing letters to royalty. (I should have learned my lesson from the response to my letter to the King of Norway.) Here is what the Private Secretary to the Queen, who handles all correspondence, had to say:

Dear Mr. Lucas,

On behalf of Her Majesty the Queen I would like to thank you for your kind letter in which you tell her of your special interest in the Netherlands.

­Regarding your plans to visit our country and wishing to see the most interesting and beautiful spots during that trip, I would like to refer you to the website www.holland.com on which you will find elaborate information on the places of interest in our country.

Unfortunately it is not possible to give you an answer to your more personal questions to the Queen. I am sure you will appreciate this.

I hope you and your family will indeed have the opportunity to visit the Netherlands in the near future, and that this experience may confirm the stories of your friends.

Yours Sincerely,

Private Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix

I sent her a thank you the next day