A little girl from Victoria, Australia, has one of the last letters ever sent by Queen Elizabeth II after she sent her photos of herself dressed up as a Royal alongside her beloved pony Lady. Olivia Akers, 8, who lives with her family on a dairy farm in Tallygaroopna in northern Victoria, received a reply from Buckingham Palace on Friday, a day after the Queen died.
It is believed to be the last letter the Queen ever sent before her death, leaving the little girl with a memorable gift. Her mother Natalie, who designed the exquisite military-inspired outfit, called the timing of the letter's arrival " very serendipitous."
Precious Souvenir
Natalie had originally planned for her daughter to make her debut in the outfit at a nearby horse show, but she came across a UK-based fancy dress contest online and decided to use the competition as inspiration to finish the costume and asked the organizers if they would take an international entrant.
Olivia's outfit, which drew inspiration from the yearly Trooping the Colour ceremony, came in second place in the online contest.
However, Natalie made the decision to deliver the adorable photos and a letter from her daughter to the Queen herself.
"Dear Queen Elizabeth, my name is Olivia Akers, I am eight-years-old and live in Tallygaroopna in Australia," the letter begins.
"I really liked your video with Paddington Bear. Do you really eat marmalade sandwiches? I have included some photos from an online horse fancy dress competition that was for your Platinum Jubilee. I hope you like my photos? My side saddle came from England. My pony's name is Lady and she is an Australian pony."
"How many horses do you have? I hope you had a lovely Jubilee. Love Olivia."
There was no immediate reply from Buckingham Palace and Olivia continued to wait. "Olivia sent her letter back in June and she's patiently been asking, 'Have we got a letter back from the Queen?'," Natalie told the ABC's Victorian Country Hour with Warwick Long.
Surprise With Sadness
Finally, a reply came but a bit too late. The family believed the letter would never arrive when they heard the Queen had died when they woke up on Friday morning. However, at the Tallygaroopna post office, there was a unique surprise in store for them.
The lady at the post office says, 'You've got a very special piece of mail today'," Natalie said.
"We had a bit of a greeting card for the Queen's Jubilee thanking her for the letter, and then a personalized message from the Queen's lady-in-waiting acknowledging Liv sitting there on her 'splendid' pony."
The letter commended Olivia for her consideration in writing to Her Majesty and was signed by Lady-In-Waiting Annabelle Whitehead.
"The Queen was interested to see the photographs you enclosed in which you and your splendid Pony, Lady, are depicted in the costume you chose for the celebratory competition you entered," the note read.
"Her Majesty was touched to know that you too enjoy horse riding, and I am to thank you again for your thoughtfulness in writing to the Queen as you did at this time."
Although there has been no official confirmation on this, the letter is believed to be the last one ever written by Queen Elizabeth II before her death.
"The timing is quite remarkable," Natalie said, adding Lady, who cooperated with the costume, was "the best pony we have ever had."
"Liv will treasure this memory for the rest of her life."
"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.
