The Queen has sent a kind-hearted letter to TikToker, Honor Morrison, who painted a picture of her husband, Prince Philip, who sadly passed away aged 99 this April. Her Majesty and Philip had been married for 73 years and in her statement following his death, Her Royal Highness described him as "beloved".
Honor, in a series of TikTok videos, explained that she had initially created the portrait of Prince Philip during his funeral - which was sparsely attended due to coronavirus-related restrictions - and that she was unsure as to whether or not she should send it to Buckingham Palace.
Addressing her followers, Honor said, "Guys, don't laugh but I painted this during the funeral and I didn't know what else to paint. So, I painted Prince Philip and now I don't know what else to do with it?"
She then continued on to say that if her video (captioned '1,000 likes and I'll send it to the Queen') received over a thousand likes, she'd ship it off to The Queen. "It like, watches me. He watches me?" she says. "My mum said I should send it to The Queen... could you imagine? Imagine walking to the Post Office with 'Buckingham Palace' on the address... but I'm thinking if it gets enough likes on this, I'll send it to The Queen."
Currently, Honor's first post has netted over 22,000 likes – meaning, she stuck to her word and sent the portrait over to the Palace, along with a handwritten letter of condolence. However, what she wasn't banking on was receiving an incredibly sweet response from The Queen and her team.
In a subsequent video, Honor speaks directly to the camera and says, "Guys, you're not going to believe this, look what came in the post for me this morning!" while holding an envelope boasting a Buckingham Palace frank.
Everyone's clicking on...
Then, in another video, Honor reveals the contents of the envelope: a memorial tribute booklet with a photo of Prince Philip and the words 'In memory of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 1921 - 2021'. Also in the booklet was a note from Her Majesty, saying, "I send you my sincere thanks for your kind words of sympathy on the death of my husband" signed 'Elizabeth R'.
And that's not all – Lady Susan Hussey, The Queen's Lady-in-Waiting, also sent a hand-signed letter reading: "Dear Miss Morrison, The Queen wishes me to write and thank you very much for your message of sympathy and for the charming painting you sent of Her Majesty's beloved husband, The Duke of Edinburgh.
"The Queen has been deeply touched by the messages she's received from all round the world and is most grateful for your thoughtful support for Her Majesty at this time in sending her your kind present."
When reading the response from the Palace, Honor explained that she felt emotional and that receiving a reply had "made her day".
How lovely is that?
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
