A WOMAN has received a touching sympathy card from King Charles III following the death of her mother on the same day as the Queen.
Tina Veall lost her mother Bettina ‘Betty’ Athersych on 8 September, the same day that Queen Elizabeth II passed away.
The sad news came just months after Betty received her 100th birthday card from the late Queen on 23 May, congratulating her on becoming a centenarian.
Following the loss of her mother, and upon hearing of the Queen’s death, Tina, 60, sent a homemade sympathy card to the new King to pass on her condolences and share the tragic coincidence of her mother’s own death on the same date.
Now Tina, from Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, has been left amazed after receiving a letter and card back from the King, thanking her and passing on his own condolences.
The letter is sent from the royal family’s correspondence secretary, and is accompanied by a card containing a picture of the late Queen with then-Prince Charles as a child alongside a short message from the King himself.
The letter reads: “Dear Mrs Veall, The King has asked me to thank you for your lovely handmade card, and for the very kind words of support you sent following the death of his beloved mother, The Queen.
“I apologise for the delay in replying to you but, as I am sure you will understand, recent events have limited this office’s capacity to respond as quickly as we would have wished.
“His majesty was so sorry to hear that you too lost your mother on September 8th, and has asked me to send you and your family his sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
“The King was immensely touched that you should take the trouble to write as you did at this time, and to see the photograph you included of your mother as she celebrated her one hundredth birthday earlier this year.
“His majesty greatly appreciates the thoughtful sentiments you have expressed, and has asked me to pass on his warmest thanks and very best wishes.”
The King’s card reads: “It was so very kind of you to send me such a wonderfully generous message following the death of my beloved mother. Your most thoughtful words are enormously comforting, and I cannot tell you how deeply they are appreciated at this time of immense sorrow.”
Tina shared images of the correspondence she received, as well as the card she originally sent, to Facebook on Tuesday.
She captioned the post: “At the age of 100 my mum passed away on the 8th September, the same day as the Queen.
“She was delighted to receive a birthday card from the Queen and I really felt for King Charles and his siblings after losing their mother too, so I sent a sympathy card.
“Got the surprise of my life when I opened the post this morning!”
Images show the King’s simplistic black and white card, stamped with his royal seal, stood proudly alongside the thoughtful letter.
A separate image shows Tina’s homemade sympathy card, which features a black Christian cross alongside three flowers with the words “With deepest sympathy” printed on the front.
The post has attracted over 3,500 likes and more than 100 comments from users who reacted in amazement to the kind-hearted gesture.
One comment read: “How lovely! Regardless of what people think of the Royal family, they lost a mother, grandmother, great grandmother/auntie. They grieve as the rest of us do.”
Another said: “This is so lovely, and it was so kind and thoughtful of you to send a card when I can imagine the personal heartache you too were suffering. Hope you’re doing okay.”
A third user commented: “Sorry for your loss. What a beautiful letter from HRH, your card is fab.”
Another wrote: “Wow. What a lovely response and so thoughtful of you to send a card during your own time of loss.”
A fifth user said: “I’m so sorry for your loss, I hope you are doing ok. What a beautiful exchange between you all, a gift that I’m sure lifted your spirits and his, thank you for sharing.”
Speaking today Tina said: ” My mum turned 100-years-old on 23 May and received a card from the Queen which she was over the moon about.
“She appeared on our local BBC Look North program having being born in the village that she lived in all her life, as did her mother too. Quite an achievement!
“A few weeks later her health sadly started to decline, she went into hospital and then into a care home for the last six weeks of her life.
“Mum died at 11.30am on Thursday, 8 September and I got home later that day to hear that the Queen was very ill – somehow I knew then that she had already passed away – to then have it confirmed at 6:30pm on the news.
“My heart went out to the new King. Not only had he lost his mum but he now had royal duties to carry out as our new monarch.
“I had time to grieve – he didn’t – so I made him a sympathy card and said I was thinking of him and was sorry to hear about the passing away of his mum, our Queen.
“I sent him my condolences, along with condolences to the rest of his family.
“I told him my mum had died that same morning and enclosed a photo of her holding the birthday card the Queen had sent her, posted it off & hoped he would receive it.
“My husband had collected the post yesterday morning & called me through, handing me an envelope marked ‘Buckingham Palace’.
“I carefully opened it and was absolutely astonished to receive a thank you card and a personal letter, he had obviously seen and read my card which meant so much to me, it was an amazing feeling and is something I will always treasure.”
The Queen passed away on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96 as Britain’s longest regining monarch, with her reign lasting 70 years and 214 days.
Following her death, the Palace reported it had received over 50,000 letters of condolence from members of the public.
