Update: The Queen Replied to My Letter

Well, technically it was a Lady-in-Waiting

In September, I wrote to you about the Queen of England. She hadn’t returned my letter, mailed eight months before, requesting information related to my next book. But hope springs eternal in the heart of a historian, so I asked two colleagues to weigh in before I made a second attempt. Kathryn Gehred, a research editor at the University of Virginia’s Washington Papers and host of the podcast “Your Most Humble Obedient Servant,” suggested I tweak my sign off, but she wasn’t optimistic. Emily Norweg, a Yorkshire-based PhD candidate at Georgetown, made a few minor edits and mailed the new letter on my behalf.¹

Jennifer Gordon-Lennox is standing behind Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. She wears a bow, which represents her place in the Royal Victorian Order.

It worked! Sort of. Last week, Jennifer Gordon-Lennox, a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen, wrote a very polite response on her Majesty’s behalf.² I’ll unveil the details when my next book is published, but for now, I’m sad to say that a Zoom with the Queen will not be listed in “Works Cited.”

Thanks for reading! You can find me on Twitter and Instagram and my books, as well as others mentioned on SMK, on Bookshop, Amazon, and your local bookstore or library. If you have a question or comment, I want to hear it! studymarrykill@gmail.com.

ON A RELATED NOTE:

I just spotted this short video of Sara Georgini talking about Phyllis Wheatley’s writing desk, which she mentioned in Texting with an Archivist II.

ON AN UNRELATED NOTE:

New York Times, August 26, 1852

1. Emily is my research assistant, and the longtime research assistant to Your Favorite Prof, Pulitzer-prize winner Marcia Chatelain.

2. The letter was so polite, or perhaps I was so blinded by enthusiasm, that I asked Emily to confirm it was a rejection. She did.