Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14
KING EDWARDS LETTERS.
The Delivery at the Palace and How
It is Handled.

From the London Express.
Though the kings daily movements are
fully chronicled in the newspapers and the
Court Circular" there are many things
his majesty does of which the public has
little knowledge. state business" upon
which the king is employed every morn
ing covers a multitude of urgent matters,
from the writing of an autograph letter to
a neighboring sovereign to the selection of
a coronation design, and there are, of
course numbers of official dispatches which
require the royal signature.
1t is not generally known, however, that
his majesty preserves a careful supervision
over the answers which are sent TO the
hundreds of correspondents daily writing TO
the king. On an average, the king daily
letter bag contains 600 letters, and about
half many newspapers, books, circulars,
&c. Needless to say, this gigantic delivery
needs the assistance of a body of private
clerks over whom Sir Francis Knollys.
the kings private secretary, exercises con-
troll.
All letters and parcels, with the exception
of those which are quickly recognized as
being personal to his majesty. e.,
which contain a distinctive private mark,
mutually prearranged, on the envelope or
cover-are opened by the secretaries, and
distributed in boxes, separately labeled, ac-
cordng to their nature and contents. These
boxes are then carefully examined and
checked by Sir Francis knOllys, and those
letters of an urgent character requiring the
consideration of his majesty are retained
by the private secretary and laid be-
fore the king, who indicates in a few words
his pleasure concerning them.
1t is surprlsing-and has often astonished
those in receipt of replies-hoW rapidly an
answer is dispatched from the royal resi-
denCe. Many a time has a correspondent
whose letter has been received by Sir Fran
els knOllys by the first morning delivery
oh i,,+i
that the first missive has been laid be-
fore the king" Many letters-those ema-
mating from Cranks, faddists and notorious
beggars, those making impossible requests
(such as a seat in the Abbey this month";
and those of purely commercial charac-
ter-are never submitted to his majesty,
but are either ignored stereotyped re-
plies are sent, according to the subject of
the letter.
This much can be truthfuly said: The
greatest courtesy and del!cacy have always
characterized his majesty's public CORE
spondence, and many instances could be
quoted where MS secretary has gone out of
his way to explain at length the kings OBJ
lection to some application, or his mai
esty's reluctance at being unable to COM
ply with some request. Since the re"
reign began the typewriter has been intro
duced in the palace, and many replies, for
NAL and otherwise, are now typed in violet
ink. In the late reign the private secreta-
ries were supposed to, and actually did,
when Edward VII assembled the throne a
modern change was quickly introduced,
saving large amount of time and labor.
All sorts and conditions of people write
to the king. Many of the envelopes bear
no stamps, as if Buckingham Palace were
government office. and some are boldly
addressed in a pencil scrawl.
The East End postmark is a predominant
feature; there are many poor people who,
alas! fondly believe the king can redress
their grievances and mitigate their woes
by a wave of his hand. 1t is no secret,
however, that in several instances, after
discreet inquiries have been made, suffer-
ing has been relieved in poor districts as
the result of letter to the king or queen.
Usually the channel of relief is one of the
phiianthropic societies, of which his mai
esty is either patron in which he is
interested, to whose office, the deserving
letter is privately forwarded.