Tommy delighted to receive special letter

A WORTHING schoolboy was delighted when a special piece of correspondence dropped on his doormat.
WH 150914 Tommy Beddis has received a letter from the queen. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140915-232000001WH 150914 Tommy Beddis has received a letter from the queen. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140915-232000001
WH 150914 Tommy Beddis has received a letter from the queen. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140915-232000001

Tommy Beddis, seven, was completing a school project about London when he decided to write to Her Majesty and invite her to ‘the amazing Worthing’.

His mother Julie encouraged the venture. She said: “The year two pupils at Thomas A’ Becket were learning about the capital city for their summer term project and I had taken Tommy for a visit to London where we walked around Buckingham Palace and saw all the sites.

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“A few days after we got back, Tommy announced that he would like to write a letter to the Queen.

“I chuckled to myself as he went off to get some paper and a pencil.

“His letter said, ‘Dear Queen, I would like to invite you to visit the amazing Worthing, your sincerely, Tommy.’ He had also drawn a little picture.

“The envelope Tommy chose was a scrap piece of paper and had writing on one side but he wrapped it all the way around and covered it with tape.

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“He knew the postcode for Buckingham Palace, which he wrote on the front and drew a picture of a stamp.”

Mrs Beddis, a mother-of-four boys, asked Tommy how the Queen would know where he lived.

“It was then that he put a return address on the envelope and I bought him a stamp,” she said. “We were going on holiday that week and Tommy asked if we would have to let Buckingham Palace know where we were.

“The letter looked a bit like road-kill, the makeshift envelope made it a really funny shape.”

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The family, of Leeward Road, Worthing, were delighted when a envelope with a Balmoral stamp dropped through the door.

Written by a Lady-in-Waiting, it said: ‘Dear Tommy, The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for your little letter in which you invite Her Majesty to visit Worthing. Although unable to reply to you personally, The Queen was pleased to hear from you and greatly appreciated your kind thought. I am to thank you, once again, for writing as you did.’

Mrs Beddis said: “I do not think Tommy understood at first but when he did, he was very excited. I do not think he can quite believe that he received a reply. Now everyone wants to write letters to the Queen.”