Queen's 'precious' handwritten note to a young Prince William overjoys royal fans

A handwritten note sent by Queen Elizabeth II to a young Prince William at Christmastime has drawn sweet reactions from royal fans. 

• The Queen's note to a young Prince William at Christmastime has gone viral, as royal fans gush over the late monarch's 'precious' relationship with her grandson. 
• The note was reportedly given to the Prince of Wales alongside an Advent Calendar during the 1990s. 
• In other royal news, Prince Harry's memoir 'Spare' release date clashes with Kate Middleton's birthday.
  

An old Christmas note from Queen Elizabeth II to Prince William has been hailed as 'precious' by royal fans, after a photo of the handwritten message went viral on social media yesterday. 

In the close-up snap, the words, "William, I hope you enjoy opening this each day. Love Granny," can be seen scrawled in blue ink on official Buckingham Palace stationery. 

Real Royal Mail posted the image of the resurfaced card on its Twitter account on Wednesday, along with a caption explaining its touching background story. 

After revealing that the note had been "written in the hand of Queen Elizabeth II and sent to the young Prince William", it added that the late monarch's card had "obviously" accompanied "an advent calendar" for her beloved grandson. It remains unknown when exactly the sweet card was penned, but it can likely be traced back to the 1990s when William was an adolescent. 

Advent calendars are traditionally started in Britain ahead of Christmas, so it was probably gifted to the royal heir on December 1 or possibly even earlier. It also means William probably received the message at Kensington Palace, where he spent his childhood and teenage years when he wasn't at boarding school. 

The Queen's card to William, which first went up for auction in 2016, was purchased from a former employee of Princess Diana. 

Royal fans were quick to share their reaction to the relic online, with many gushing over the Prince of Wales' sweet bond with his late 'Granny'. 

"Aw, I have never seen this!! They had such a lovely relationship," one person wrote. 

"Beautiful, precious memory to treasure," another fan commented. 

Some were slightly confused over the Queen's spelling of her heartfelt moniker, however. The late monarch notably signed the message as 'Granny', rather than 'Grannie', which is how William and his cousins have historically written their grandmother's affectionate name. 

"I thought all the grandkids spelled it Grannie? Didn’t we just see that for her funeral?" one confused person said. 

The Prince of Wales released a statement after the Queen's death in which he called his late nana 'Grannie', after revealing that the 96-year-old was 'by my side at my happiest moments' as well as 'during the saddest days of my life.' Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice also echoed William's choice of spelling, referring to the Queen as their 'dear grannie' in a heartbreaking tribute on September 17.