A five-year-old boy received one of the last ever letters sent out by the Queen, a day after her death.
James McConnell wrote a heartfelt letter to the late monarch during a trip with his family to London during the Platinum Jubilee.
The youngster, from Birtley, Gateshead, wrote: "Dear Queen Happy 70th Platinum Jubilee. Thank you from James", ChronicleLive reported.
But his dad Graeme McConnell was stunned when James received a card from Buckingham Palace on Friday 9 September, a day after Elizabeth II passed away.
What made the letter even more heart breaking was that it was dated to the day before - the day she had lost her life.
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The royal response contained a picture of the late Queen and read: "I send you my grateful thanks for your kind message on the occasion of the Seventieth Anniversary of my Accession to the Throne Elizabeth R 2022".
Dad Graeme said: "I was just getting ready to go out, and bells were being rang for the Queen, when the letter came through the door. It was quite emotional. It was really poignant.
"James loves anything to do with the Queen. He understands that the Queen has died and she has went to live in heaven.
"It must have been one of the last ones ER sent. It will have been a lady-in-waiting who sent it out. But James thinks that she sat and did that before she died. I don't want to burst that bubble for him.
"He was beaming and proud. I think we'll get it framed for him so he can always keep it."
James added: "It was good. It was a special card. It was (sent) on her last day. She's gone to heaven."
The family had made the trip down to the capital for the historic Platinum Jubilee that celebrated 70 years of the Queen’s reign.
It took place during a special extended bank holiday held in June, this summer.
James made the trip down the London with dad Graeme, mum Ellen, 31, his two-year-old little brother Edward and their grandparents where they saw the Trooping The Colour.
Graeme, who works in social care, said: "We went down as I thought this will be the last opportunity to see the Queen. James wrote the letter in the hotel room."
He said that they were devastated to learn on Thursday that the Queen had passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
The dad-of-two said: "We all got a bit upset. We're all practising Catholics so we do all believe in heaven. James will talk openly about the Queen living in heaven with Prince Philip now."
