A 10-year-old girl received one of the last letters sent by the Queen before her death.
Millie Francis penned a message in June to congratulate the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.
The youngster was stunned when she received a letter back from Buckingham Palace on Monday this week.
It contained a card with the Queen’s picture and the message: “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.”
Millie, who lives in North Shields, North Tyneside, was devastated to learn that the Queen had passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland just three days later.
She is now keeping her cherished card, dated September 2, safe in a folder.
She said: “It feels really precious to me and it feels like the best thing that can ever happen to a kid.
“I’m going to take it to school on Monday but I’m not letting everyone touch it!”
Millie’s mum Mary Francis, 30, said Millie wrote the letter with the help of her uncle - Mary’s twin brother Alex Francis.
She said her daughter sent it to the Queen but she did not expect to receive a response.
She was stunned when a letter addressed to Millie came through the post on Monday, September 5, from Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 surrounded by family members at her beloved Scottish retreat, Balmoral, on Thursday September 8.
Tributes have been made to the longest serving monarch from across the world, as the nation remembers her 70-year reign.
Her funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey from 11am on Monday, September 19.
Charles III ascended to the throne immediately upon the death of his mother and was proclaimed king by the Accession Council two days later.
