You can imagine the shock for Shane when, despite never having sent any correspondence to Buckingham Palace, he received a thank-you card for the kind words following the passing of the Queen.
27 year old Shane Sykes is a Dalbeattie born and raised writer, who writes under the penname S J Young, Shane has written different titles, including ‘The Tears We Shed’, concentrating on the human experience of the afterlife. Shane wrote a short tale of such an event for the Queen, following her time as she stepped from this world and welcomed into the afterlife.
Shane posted the story to his Facebook page, and then planned to print a copy for his family, who weren’t technically minded. Then for the printed piece to be placed in a drawer and forgotten until some future day.
But that was not how his mother planned to store the story. Unbeknownst to Shane, she put it into an envelope and sent it off to Buckingham Palace. And even she had forgotten about having done so. Until just over a year later, on June 15th, when Shane received a letter. Upon opening it, Shane found a thank-you card from the King, and completely bemused why, he was sure that it was a mistake.
Worried he had forgotten something, until he realized who would have been up to something. When he asked his mother why he received a card from the King, she answered with nothing more than a laugh.
Shane was both delighted and horrified at the idea of someone at Buckingham Palace having received his story. For like most people, he had become quite invested in the royals since the Queens passing.