During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, millions of people from around the world had respect and admiration for her as a person and a leader. It was a privilege to have any contact with her, but one woman had it in abundance.
Adele Hankey, a woman from North Dakota, shared a bond with the Queen that many people did not know. They had never met in person, but they were still friends on a very special level.
Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926. Adele was also born on the same day. This prompted Adele to write a letter to the Queen in 1953 when she was crowned.
After letting the Queen know that they shared a birthday, she thought that it would be a done deal. What happened next, however, took her by surprise because the Queen replied to her directly.
It started out as a single letter but then, for the next seven decades, the Queen would continue to send Adele a birthday card. It was a beautiful way for them to correspond.
Handwritten letters were exchanged on their birthdays every year and it meant a lot to Adele. The local news even reported on the stack of letters she saved from the Queen over the years.
When the Queen died, Adele was able to look back on the personal letters. She said that she called the Queen her penpal and that she would miss the letters.
She also shared some of the things that she had in common with the Queen. This included their love of orange marmalade and their sense of humor.
You can hear more about this unique friendship in the following video: