N E P A L :: King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
Reign: 01.31.1972 - 06.01.2001
Wiki: King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
Comments: King Birendra was assassinated by his brother, Crown Prince Dipendra, on June 1, 2001 in the Royal Palace Massacre. This dated, autographed photo is highly unusual for a royal, as most refuse to sign autographs.
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J O R D A N :: King Hussein bin Talal ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
Reign: 08.11.1952 - 02.07.1999
Wiki: King Hussein bin Talal
Comments: King Hussein remains one of the most important leaders in the history of the troubled Middle East. "The Royal Hashemite Court" (see letter) has a nice ring to it. I want one. Hussein passed away in 1999.
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M O N A C O :: Prince Rainier III ::
Click each to view: Photograph | Stamps | Envelope
Reign: 05.09.1949 - 04.06.2005
Wiki: Prince Rainier III
Comments: In lieu of autograph, send stamps! An unexpected, yet welcomed response to my letter. Prince Rainier III, one of the longest serving monarchs in recent memory, is perhaps most well known for his marriage to Hollywood star Grace Kelly. Rainier passed away in 2005 with his son (see photograph) taking over the royal reins.
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B E L G I U M :: King Baudouin I ::
Click each to view: Letter | Photograph | Envelope
Reign: 07.17.1951 - 07.31.1993
Wiki: King Baudouin I
Comments: Tragically, King Baudouin unexpectedly passed away only three weeks after this letter was dated. I'd like to think that had nothing to do with the fact that he refused my request for an autograph, as the letter asserts, "It is not customary indeed at the Belgian Court to grant such a request."
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L I E C H T E N S T E I N :: Prince Hans-Adam II ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
Reign: 11.13.1989 - present
Wiki: Prince Hans-Adam II
Comments: A handsome, royal-looking couple indeed! His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II remains one of the world's wealthiest royals with an estimated fortune in excess of three billion dollars. Good livin'!
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L U X E M B O U R G :: Grand Duke Jean ::
Click each to view: Letter | Photograph | Envelope
Reign: 11.12.1964 - 10.07.2000
Wiki: Grand Duke Jean
Comments: Highly decorated from his admirable service in the British Army during World War II, this European royal paid his dues - just check out his uniform! The Grand Duke abdicated in 2000 thus allowing his Sandhurst-educated son Henri to take the throne.
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N E T H E R L A N D S :: Queen Beatrix ::
Click each to view: Letter | Photograph | Envelope
Reign: 04.30.1980 - present
Wiki: Queen Beatrix
Comments: Queen Beatrix is only worth roughly $300 million, a pauper compared to certain royals. In 2009, the Queen and her family narrowly avoided tragedy when 38-year old Dutch national Karst Tates attempted to ram his car into an open-top bus containing the royal family celebrating Queen's Day. He killed eight bystanders and injured many more.
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D E N M A R K :: Queen Margrethe II ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
Reign: 01.14.1972 - present
Wiki: Queen Margrethe II
Comments: Note the imperial capitalization in "Her" on the form letter; that's when you know you've made it. One of the Queen's middle names - Þórhildur - is Icelandic and was given to her because her father, Christian X, was the only King of Iceland (1912-1944). Oh, and Iceland is basically my favorite country.
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N O R W A Y :: King Harald V ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
Reign: 01.17.1991 - present
Wiki: King Harald V
Comments: King Harald V hails from the sweet sounding House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. This Renaissance man has appeared in two Olympic Games (Tokyo 1964; Mexico City 1968) - in yachting, of course. He's also a BC graduate, albeit Balliol College, Oxford.
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U N I T E D | K I N G D O M :: Queen Elizabeth II ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
Reign: 02.06.1952 - present
Wiki: Queen Elizabeth II
Comments: Last, but not least, here is arguably the world's most famous royal - Queen Elizabeth II. I enjoyed the wording in the letter from the Lady-In-Waiting (sweet job title), "I am sure you wil agree that it would be unfair to make any exception to this rule. Therefore I have to tell you that it is not possible for Her Majesty to do as you ask." Agreed, Liz.
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