For their first Halloween , most children don’t stray too far outside the realm of what’s expected. They wind up dressing up as dinosaurs, fairy godmothers, or some type of Avenger.
But for little Jalayne Sutherland’s first Halloween , she decided to go a different route — dressing up as Queen Elizabeth II . Her Majesty caught wind of the story and decided to send a royal response to Jalayne and her family.
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Halloween is a right of passage in every child’s life.
Birthdays and Christmas time tend to take the bulk of the glory, but real ones know that the best holiday of the year occurs on the 31st of October. For many children, this is their first glimmer of independence.
On top of that, kids get the green light to feast on as much candy as they can consume.
When I was young, I used to fill entire pillowcases. It’s no exaggeration to say that back then, I would quite literally eat my weight in candy.
Did I mention you also get to dress up as your favorite characters, fictional and or otherwise?
Most kids when they’re young want to dress up as their favorite TV character or perhaps their favorite superhero. But for 1-year-old Jalayne Sutherland’s first Halloween, she (with the help of her parents) decided to go a different route.
Instead of dressing up as ‘Cocomelon’ or ‘Paw Patrol’, little Jalayne went as Her Royal Highness — Queen Elizabeth II.
As is evident from the photo above, baby Jalayne went all out — donning a sky blue peacoat with a matching hat and white gloves. Jalayne even saw fit to wear a white wig, along with the Queen’s signature set of pearls.
Jalayne can also be seen posing with two adorable Corgis — the Queen’s most beloved animals.
Feeling that this Kodak moment was simply too good to pass up, Jalayne’s parents decided to snap a few photos and send them to the Queen herself at Buckingham Palace.
Most surprisingly of all, Her Majesty actually wrote back!
Actually, the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting (the Hon. Mary Morrison) wrote back — because when you’re a Queen, that’s how things work. The Lady-in-Waiting is a noblewoman who serves as the Queen’s assistant, for lack of a better word.
“The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for your letter, and for the photograph you thoughtfully enclosed,” the Royal reply began.
“Her Majesty thought it kind of you to write to her, and The Queen was pleased to see the photograph of your daughter, Jalayne, in her splendid outfit .”
As you might imagine, it’s no small feat to impress a Queen.
According to reports from The Telegraph , Queen Elizabeth II receives 300 letters from her adoring public every single day. That’s nearly 110,000 letters over the course of a single year! So to get any kind of response isn’t just rare — it’s remarkable.
The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting also made sure to pass along the Queen’s well-wishes.
“Her Majesty hopes you all have a very Merry Christmas, and I am enclosing a little information about the Royal Pets, which Jalayne might like to have,” the letter concluded .
The story of Jalayne’s Halloween costume has since gone viral, hitting several international news outlets around the world.
“I’m in the UK and this was on our national news television last night and it did make me laugh,” Facebook user Amelie Packer said . “With all the doom and gloom on the news re covid at the moment[sic] this was such a lovely story. So cute.”
The real question now is, what will Jalayne go as for Halloween next year?
If she intends to keep the regal theme going, perhaps we could expect to see a toddler version of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge — or maybe Jalayne has her heart set on immortalizing Lady Diana? Whatever the case may be, I’m all about it.
