Here, you get a signed birthday letter from the King. I seem to recall reading that there’s a similar practice in the UK, with letters from Queen Elizabeth. Wondering about the practices in other countries — if there’s something similar in republics, is the letter from the president?

3 comments

  1. From some googling it seems that people turning 100, 105, 110 get a birthday letter from the king and the King’s Commissioner (there’s one of those for every province) and generally a visit from the mayor. If they want to of course.

    You also get a letter from the king and King’s Commissioner for every 5 year wedding anniversary from 60 years onwards. What you get from the mayor will depend on where you live. In [Nijmegen](https://www.nijmegen.nl/diensten/onderscheidingen/jubilea/) for example you’ll get a visit from your 65th anniversary onwards every 5 years. Seems like if you make it to anniversary 75 you’ll also get a visit from the King’s Chamberlain (one of those for each province as well).

    People with these high anniversaries or birthdays often get featured in the local newspaper as well.

  2. Yes. My grandma turned 100 last year and she got a letter from the governor. IIRC it also included 100 Euros in cash.

    Every now and then you will even see pictures of the governor visiting 100-year-olds in the local newspaper but in my grandma’s case that wasn’t an option due to Covid.

    Additionally, there are usually happy birthday cards (and potentially a gift basket) for over 90-year olds from the commune but that varies from town to town and probably depends on the mayor.

  3. Yes, every 100 year old gets a letter from the Royal House signed by the King. It usually reads out: (Name of the reciever) My most heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of their 100th birthday (King’s signature)

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