A Practice Fit for a Princess

“I think handwritten notes are a lost art form. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.”

-Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex

Meghan Markle recently got some media attention because she did a thing. Shocking, no?

The thing was a handwritten note with beautiful calligraphy to a London bakery. In it, she praised their social mission, which Luminary Bakery’s website states as creating opportunities “for women who have had a social and economic disadvantage… to build a future for themselves.” (Sugar & Kiki is also a social enterprise, with profits benefiting causes dear to us.)

As people.com reports, Ms Markle learned calligraphy and grew to love writing notes as a high school student. The practice has served her well as a royal. But this note is special for so much more than its beauty.

I recently heard some great advice about thank you notes: don’t start with “thank you.” Because where do you go from there? Start with a story about the worthiness of thanks. Luminary Bakery is such a “force for good” that their inclusion in her guest-edited issue of British Vogue was “non-negotiable.” She could have started with her thanks for the bakery’s participation, or their good work. What she did write is so much more meaningful. The Luminary folks didn’t post the above photo just because of the delicate script; surely they were equally impressed with its thoughtfully crafted composition.

Helen Lewis, writing in The Atlantic, recently called her the “Woke Duchess” for setting an example of how to embody feminism and modernism - not the Windsors’ strong suits. Her love of note writing demonstrates that she embraces and celebrates tradition - which is totally their jam.

So be a princess, would you? Be marvelously modern and traditional, and write more lovely notes (calligraphy optional).

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