Lots of little kids dress up as superheroes or magical creatures for Halloween, but 2-year-old Jalayne Sutherland decided to go a different route.
OK, so it was actually her mom, Katelyn Sutherland, who had the brilliant idea of dressing her daughter up as Queen Elizabeth II. But the idea was 100 percent inspired by her daughter, who loves corgis just as much as the queen does.
“Ever since Jalayne was born the two corgis have been best friends with her,” Katelyn said. “Especially since she started eating and sneaking them food, they loved her even more.”
They already had the corgis needed to complete Jalayne’s costume, so the real challenge was putting together the perfect ensemble. In addition to finding a pale blue coat, pearls, and a broach, Katelyn curled a wig that she glued onto a matching light blue hat.
Friends and family members absolutely raved about the results on Facebook, even encouraging Katelyn to share them with the queen herself.
The mom didn’t think it was likely that royalty in England would take the time to respond to a letter all the way from Kentucky, but with Queen Elizabeth feeling ill at the time she sent the letter, Katelyn thought it might be a nice way to cheer her up.
It turns out, Katelyn was right! On December 27, 2021, about a month and a half after they mailed the photo, Katelyn discovered that a letter addressed to Jalayne had arrived… and it had the royal stamp.
“It was mixed in with our other mail. I had to calm myself down and make sure not to rip the envelope,” Katelyn said.
The letter in question read, “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.”
The letter will eventually be given to Jalayne, but for now, her parents plan on framing and displaying it in the living room. In the meantime, while this adorable 2-year-old is too young to understand why a piece of paper is so exciting, her mom helped her celebrate in her own way by putting the costume hat back on her as they danced around the kitchen.
“I’m never going to be able to top this!” Katelyn said.
What a delightful surprise! Don’t forget to share this article with a friend to spread the joy.
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