Luke’s Glenwood House Grade 2 Life Skills teacher, Mrs Lesley Jansen, instructed her class to write to anyone in the world asking for a response if they should receive Flat Stanley in their postbox. Flat Stanley had, according to Mrs Jansen, been squashed by a noticeboard into one dimension, which allowed him to be sent all over the world, reporting back to the students about his global travels.
Luke’s mom, Leanne, recommended that Luke send his letter to London, but little did Luke imagine that his Flat Stanley would actually end up in the hands of royalty.
Luke’s letter reads: "Dear HRH - Prins William. I hope you are ha-ving a nice time being a Prince. In this letter is my friend Flat Stanley. My name is Luke and I am 8-years-old. I live in South Africa. If you receive Flat Stanley please send my teacher a letter saying that you got him and that he is safe. This is for my school project. "
In a letter dated 22 November from St James’s Palace, Mrs Claudia Holloway writes that "His Ro-yal Highness has taken care of Flat Stanley and has now asked me to return him to you...Prince William was immensely touched that you should take the trouble to write as you did. It really was most thoughtful of you and His Royal Highness has asked me to send you, Mrs Jansen and Grade 2 Class his warmest thanks and best wishes." The letter also says that during his stay in London, Flat Stanley enjoyed accommodation at Clarence House, Prince William’s home before he married Catherine earlier this year.
Mrs Jansen confirmed that Prince William’s response brought with it much excitement. Although the rest of her learners’ Flat Stanleys travelled to other exotic locations such as Singapore, Bangkok and Belgium, Luke’s response was an especially welcome one. Mrs Jansen’s purpose with this assignment, which was run for the second time this year due to its success last year, was for her learners "to come into contact with people and places around the world." The locations of all the letters received from her learners’ Flat Stanleys were plotted on a map in their Grade 2 classroom.
Luke is a keen fisherman and was enjoying his summer holiday with his family, including dad Bernie, mom Leanne and siblings Jonathan (7) and Katie (3) in Great Brak River.
The response from Prince William was addressed to Mrs Jansen, Luke and the Grade 2 Class at Glenwood House. The envelope also contained a postcard of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
ARTICLE: LEEANNE PRATT, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
