On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, California Valley Miwok Tribe (CVMT) Chairperson Silvia Burley, received correspondence signed by Mrs. Dale Bone, Buckingham Palace Correspondence Officer, on behalf of Her Majesty, Elizabeth II, The Queen of England. The letter and pictures received are in response to an inquiry by Chairperson Burley / CVMT Ambassador sent to Her Majesty, The Queen, dated August 25, 2012.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe is elated beyond words of receiving such a wonderful gift from Her Majesty, The Queen of England. The Tribe admires her beauty, her strength and her leadership. We shall forever honor her graciousness towards the Tribe, especially since Her Majesty took the time to read our personal letter to her.
The Queen is Head of State of the United Kingdom (UK) and 15 other Commonwealth realms. The eldest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later to be known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), she was born in 1926 and became Queen at the age of 25. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. The Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on November 20, 2012. They have four children (Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Price Edward, Earl of Wessex), eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth has many different duties to perform every day. Some are public duties, such as ceremonies, receptions and visits within the UK or abroad. Other duties include reading letters from the public, official papers and briefing notes, audiences with political ministers or ambassadors and meetings with her Private Secretaries to discuss daily business and her future diary plans. The Queen is supported in her official duties by other working members of the Royal Family who carry out a wide range of public engagements.
Five Departments make up the Royal Household. These Departments are: the Private Secretary’s Office, the Master of the Household’s Department, the Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Office, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, and the Royal Collection Department. The Royal Household aims to provide exceptional support and advice to the Queen, enabling her to serve the nation and its people. The Royal Household staff work across a wide range of professions, including catering, housekeeping, accountancy, secretarial, media relations, human resources, art curatorship and strategic planning.
An important part of the work of the Queen and the Royal Family is to support and encourage public and voluntary service. One of the ways in which they do this is through involvement with charities and other organizations. The Queen has over 600 patronages and The Duke of Edinburgh over 700. Between them, members of The Royal Family hold approximately 3,000 patronages of charitable organizations.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe and its membership find inspiration in Her Majesty, The Queen’s endeavors, exhibiting a lifelong dedication of self-sacrifice and devotion to addressing and serving the needs of her citizenry residing within the United Kingdom and the countries of its commonwealth. We also are proud and honored that she found the time in her important schedule to receive and respond to our correspondence acknowledging the Chairperson and the membership of this proud but small and landless tribe.
