Last month, KOOSHOO co-founders Jesse and Rachel awoke to find a letter from the Duchess of Cambridge on their doorstep. This is the latest twist in a turn of events that has captured the interest of the KOOSHOO community. In response to all the inquiries coming in from social media, here is the full story.

First, a little background on the Duke and Duchess and how this all began....

The Background

Back in September, the whole world tuned in as the Royal Family made their first official visit to British Columbia. Their tour of our majestic northwest was the true Canadian westcoast experience: they went from our downtown harbours to the Great Bear Rainforest, to First Nation’s communities in the Yukon to canoeing in Haida Gwaii.

Throughout their tour, the Royal Couple stayed focused their philanthropic work in four major areas: the Armed forces, the wellbeing of young people, mental health, and the conservation of the environment.

Just like KOOSHOO, the Duke and Duchess advocate for a positive and sustainable world for now and for the future. And on the last day of the tour, the KOOSHOO team had a serendipitous chance to bring the Royal Family’s vision together with their own…

The Chance

On the final day of their Canadian tour, the Royal Family were set to fly out of Victoria on a seaplane with Harbour Air. Daniel, Rachel’s brother, just so happens to be a member of the company’s Dock Operations crew and was asked to see the plane off for the Family. His job was to ensure the plane was tied in properly and then to release it when ready for take-off.

Though not a Royals follower, Daniel was honoured to be chosen. And given such an opportunity invited another idea: why not try to give the couple a custom-made package of the best KOOSHOO products for themselves and their little ones?

The Gift

The original gift included products for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Duchess Catherine, all wrapped up in a hand-painted Canadian-themed bag with their family initials.

For Prince George:

• Kids Pants in Solid Black – an understated staple that's perfect for long travels and play

• Kids Pants in Batik Jean Blue – one-of-a-kind, super comfortable pants that will give his favorite pair of jeans a run for their money!

For Princess Charlotte:

• Kids Pants in Solid Moonbeam Grey – a wonderful staple for Princess Charlotte's wardrobe that will compliment the many outfits she wore during her Canadian Tour (they're also a cozy layer to put under dresses for crisp autumn and winter days)

• Kids Pants in Batik Magenta Pink – these fun, one-of-a-kind Kids Pants have fun written all over them, making for the perfect dance pants for a happy little girl

For Duchess Catherine (aka Kate Middleton):

• Organic Cotton Lila Hair Ties in Brown and Black – these truly one-of-a-kind hair ties are unlike any other in the world, as they are the only organic cotton hair ties on the market (read more about them here!)

The package also included a handwritten KOOSHOO postcard from Rachel and Jesse; a newspaper clipping from an article in the Victoria Times Colonist that features KOOSHOO and the company’s passion to make a positive impact on the world; and a family photo to personalize the gift.

The Obstacle

Unfortunately, the path to delivering the gift was not a straight one. When Daniel asked his Harbour Air supervisor about the idea, they were concerned that the messaging of a KOOSHOO gift would be confusing coming from a Harbour Air employee. The security clearance around a package delivery was also a major setback.

But this wasn’t about to stop the KOOSHOO family from trying. Once Rachel found out that Daniel wouldn't be able to deliver the gift, she decided the next best option was to try to give it to the Duchess personally.

“I knew my odds were very low but I had put so much effort in already,” Rachel says. “The least I could do was see what destiny had in store.”

So Rachel and Dayva headed downtown to the seaplane terminal several hours before the Royal Family’s scheduled departure. Amidst the bustling crowd of smiling families and happy children, they did their best to find the perfect spot that would provide the best opportunity to deliver the gift.

Even getting there two hours early didn't secure a spot by the road, however, so Rachel asked some helpful neighbors in the crowd to pass the gift along. When the Royal Family did finally make their arrival, they were 30 minutes behind schedule and could not stop to greet the crowd at all. Their cars pulled right up to the Harbour Air pathway and they breezed into the terminal with some friendly waves to the massive crowd behind them.

"Princess Kate had an incredible aura about her,” Daniel says of the Duchess. “You could feel her energy before she even came around the corner. It was pretty powerful and not something I expected.”

There is a now-famous photo of Prince George with his face pressed up against the seaplane window – he was looking out at Daniel as he untied the plane for takeoff.

The Solution

Throughout the whole experience, the KOOSHOO team broadcasted all of the above live through their social media feeds and had dozens of people writing in for updates as the afternoon passed. Rachel and Jesse knew they couldn’t leave the story there and they had one final idea to try.

They started looking for (and found) a mailing address for the Duke and Duchess and decided they would send them the gift. According to the website, the couple does their best to reply to every single message they receive.

In keeping with the Royal image, writing to Royals is a formal process and Rachel had to track down all the proper information. This included precisely how to address the couple, where to send the package, and the appropriate language to use in the letter.

If wanting to send mail to the Royal family and ensure they receive it here is the proper way.

Royal Family mailing address:

TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Kensington Palace,
London,
W8 4PU

Rather than sending the entire original package, they simplified the gift to include only the two pairs of pants for Princess Charlotte, purchased a stunning $10 Blue Whale Canadian stamp that Canada Post calls “the biggest and largest denomination stamp in Canadian history," and made a ceremonial walk with their little girl (in matching Kids Pants to Princess Charlotte’s new pants!) to the post box to drop it off.

What’s Next?

This brings us full circle to the package Jesse and Rachel received from the Duchess of Cambridge. It was a lovely envelope embossed with her royal seal and inside was a letter from Miss Claudia Spens M.V.O., Head of General Correspondence for the Royal family. The letter thanked KOOSHOO kindly for the gift and went on to say "the Duke and Duchess were most touched that you should think of their daughter in this way".

To KOOSHOO's disappointment, the letter also said, "the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are not able to accept gifts from commercial organizations".  The Royal Couple did, however, keep the handwritten postcard which means they now have KOOSHOO on their radar! Jesse and Rachel are keeping an eye on orders for one coming in from Kensington Palace. They have a feeling this story isn’t finished yet…so stay tuned on social media for updates!