Anna receives royal surprise after telling the King about her birthday and life in Larne

Anna Cahoon marked her big day on November 12 and she decided to contact the King after learning it was his birthday during the month as well.

With help from her support worker Catherine Whiteford, Anna told His Majesty a little about her life in Larne and the activities she enjoys including drama and circus skills.

Explaining how the idea came about, Catherine said: “It was all down to Anna herself – she was so excited when she discovered the King’s birthday date wasn’t too far away from her own so she wanted to send a letter.

“We told him how it was her birthday in November and about how much she enjoys attending the Adult Centre with her friends and what she likes to do when she’s here.

“It was great to see Anna get so engaged in this and when we had the letter ready we took her down to the Post Office where the staff were so helpful because they could see how excited Anna was to be sending a letter to Buckingham Palace.

“We never expected to get a response so when an envelope arrived with the royal crest on it and marked private and confidential we knew it could only mean one thing.”

The letter, sent on behalf of the King by Thomas Claridge, Head of Royal Correspondence, is now Anna’s most prized possession. In it, the King said he was pleased to learn it was also her birthday in November and he hoped it would be a wonderful day of celebrations.