Dean Shaw, 45, sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth after watching the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, and seeing the bereaved Queen sat by herself.
Dean said: “We just felt really sorry for her and I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to send a letter to say we’re sorry for her loss and we’re thinking of her’.
“I said something along the lines of, ‘it’s a great privilege to be living during your reign’ as well.
“My wife was dubious; she thought she must get thousands of letters. But I thought it was a nice gesture and I should do it anyway, but I didn’t think anything more of it.
“It’s quite a privilege that she has actually sat and read my words, more so for her than me. It’s not about being puffed up about it and saying ‘I’ve got something from the Queen’ – it’s about sharing kindness.
“The point is, we have to remember she is a human being as well, and the royals are going through the Covid-19 crisis and she has just lost her husband. She needs to be given encouragement just like the rest of us, that’s what motivated me really.”