The staff at the UK’s Rothera Research Station in Antarctica have been gifted a Royal Mail lamp box featuring the King Charles III cypher – just in time for Christmas.

The new post box was requested by Kirsten Shaw, a station support assistant who runs a British Antarctic Territory Post Office for staff at Rothera Research Station. Seeking an improvement for their hand-made post box at Rothera, Kirsten wrote to His Majesty The King, and the Royal Household worked with Royal Mail to arrange this particularly special delivery. The post box will be installed in the Discovery Building, a new scientific support and operations hub.

The Rothera research station, which opened in 1975, is the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) facility, and a renowned global hub for climatic research. It is situated 1,860km (1,155 miles) south of the Falkland Islands, and staff work and live at the station for months at a time.

Kirsten explained the importance of post to staff:

“Getting post is really special for the team at Rothera. If you’re doing fieldwork for many months, the feeling of receiving a letter – an actual tangible, piece of paper with handwriting from friends and family – is such a lift. It’s a wonderful way to connect people that goes beyond what an email or text message can do.

Being in Antarctica is incredible, but it’s full of extremes. So I think it’s a special thing to send post back home, to communicate your experiences. It’s a moment of your life that you put down on paper and give to someone else.”

David Gold, Director of External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail said:

“We’re delighted to donate this iconic Royal Mail lamp post box to the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station. Sending and receiving mail is a vital connection for staff working in one of the most remote places on Earth – especially at Christmas, when messages from loved ones mean so much. This new post box will help keep that tradition alive and ensure the magic of mail even reaches the Antarctic.”

Postal logistics in such a remote area are understandably not straightforward. Post has to be gathered and put on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough or on a BAS aircraft to the Falkland Islands. The final leg involves transport to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where letters enter the Royal Mail postal network for onward delivery. 

Watch a video of the post box in action (external link to Facebook)

This article is based on the press releases from the BBC and the British Antarctic Survey