Be ready to weep: Touching letters from famous people to their children

From Victoria Beckham to Tolkein, we list down some of the more heartwarming letters from famous people to their children.

While Zuckerberg's letter to his infant daughter might be difficult to top, letter-writing has had a long history and is especially effective for expressing deep emotions.

These five famous people have penned especially intimate letters for their children that have touched our hearts and got us right in the feels.

Read them, and perhaps, be inspired to write about your own feelings for your child to read!

If - Rudyard Kipling

At the time of the publication of this famous and much-loved poem, Kipling’s son John was only 12. A celebrated British poet, Rudyard Kipling was the world’s youngest nobel laureate and he absolutely adored his son.

By parts parental advice about self-discipline, this poem reverberates with the hopes and abiding love the talented writer had for his son (much to his embarrassment). This poem has since become a canon in British literature as an evocation of Victorian-era stoicism—the virtue of the "stiff upper lip" self-discipline valued by then society.

Tragaically, his young son, John, lost his life in the line of duty during the First World War in September 1915. Kipling embarked on a desperate search in the hopes that he had merely been kidnapped since his son’s remains were never found, but to no avail.

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Letters to my daughter - Maya Angelou

Written to a daughter she never had, Maya Angelou’s compilation of poems and essays is both full of wisdom and friendly advice and also one that reflects the harsh realities of the times.

Letter to my daughter is very much a spontaneous work that came about only as she quite by accident one day stumbled upon a box in which she had placed a lot of "Work in Progress" notes, many of which had been addressed to her friend, Oprah Winfrey.

Angelou’s literary works with its strong autobiographical flavour have become inspirational for women throughout the world, and this compilation of letters is no less seminal to mothers everywhere.

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Barack Obama

Obama made history as the first coloured president of America in 2009, but did you also know that on the personal front, he is a devoted Dad?

This letter he wrote to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, is both sincere and heartwarming. In it, he apologizes for the time he has spent away from his children in order to work on his campaign and also his presidency role. Obama also talks to his children about the immense hopes and aspirations he has for them – and for the rest of the children in his country – that he strives to realise in his role as a president.

The Obamas are truly representative of everything that is good about the American family!

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J.R.R. Tolkein

If you thought Lord of the Rings was Tolkein’s greatest literary work, you might change your mind after reading his letters to his four children every year.

In characteristic Tolkein manner, his letters to his children about Father Christmas’ struggles against the north’s bat-riding goblins, as well as the mischievous hijinks of his helper, North Polar Bear were replete with images of the battle between good and evil as vivid imagination. He would even draw beautiful illustrations to accompany what he wrote about in his letter.

How is that for adorable?

Tolkein didn’t stop at Christmas, his many letters to his children also touched on many other less creative subjects, such as sexuality and his works.

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Victoria Beckham

David Beckham has often been portrayed in the media as the Dad who can do no wrong, but his wife Victoria Beckham, herself a fashion icon and powerhouse is also a wonderful mother who adores her 4 gorgeous children.

Recently this year, the beautiful mother wrote an open letter to her children that touched many hearts around the world as part of a Mother’s Day tribute. In the letter to her children, she touched on the struggles of being a working mum as well as the joy she derives from them. She also wrote eloquently about the importance of educating her children, especially about values like humility.

We are sure her heartfelt thoughts resonated with the multitudes of mothers around the world.

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Written by

Leigh Fan

childrenfamous peopleTouching Letters