For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth wrote to her pen pal in North Dakota who was born on the same day as her

• For 70 years, Adele Hankey, 96, of North Dakota, and the late Queen Elizabeth II exchanged letters, KFYR reported.

• The letter exchanges began in 1953 when Hankey sent the Queen a letter to which she responded.

• The two women share the same birthday, and the letter exchanges have been a birthday tradition.

For the past 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II exchanged letters with a woman she had never met in person who lives in Park River, North Dakota.

Adele Hankey, 96, born April 21, 1926, shared the same birthday as the late Queen of England, KFYR reported.

Hankey sent the first letter in 1953 when Elizabeth was crowned. Since then the late Queen sent Hankey handwritten birthday letters each year, making it a birthday tradition, according to the outlet.

"I could have jumped out of my shoes," Hankey told the outlet. "I asked her for a hat. I was hoping she would send me one. But she sent a lovely picture on her birthday."

Hankey told the outlet that the two never met but shared a passion for cooking.

"The recipes the queen liked were with marmalade. And so do I. How about that?" Hankey said.

Hankey told the outlet that she will miss the communication between her and her friend, the late Queen of England.

"Oh absolutely. You miss your pen pals," said Hankey told the outlet.

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