The Quintessential Rose of England

Part 5- Contemplations

Summer, 2008

Philip Mountbatten walked down the lavish hallway in Buckingham Palace. he was searching for his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. She wasn't petting the dogs in the garden, neither is she reading documents in her office, neither is she meeting the ministers in the rooms. 

Where could she be then? Philip thought as he opened the final door in the hall- The queen's bedroom. 

Philip never thought that he would see Her Majesty the Queen in her bedroom, besides in the late evenings when they come here for a retreat. He was more astonished to see her writing constantly on some presumably important documents. it's not that she's never signed papers before, in her 64 years for the reign, but that she will always do them in her workplace, instead of on the small table by her king-sized bed.

"Elizabeth?" the prince asked tentatively. 

"Philip!" The queen replied with a shockingly high-pitched voice, which Philip has never heard for almost half a century. 

"What are you writing?" Her husband asked while she flipped the page downwards as fast as possible, before realizing, rather awkwardly, that both sides of the paper were full of scribbles. Embarrassed, the Queen hid the notes down on her lap which was under the table. But, being someone who enjoys both sovereign immunity and diplomatic immunity, meaning that she could kill someone and get away with it, Queen Elizabeth shot her husband a death glare. Prince Philip, being a nice person, did as Her Majesty the Queen wanted him to do and paced out of the room.

Confused like never before was His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

He spent the rest of the day pondering and wondering if his beloved wife got some kind of mental illness, that is until he received a call from Charles, which made him think if he was actually the one with mental issues. 

Wiliam was dating a girl. The first date he's ever got, the only date he's ever longed.

_

"Um, I heard William is dating." Philip addressed the quiet dinner table of two. 

"I have heard also." The queen replied heartlessly.

"For a few weeks, I see." 

"For a few weeks, I see also." The queen mimicked, clearly contemplating over something.

The queen munched and nibbed on her piece of beef while paying no attention whatsoever to Philip's words.

"Well, what do you think about her?" Philip tried, gaining no answer.

The diner carried on, no one spoke until when the queen finished her dish.

"You remember Irene?"

First, there appeared the picture of a little girl who is lively and cheerful, naturally beautiful but not self-admired. She attracts the attention of passers-by with her chic and elegant casual dress.  

Then, there was a girl who is calm and contented. The kind of calmness that he saw was the kind of calmness that was undisturbed either by favor or disgrace, the kind of calmness that even the wind passed without a trace, the style of a mature woman.

Lastly, the picture of her and Wiliam's hug on perhaps the most traumatic day of William's life flashed through him.

So he said, "Yes, of course. They are together. I mean, they are wonderful, Elizabeth."

"What do you think about her."

"Out-going, mature, and from an aristocratic family. Perfect. I really couldn't imagine anyone but her being by Wills's side." With the lingering picture of the embrace in '97, Philip stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, those are some good ones, what about some bad traits?"

"I don't know, perhaps, it is time for us to meet her before deciding, it's been long since we've met her. But from what I knew, William fancied her for more than 10 years. You know, after '97, when she went to CU, Wills suddenly changed and wanna CU and not St. Andrews, the school he's been longing to go to and the school that we all agreed was the best one for his future. What were you thinking about? 'Cause I can't see anything bad about this if the marriage was gonna happen"

"Now, three things. One, her family was Catholic. Two, they've dated for barely a month and she is still young for marriage. Three, her mother was Diana's best mate, dunno if she's gonna be a Diana 2.0, I'm too old to deal with another Diana."

"Oh, barely. I mean, her grandpa converted to Christianity, and don't forget, Elizabeth, your great-grandpa, Edward VII nearly converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. If you're worried about her family being unloyal to their original religion, I shall tell you that yours isn't better. If you are worried about her family being originally Catholic, so are yours, and besides, when you trace any family back so many generations, they will likely be Catholic."

The queen frowned a little bit. But let Philip continue.

"For your second worry, it's utter nonsense. Just let them be together for a few more years, and they will approach the age. And for number three, she is nothing like Diana, and Wiliam is nothing like Charles. Charles and Diana knew one another for a month, Wills knew Irene for a life."

The Queen sighed, "We will wait a few months before inviting her to the Palace for diner, see if their relationship will last. Oh, and, wouldn't a Kennedy generate too much political problem for us?" Elizabeth was thinking about Jackie.

"Why, no. I have said that Irene is nothing like Jackie, she wouldn't have affairs with people all over the place. Partially because William is no Jack Kennedy, but y'know. Political problems are a bloody nothing. Her family is nothing like the Massachusetts Kennedys who have ties in Washington D.C. Her four grandparents and two parents spend their whole life up in Cambridge Uni. Don't worry too much, she's perfect! Just invite her to dinner already!"

"Philip, don't make such a fool of me when you speak. I stand by my statement. I will invite her a month into their relationship," And then Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories softened up and gave him a smile before continuing, "But thank you for your insight, I shall say though, if that isn't already clear enough, I love her very much."

But Philip was still confused over what the "bloody hell" was the queen writing in her bedroom.

A/N

I am so very sorry that I updated late.

 I just wanna remind the people who are expecting this story to be about love and relationship, this is not the exact book for you. there are plenty of great love story books about Prince Wiliam and Harry on Wattpad. I've read plenty of them and felt that they were too fluffy. I am not denying that they are wonderful stories to read, I just thought they are not the best portrayal of royal life. Thus, I decided that my book about Prince Wiliam would largely focus on royal drama instead of the love story of the couple. I think this book will provide a different point of view on the royal life as a soon-to-be-queen, just to balance out the a bit one-sided views of the fanfictions on Wattpad.

Thank you for reading and you can also read some of my other books about the Kennedy family.

Writer Irene <3