Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Seventy-One: Royal Ascot

14th of June 2011 - Ascot Racecourse

The crowds cheered as the royal procession came to a stop, necks stranding to see the sight of the Queen and her royal entourage disembarking from the careers that had carried them into the race course.

The day was a rather gloomy one indeed, slight spots of rain appearing every now and then but it certainly didn't ruin the atmosphere of the racegoers.

Climbing from her career, Adeline took a deep breath as she slowly made her way over to her grandparents; she was to present the Prince of Wales' stakes trophy in her father's stead.

Charles could think of no better way for Adeline could make her Royal Ascot debut and there was no ignoring the fact that all eyes would be on his youngest daughter.

Adeline tended to shy away from public events when she was able to do so, despite her work as a senior working royal for her growing patronages.

The Queen's Nursing Institute had been recently add to her growing portfolio, it had been gifted to her from the Queen's collection of patronages.

The charity ACSIL (Amputees and Careers Support in Liverpool) had also been added to her roster in recent months, the new charity doing good work in the community and were thrilled to have Princess Adeline as their patron.

The Victoria and Albert Museum had been added earlier this year to match her role at the Natural History Museum.

Her father was pleased to see her taking an interest with each of her roles, he was eager to see her take on more with each passing year and establish herself just as her brothers had done.

The royal entourage made their way to the royal box where they would be seated for the races, there were few senior royals in attendance today; the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Adeline from the senior line.

Princess Alexander and the Duke and Duchess of Kent completed the set, they talked amongst themselves as they made their way up to the box so that the races could begin.

Adeline hadn't been able to stop her eyes searching over the crowds in an effort to spot Simon, she knew he and his mother were in attendance.

Simon was here representing his father who was denying that he was ill but refused to give a reason why he would not be here to watch their horses race.

***

Adeline jumped slightly as Simon wrapped his arms around her waist, he pressed a sweet kiss to the side of her neck as he pressed himself against her back and peered over her shoulder.

"You scared me," Adeline scolded playfully with a shake of her head, she stepped out of Simon's arms as she turned to face him with a smile on her face.

She peered over at the others to make sure that they weren't disturbing anyone else, she was relieved to see that no one was paying any attention to her and Simon.

"You look beautiful," Simon said admiring Adeline, he didn't think it was possible for her to look terrible; she always looked well put together and he loved that she had found her style.

Adeline was always comfortable being who she was, she wasn't pretending to be someone else that she wasn't.

"Congratulations on Hunter's Heritage win," Adeline replied knowing that it was a great achievement for the stables that Simon's father owned; they had worked so hard to get ready for the season.

Simon would one day inherit the stables but his father was determined to leave his heir something far grander than he had inherited when he had become the Earl of Munster.