Rise To The Crown- The Story of the Third-In-Line

*Thirty-Six (2011.08)

It was a warm summer day, and Kate and Delly were playing in the garden at Anmer Hall. Delly was giggling and chasing after a butterfly, while Kate watched on, smiling. As Delly ran past her, Kate felt a sudden pang of longing for another child. She wanted Delly to have a sibling to play with and grow up with, just like she had with her own siblings.

As Delly caught the butterfly and released it, Kate took a deep breath and turned to William, who was standing nearby. "I think I want another baby," she said softly.

William looked up, surprised. "Really?" he said. "Are you sure?"

Kate nodded. "I want Delly to have someone to play with, someone to share her childhood with. And...I just think it would be nice to have another little one around."

William smiled and took her hand. "Okay," he said. "If that's what you want, we can try for another baby. When I thought about having children, I never thought about just having one."

Kate's face lit up with joy and she hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love you."

_

Delly was playing with her dolls in the living room when she overheard her parents talking in the next room. She heard her mom say something about having another baby, and her heart sank. She was scared and didn't want to be left behind.

"Mumma, Papa," she said, walking into the room with tears in her eyes. "Are you gonna have another kid? Are you gonna abandon me?"

William and Kate were taken aback by their daughter's sudden appearance and the seriousness of her question. William immediately went to her and picked her up.

"Oh, sweetie," he said, "we would never abandon you. You are our precious little girl, and we love you more than anything."

Kate joined in, reassuring Delly that they were just talking about the possibility of having another child, but nothing was set in stone. Delly hugged her parents tightly, feeling comforted by their words.

_

Kate was sitting in the living room, flipping through a magazine when Delly came up to her and asked what she was reading. Kate smiled and showed her a page with a picture of a little boy playing in the park.

"This is what I'm looking at, Delly," Kate said, pointing to the photo. "I want a little boy to play with you."

Delly tilted her head and looked at the picture. "Why do you want a boy?"

"Well, I think it would be nice for you to have a little brother. You could teach him all sorts of things, and you could play together all the time."

Delly cuddled up to her mother, skeptical, she wanted a little sister to play with her and Louise.

Kate wanted a boy, and she had told Delly it was because she wanted two children, a boy, and a girl, and their family would be complete that way.

Delly had taken her mother's words as, after the boy is born, she would not have more children. And she reconciled with the idea of having a cute brother to share the love of her parents with.

But apparently, that would not be the case.

Kate continued to talk about Delly's little brother as if he is already alive. He's not, he has not even been conceived yet. Even if he was conceived, no one can say the gender definitely. Yet, Kate said it was going to be a little brother with so much confidence that she was almost begging God to give her that.

Delly didn't like how much her parents wanted a young son. She might've felt less resentment towards the idea had her parents wanted a younger sister for her. It seemed as though, to Delly, the obsessiveness of her mother on the gender of her baby being a boy, made her, Delly, less valuable as a girl.

This was not the case at all, Kate simply wanted a boy and a girl. And I think most of us, after having the first child, would want the second to be of the opposite gender. We want to enjoy the joys of being parents to both of them.

Delly's misunderstanding of her mother on the subject of children and her younger siblings is going to affect her views on a lot of family matters growing into her teenage years.