Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Sixty-Five: Working from Home

2nd of May 2020 - FitzClarence Manor

Tapping her fingers against the kitchen counter, Adeline wasn't sure what to do with herself as she enjoyed the quiet of the house while Simon played in the garden with the children. 

It was a beautiful day, the sun beaming down on the gardens and Adeline wished that she could join them but she had work to do that day. 

The new normal didn't seem real, even now when she had been working from home since the end of March; it was hard to believe that the entire world had come to a complete halt.

The only people that Adeline saw these days were her own family, it was just them secluded away here in the Surrey countryside; a place that they so rarely got to spend time these days. 

York House had been the base for as long as Adeline had been married to Simon; it was the home where they had raised their family; it was their place and it always would be. 

Adeline stepped away from the kitchen window and made her way through the halls, her thoughts focusing on the project that she was currently working on with Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom that she was excited about. 

The project was still in it's early planning stages and Adeline was thrilled with the collaboration that brought together a few of her patronages like The London Library, Book Aid International and the Royal Literary Fund. 

The plan was to create an award to distinguished works of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, that captured the imagination and connected with people. 

There would be different categories and Adeline was thrilled to be involved, this would be her project and she saw no better time to launch it than when people were stuck at home and reading more than ever. 

Her and William had talked about their personal projects with William working on the Earthshot Prize, Catherine focusing on her early years initiative and Adeline was thrilled to be launching her yet to be named project. 

Simon was happy to see Adeline find her calling, leaning back on her degree as she worked on the project; her husband found himself learning more into his own work with his military connections.

Stepping into her office, Adeline closed the door over as she prepared herself for her meeting; she was eager to get everything ready so that the awards could be announced.

The only thing that escaped her was the name, something that would stand out and she didn't wish to name it after herself; she wanted the awards to outlast herself, she wanted them to be something that people look forward to. 

Adeline doubted the awards would ever hit the heights that other award shows did, she didn't think she could even think of a literature awards that held grand events for people to gather together to celebrating writing. 

Sitting down in her seat, Adeline prepared her laptop for her facetime meeting; the new way that most of her engagements had taken place since the world had locked down. 

It had taken some getting used to, a whole new way of meeting people and Adeline knew that a couple of her engagements had attracted the attention of royal fans who were thrilled at the pictures on the wall behind her. 

The pictures on display where of her four children, a picture from the early days of her and Simon's marriage joyful and happy times that she often reflected on. 

It had been only last month that the Queen had spoken to the people, something that was only ever seen at Christmas during her broadcast speech but this time she did so talking about the crisis that was currently happening.