Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Fifteen: Balmoral Castle

24th of August 2015 - Balmoral Castle

Simon wasn't sure what to expect when they had been invited to Balmoral for the last week of August with the rest of the invited members of the royal family; they hadn't come last year because Adeline had been suffering from morning sickness.

However this year, they had been eager to make the trip and the Queen had been happy to extend an invite to the Clarences; she loved having her family around her in a place that she loved so much.

It was Prince Philip that had greeted them when they arrived, a cheerful smile on the ninety-four year old man's face as he approached them; even the Duke seemed to be at ease in the safety of the Scottish estate.

Then they had been lead to the rooms, Adeline's room had changed little since she had been gifted it by the Queen when she had turned eighteen.

It was one of the benefits of a large house like this, there was room for all the family here to have their own rooms without being on top of one another with a part of the house designated for children at one point.

Stepping into the room, Adeline holding Daphne while Simon carried their suitcases; the place was just how Adeline had left it, nothing was out of place and it was like coming home sometimes.

"Gifts?" Simon noted seeing something on each of the bedside tables, he didn't know what he had been expecting when they had come here; he had heard stories but Balmoral was a private estate where the family could just disappear.

It was the reason that the royal family loved it so much, they were hidden away from the public here and the locals weren't likely to talk to the press about anything since the Queen was considered a neighbour here not just a monarch.

"Granny always likes to get a little something for everyone that visits," Adeline explained, she noted that there was even a little something for Daphne next to the crib that had been set up for her.

The Queen was always so thoughtful when it came to her gifts, she loved hosting everyone when they came to see her here over the summer; she felt more like a grandmother here than the Queen.

Simon nodded his head at that, he honestly didn't know what to expect while they were here but he knew that this would be the first time since they had been married that they'd see the extended family.

All of Adeline's cousins were expecting to make a visit this week, everyone coming to spend time with their grandparents on the off season from royal duties and work while they had the chance.

Opening up his gift, Simon was surprised to see a book that he had mentioned wanting when he had attended Christmas at Sandringham; he hadn't realised that she had heard him talk about it let alone would gift it to him. 

It was so thoughtful of her to get something that she'd knew he'd like, something that he would have never bought for himself. 

Balmoral very much reminded him of his own family estate in Scotland, it was peaceful and away from the public so that they could be themselves without being on display. 

Opening up Daphne's gift, Adeline smiled staring at the handcrafted gift that her grandmother had gifted her daughter; she had no doubts that the Queen had put a little extra thought into her gift. 

The wooden horse was carefully painted and Adeline had no doubts that it was a commissioned gifts, the colouring of the horse reminded Adeline of the pony that she had learned to ride on. 

The Shetland pony had belonged to the Queen's stables, one that most of the royal children learned to ride on and Adeline recalled fondly that the Queen would lead the pony around as they took a ride as children.