Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Seventy-Six: Merry Christmas

25th of December 2021 - Sandringham

Watching Daphne and Sebastian play with their cousins, Adeline smiled knowing that there was nowhere else that she would rather be than here with her family.

The last few months hadn't been easy, even with Catherine's Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, it had been a hard time with the news of the Queen's ill health.

The family had rallied together during this time, doing their best to keep the Queen's health from the news and ignoring the baiting that they were getting from the Sussexes who were determined to make things as difficult as possible.

Adeline knew that things were not going to get better, her brother believed he was being slighted in some way that he deserved more than he was getting from his family.

"You look deep in thought," Catherine said sitting beside Adeline, she smiled watching the older children play together in the sitting room whole the younger ones played their own game.

George, Daphne, Charlotte, Sebastian and Mia seemed to have entered into a game with the toy train set that was set up around the base of the Christmas tree in the room while Louis, Helena, Albert and Lena were playing together.

Savannah and Isla seemed to be joining in with both sets of games, keeping the others from keeping a little too boisterous in their games.

Only Lucas, Sienna and August were missing from the games that were taking place between the Queen's great grandchildren; they were the three youngest of the gathering who were in the middle of naptime.

Of course, Archie and Lilibet were missing from the gathering and as far as any of the adults knew the two Sussex children were unlikely to ever set foot in Sandringham in their lifetimes.

Harry and Meghan had dodged every invite since Archie had been born to come and spend Christmas with Harry's family; they would likely never do so until they got the terms that they had set forth upon leaving the family.

They wanted the Palace to control the media, to shut down any negative story about the Sussexes, to provided them with access to the wealth that would one day belong to William and Catherine.

"Just thinking about those who aren't with us," Adeline replied smiling sadly, it was something that was never going to be easy and she doubted it would get any better with what was to come.

There was no ignoring the ill health of the Queen, even as she tried to continue on with her duties it was clear to those closer to her that all was not right and her time was growing short.

Even the planning for her platinum jubilee didn't see to cheer her up, she seemed closed off at times and sad in other moments where she thought no one could see.

"It is. This holiday seems quieter without Philip here," Catherine agreed, the man always had a smile upon his face and a joke; he had been the head of the family for nearly seventy years, quietly supporting the Queen in her role.

It was never going to be an easy transition and they were all getting used to the new status quo knowing that bigger changes were on the horizon for them all.

"I can't imagine what it will be like when Granny leaves us," Adeline admitted, everything was going to change when her grandmother passed and her father became king.

It was something that a lot of people would need to adjust to, there were many who had only known the reign of Queen Elizabeth II; very few would remember her father's reign or what had come before.

There was a lot being discussed about the future, what would happen when Charles ascended the throne and what that would mean for the entire family as their roles shuffled around.