Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter One: The Night That Changed Everything

31st of August 1997 - Balmoral Castle

"Are you sure?" Prince Charles whispered sitting back in his chair, he held the phone to his ear unable to believe what he had just been told; the office where he was sat was almost silent except for the grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the room. 

It was late and he had been finishing of a call with Camilla when his secretary had rushed into the room with news of an important phone call from Paris for him. 

Despite the fact that things had not worked out between them, Charles had done his best to make sure that his children were protected against the media sensation that had occurred during the breakdown of his marriage to their mother. 

He would not deny that the entire thing had been a mess, they had both been as bad as one another with giving tell all interviews before his mother had been forced to step in. 

"I see," Charles whispered, he felt numb and the concerned looks that he was getting from his secretary did little to ease his mind; he felt sick and his mind raced with what could possibly happen now. 

The person on the other end of the line continued to talk but Charles barely heard a word that was being said, he found himself staring at a spot on the wall as he thought about what had happened. 

While they had fought often during the final days of their marriage, Charles had never wished this on Diana; for their children's sake at the very least, he had hoped that she might find happiness. 

And how was he meant to tell their children of what had happened, Charles was going to have to be the one to do that and it would break their hearts; he sat back in his chair and slowly hung up the phone. 

He sat silently just staring at the wall for a moment, his thoughts slipping back to the bitterness that had grown between him and his ex-wife; things had been horrible between them and the only thing that they had ever agreed on was their children. 

"Your Highness," the manservant announced a little concerned about how silent the Prince was being; he had knocked when he had entered the room but he was not sure the Prince had heard him.

Jumping in his seat, Charles swivelled around to stare at the man that had interrupted his thoughts; he had not heard anyone knock and wondered just how long he had been sitting in the darkened room. 

"What is it?" Charles snapped, he had not expected anyone to interrupt his thoughts especially at this late hour but given the news that he had just received he was not at all surprised that someone had been sent to get him. 

He sat up in his seat staring at the poor soul who had been fetch to him, it was likely that given what had occurred that night that such news was already being reported. 

"Her Majesty has requested to see you," the manservant replied looking rather awkward, he had heard people whispering and from what he had gathered when he had been summoned it was not good news at all. 

The television had been turned on in the servant's quarters and already the story was gaining more attention; the news of what had happened would mostly certainly have started spreading around the world. 

Charles closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he could only imagine what would happen next and if his mother wished to speak to him then he doubted he would get any rest. 

Getting to his feet, Charles tied his night robe tighter before nodding at the manservant to lead him to his mother; he would have to break the news to the children before they found out from anyone else. 

 They were meant to be returning to London tomorrow so that the children could return to school the following week with a reunion with their mother planned for the Monday.