Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Eleven: Happy Birthday

3rd of February 1998 - York House, London

Looking around the dining room, Adeline was rather surprised that her father had done all of this for her; it was not what she had been expecting when he had picked her up from school that afternoon. 

Charles had been rather insistent that Adeline spend the night at home for his birthday, he had worked hard to plan such a gathering and he was thankful that Camilla had been so understanding. 

Despite the fact that they had been dating for a while now, Camilla had encouraged him to spend time with his children and she was happy that he seemed to finally be bonding with his daughter. 

"Addy," Harry greeted rushing to greet his sister, it felt like forever since he had last seen her and he was glad that they got to spend time together on her birthday; it was her first birthday since her mother had passed and it had been strange to wake up to no calls from their mother or a visit. 

Something that Adeline doubted that she would ever get used to even though she was going to have to deal with it for the rest of her life; she was sure there would be many firsts that would make her think of her mother. 

"Happy Birthday," Harry said offering a weak smile, he remembered what his own birthday had been like in the weeks after their mother had passed away. 

He hated that their mother was gone and that their father had failed to protect her; he wished that he would have been able to do more to keep her safe from those who brought her down. 

William walked over to his siblings and offered Adeline a hug, he was happy to see his sister since he did not get to see much of her and she was doing well at school something that could not be said for Harry. 

He tried to call her at least once a week if he was able to and he liked talking to her and helping her with her homework; he was glad that she seemed to have settled quickly after everything that happened. 

It was Harry that he worried about and William knew that he was getting into a lot of trouble lately; he could only hope that their father would be able to get through to him soon.

"Happy Birthday Adeline," William said smiling down at her, he could not believe that she was turning eleven already and he knew that she was growing up; their father was going to have his work cut out for him in the future. 

There was no telling just what Adeline might decide to do when she was older; she was not as linked to the throne as he or Harry where and William knew she would be a great support when he became King. 

Adeline might have been the daughter of the Prince of Wales but she was freer to live her life because she was unlikely to take the throne with two brothers before her. 

"How has school been?" William asked making Harry roll his eyes, there was more to life than school and Harry was looking forward to get out of school; he did not like his lessons and he wanted nothing more than to get out of classes. 

Adeline beamed as she started to talk about the classes that she was taking, she loved learning and she was genuinely enjoying the classes this term with some exceptions. 

The three siblings moved to take their seats at the dinner table, it was hard to believe that they were together again even if it were just for tonight but they would make the most of it. T

aking her seat, Adeline could not help but furrow her brow as she noticed something odd between her oldest brother and her father; she watched them for a moment as William scooted his chair away from him. 

She decided to ignore it, she did not know any reason why her brother would have issues with their father but she was sure that it was not anything serious.