How she became The Queen of Scotland

Chapter 5

"Mama, ich weiss nicht, wie ich mich entscheiden soll."
Maddie had chosen a bench close to the lake and decided to phone her mother. Her mum had always been her rock and always there to help her if Maddie wasn't sure what to do. But rather than telling or advising her her mum simply helped her to see that she already had made her own decision.
Her mum listened to everything Maddie had to say.
They talked for almost an hour and listening to her mum Maddie realised one thing.
She knew what she wanted to do.
She would take on the title in her own right and become part of the Royal Family.
Yes this would restrict her freedom and would be a decision for life but it would also give her something to do for the rest of her life. And who knew if she would ever be able to go back to a normal life.
"Danke, Mama. Ich hab dich lieb, Bye."
Maddie held her phone tightly in her hand taking a deep breath.
Yesterday she had a new chapter in her life ahead of her. A wedding, a marriage, a place in the most famous family in the world.
Now she still had a new chapter in front of her. And the decision to take it on was all hers.
Taking another deep breath Maddie looked over the lake.
How many people already sat here before her contemplating what to do next?
She had been given a chance to make a difference, to have an impact on people's life's. And she had made the decision to seize it.
"Miss Bach, Your Majesty."
A palace servant had led Maddie back inside and up to the private quarters of The Queen.
"Ah Madeleine my dear, please have a seat." The Queen gave a warm smile gesturing to the set up table close to the window.
"Thank you, M'am."
"My dear, I gather you have made a decision."
"Yes M'am, I have. I am, as I have said before, incredibly grateful for the opportunity you are giving me and the faith you put in me. So I want to make a promise myself to never disappoint this faith you put in me by granting me this title."
"I was hoping you would say that."
The Queen smiled at Maddie in a way Maddie hadn't seen before. A calming smile that made her feel like everything had finally fallen into place again.
"Very well there is a lot to be discussed before the investiture ceremony. As I am sure you want your parents there I had my assistants already arrange for them to been flown out. Kate has very kindly agreed to set her stylist up to get a suitable dress for you in the short amount of time we have left. A schedule is being drawn up as we speak and will be sent to you as soon as it's finalised. The ceremony itself will be rather quick. You will walk into the Throne Room where Philip and I will be standing in front of the thrones waiting for you. The Letters Patent will be read out loud by the Lord President of the Council, who is the chief officer of the Privy Council. After that you will kneel in front of the Crown receiving a coronet, a signet ring engraved with your personal coat of arms which is also currently being made by the College of Arms, a robe and a sceptre. Due to the short amount of time there will some changes that must be made however. It is impossible to get a coronet made in such a small amount of time so I thought you will receive a tiara instead as a lifelong loan. I am sure you are aware that women are usually restricted from wearing tiaras until they are married so I thought it would be a great statement. Going through the possible options I ended up asking Camilla for a favour. She has been given the Teck Cresent Tiara upon her wedding but has never worn it in public. The last person who has worn it was my mother. So I asked Camilla if she would give it up for you and she very kindly agreed. In this dossier you will find a summary of it's history and previous owners. The ceremony will be followed by a small garden party and a family dinner."
Maddie sat silently trying to process everything she had just heard. This was all very real. This day would change her life completely and without any chance of going back.
"That is rather a lot to take in, M'am."
"Yes, I am afraid it is just a small taste of what is to come during the next days and weeks. It is to be expected that the press will be running wild. That is why one thought it would be enough to settle the details for the investiture first and leave everything else until the day after the ceremony. The details about your future role within this family, your place in the order of precedence, a place for you to live. All very important questions in there own right but they will have to wait. Until we have settled a place for you to live you are more than welcome to stay here in one of our guest rooms. William and Kate have also offered to host you for the upcoming weeks but we all agreed it would be nice for you to have a little distance to Kensington Palace."
Maddie tried to keep her posture up straight but a quick wave of sadness washed over her thinking about Kensington Palace. The grounds had been her home for two years. The place where Harry and her had built a life together. The place where they had planned their future.