How she became The Queen of Scotland

Chapter 6

The hours of the next days were blurring together.
Everybody seemed to be running around trying to update everybody and making last minute adjustments.
Maddie just sat in the chair she had been guided to letting all the people around her finish her hair and make up.
She zoomed out clenching her cup of coffee. All of the voices around her became one big mumble.
She caught herself realising again that this would be her life now. People running around her, telling her where to be, talking, having opinions. If she would have been the type for an anxiety attack now would have been the time. But she wasn't.
She clenched her cup a little tighter.
"Miss Bach?"
A young woman gently stepped next to the mirror into Maddie's visual field.
"Ahem, yes... I am sorry. I must have been... Somewhere else. What were you saying?"
"Your parents have just arrived. They are currently being shown to their rooms. I am afraid there wont be time for you to meet them before the ceremony but plenty of time after at the garden party."
Maddie wasn't exactly surprised. Under other circumstances she might have been disappointed but currently she was to tired to feel anything. The last three days had drained her more than she had realised. And this was only the beginning.
"Thank you."
Her thoughts wandered back to her coffee cup.
Kate's voice got her back.
"You look amazing, Maddie. You really do." She took her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Thanks Kate. I... I..."
"I know, I know. It is exhausting. It must be..." Kate let go of Maddie's hand to put her arm around her. "You will do good. Better than good and you know why? Because you are you. I know you are hurting but I also know who you are and what you are capable of. And I have a feeling once you have fully adjusted you will put many people into their places. And I mean that in the best possible way."
Standing in front of the big mirror, in this floor length blue gown, with Kate's arm around her Maddie knew she was right. She would use this chance and most importantly she would come out of this even stronger.
"Miss Madeleine Sophie Bach."
The doors of the throne room were opened and Maddie walked slowly and gracefully toward the thrones. She looked straight ahead but she still noticed some people in the audience. Her parents, William and Kate, Charles and Camilla and of course Henry.
Reaching the thrones she stood in front of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Maddie curtsied as she had so many times before and knelt down on a cushion in front of them.
The Queen presented her with the insignias of her new role as the Letters Patent were red. The tiara, the signet ring, a sceptre and a robe.
"I hereby present to you Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine Sophie of Edinburgh."
Maddie let out a sigh keeping her back as straight as possible before standing up carefully to turn around facing all the people behind her.
A few flashes from the Royal correspondents and then everything was over.

"Prince Harry's Maddie turned into HRH Princess Madeleine today."

"Harry's Maddie is no longer, meet the newly invested Princess Madeleine."

"This is all very odd, don't you think? To give her a title like this just after the engagement has been announced but the photo call for it has been postponed?
"I very much agree with you. It is something that has never happened within our Royal family. The Bride if anything receives the honouree titles of her husband on the day of her wedding but not before and certainly not the title of princess in her own right.
"So what do think this means?"
"I am not entirely sure but I think this leans towards the wedding not happening."

"Reporters go wild about rumours of a possible break up between Prince Harry and his long term girlfriend."

"Was she only in it for the title?"

"So if their relationship is really over who do you think is to blame for calling off the engagement?"
"I think we have to look towards Harry here. If Maddie would have broken up with him she would have stepped away quietly without causing such fuzz. That is the kind of person she is. We have learned in the past years that she is an incredible warm and kind person who wouldn't even think about washing dirty laundry in public.
"Nobody is washing any dirty laundry here."
"Of course not, but if she had initiated the break up or rather more it would have been a shared decision the palace wouldn't have been forced to get involved. So I think Harry called off the engagement and since the family stepped in in the big way they have I assume there was more to it than just your average cold feet. The family wouldn't do that over an amicable break up."

"Prince Harry sighted with mysterious dark haired woman."

"Prince Harry is off to Botswana and no sight anywhere of Princess Madeleine. Is that the final proof their fairytale relationship is over?"

"I think it has been very telling that we got to see the new princess on three occasions since she has been invested but never saw her together with Prince Harry. He didn't attend the garden party she went to even though we know that he was supposed to be there and they avoided each other visibly during Trooping the Colour and the Patron's lunch. You could see that there were always people between them almost shielding them from one another. And the fact that Harry has flown to Botswana alone seems to be the nail in the coffin. Maddie always used to accompany him on his trips to Africa knowing how much they mean to him. If you asked me it is only a matter of time until we get an official announcement from the palace."

"It has been rumoured that Princess Madeleine will join The Queen in Balmoral this summer. So I assume the statement we all await so eagerly if the wedding will still take place will be released very soon."
"You are still leaning towards the wedding not happening?"
"Yes I am. The last weeks have made this rather obvious I am afraid. There have been multiple occasions where we would have expected to see the couple together but we never did. As I said before it looked like they were deliberately being shielded and separated from one another. This is not something you do to a happy newly engaged couple."