Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Eighty-Two: Wedding Planning

"He mentioned a couple of names. James, William... he was so unsure about it," Adeline admitted softly, she shook her head knowing that he'd even considered asking Harry at one point but now that wasn't an option. 

Her brother had thrown himself into planning for the Invictus Games, barely saying a word of congratulations after the announcement of the engagement. 

If he wasn't planning for the games then he was fooling around with Cressida who seemed to have pulled back some what from spending time with Harry and Eugenie had mentioned to Adeline during lunch one day that Harry had made some comments about marrying sooner than Cressida would have liked.

"Both are good choices. I know how close he is with both of them, they spend a lot of time together," Lucy stated not minding that either of the options, she had worried that Simon might feel pressured to take Harry as his best man. 

It was hard to deny that Harry was the reason that the two had ended up together, he would have been the obvious choice for the public especially given how close the pair used to be. 

Plus it made sense when Lucy thought about it to have one of Adeline's brothers as his best man if she, his sister, was going to serve as Adeline's maid of honour at the wedding. 

Rupert had been asked to do a reading at the ceremony and Susan would be attending alongside their mother, who had been a little under the weather as of late; she hadn't said anything to the children but Lucy had heard while around the estate offices the other day that her mother had a doctor's appointment coming up. 

"How about the page boys and flower girls?" Lucy asked curiously, she couldn't think of a lot of young children in the family that would fit the bill. 

Adeline's godson was too young to take on the roll, Prince George would barely be one years old and it would not be fair to him to ask him to attend such an event. 

"Sydney, Elijah and Aubrey Robinson. Lady Louise and James Viscount Severn, Lady Lara Spencer," Adeline confirmed with a nod of her head, they had three from each side with four flower girls and two pageboys. 

It had been an easy decision really and Adeline was pleased to have both sides of their family represented in the ceremony, she knew that it would be a fine balance and she wanted to make sure that everyone felt included in their own way.

***

Buckingham Palace

"The Prince of Wales, Your Majesty," Edward Young stated bowing to the Queen before allowing the man in question to enter the room, he quickly made his leave knowing that the wedding would be the topic of discussion for today. 

It was the main talk of conversation for the Palace these days, most questions were about the impending royal wedding of Princess Adeline; there was much to be done before the day itself arrived. 

"Mummy," Charles greeted, he bowed to his mother before he took a seat knowing that there was still much to be decided for the wedding itself. 

Most of the planning was of course being dealt with by Adeline and Simon, minor details such as the security for the event would be dealt with by the Palace itself. 

The announcement had already been made about the fact that the cost of the wedding would be paid by the Royal Family, Prince Charles for the most part would deal with the costs as the father of the bride. 

The Queen looked over the top of her glasses, she had heard little details that Adeline had selected so far for her big day. 

A couple of dress designers had sent in their designs for the wedding dress and from what the Queen had heard, Adeline had narrowed down her choice and would be meeting with the designer in the coming weeks. 

"There's something that I wished to discuss with you, titles really for the most part," the Queen said picking up the sheet that had been prepared for this meeting, it had a list that she thought suitable for the couple. 

"My thoughts on the subject are, that it is highly unlikely that Adeline will ever be the Princess Royal, we Windsors seem to be long lived," the Queen said softly, the title was a life long holding and she had a feeling that the next Princess Royal would likely be the daughter of William and Catherine if they were blessed with one. 

"It is there for my intention to see the Earl of Munster raised in rank to that of a Duke, although a non-royal one... he would be a Duke, Adeline a Duchess like William and Catherine," Queen Elizabeth explained handing over the list that had been put together and she had outlined which one she thought most suitable for the Earl of Munster. 

She handed it to Charles, who scanned through the list that had been handed to him; his eyes taking in each one before he landed on the one that had been underlined several times. 

"A fine choice considering how it links back to the start of the Earldom of Munster," Charles said with a nod of his head, the title in question had once belonged to King William IV before he had become King of Great Britain. 

The Dukedom of Clarence on it's own had been created three previous times by Edward III, Henry IV and Edward IV followed by the joint dukedom of Clarence and St Andrews by George III and another joint dukedom of Clarence and Avondale by Victoria. 

"I thought so too, there were suggestions for the Dukedom of Windsor but I feel that it's inappropriate considering what we know of the last holder," the Queen said with a shake of her head at the thought of her uncle. 

Once created by her father for the man that had abdicated his throne for an American divorcee, especially considering his behaviour during the second World War. 

It would never be used again as far as the Queen was concerned, it was also fitting that the title had been created by King George III whose inspiration had come for the Dukedom of Cambridge and would also be used in again when it came time for Harry to marry and receive his own Dukedom. 

"Duke of Clarence, Earl of Munster, Viscount FitzClarence and Baron Tewkesbury," Charles noted adding the suggested dukedom to the list of titles that Simon already held now that his own father had passed; titles that Adeline would soon hold as his wife in a few months' time. 

Queen Elizabeth nodded her head, of course any child that Adeline and Simon were blessed with in their marriage would be titled lord/lady as their father was a non-royal even when their mother was one. 

Unlike William's children who would all now be prince and princess upon their birth thanks to her intervention, it was unlikely in her life time at least that Adeline's would be so perhaps even when Charles was King. 

Although if she was honest with herself, the Queen had a feeling that Charles might be up for changing that himself.