Chapter Seven|May 2019
"Come on, let me see the baby!" I pleaded as I walked into Harry and Meghan's house.
Harry chuckled.
"Adrienne, calm yourself," Harry said.
"I'm just so excited," I said.
"Yeah, I get why since you did miss a couple of births," Harry said.
"Adrienne, Did you come to see the baby?" Meghan asked happily.
I nodded.
"Of course, and I got you guys a gift that benefits all three of you," I answered as I handed Meghan the gift.
"Thank you so much," Meghan said as I followed her and Harry into the nursery.
Meghan lifted Archie from his crib and introduced me to her tiny bundle of joy.
I squealed.
"Oh, he has red hair," I said.
"Do you want to hold him?" Meghan asked me.
"Yes, of course," I answered.
"Have you ever held a baby before, Adrienne?" Harry asked protectively.
I rolled my eyes.
"I have held more babies than you, Harry," I replied.
Meghan handed the baby over to me.
"He's a wonderful baby," I cooed. "Itis nice to meet you, Archie," I said as I kissed the baby's forehead, and Archie gurgled.
"Yes, I told you," Meghan said to Harry.
"What?" I asked them.
Meghan smiled.
"Harry and I were discussing godparents for Archie, and we needed one more godmother for Archie, and I thought of you, but Harry thought you didn't like children, so he didn't want to ask you, but after seeing you with Archie, I hope his mind has changed," Meghan explained to me.
I looked at Harry.
"What made you think I didn't like children?" I asked him.
"You missed everything single one of William, Peter, and Zara's children's births, Adrienne, and you don't want to get married. I thought children were up there with marriage," Harry answered.
I scoffed.
"Okay, so I missed a couple of births, so did you when you were in the military, and I have nothing against children. I don't want to get married doesn't mean I won't have children," I said.
"You know granny or pa will ever allow you to have children out of wedlock, Adrienne," Harry said.
"I can't remember them having control of my uterus," I said.
"Okay, before you two get in an argument, Adrienne, would you do us the honor of being one of Archie's godmothers?" Meghan asked me.
I smiled.
"Of course," I answered.
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"Sofia," I said as I walked into the living room.
Sofia stood up, and I walked over to her and hugged her.
"Oh, it's so lovely to see you," I said.
"It would be more lovely to see you are living here full time again," Sofia said as we both took seats on the couch.
"That's not happening; I'm a full-time working princess now, so I'll have to keep splitting my time between here and the United Kingdom," I said.
"How will that work when you marry Elias?" Sofia asked me.
"We're not going to get married, Sofia," I replied.
"Why not?" She asked.
"I don't believe in marriage," I replied.
"Does Elias know that?" She asked.
"Of course, he does," I answered.
Sofia shook her head.
"Nine years together and no marriage in the cards sounds ridiculous to me," She said.
"I don't know why everyone thinks we need to get married to be a family, but I'm not getting married," I said.
"There is no way the Parliaments will allow you both to have children out of wedlock; most likely, you both will have to give up your rights to the thrones," She said.
"And that's not fair," I said.
"Would you let Elias give up everything for you?" Sofia asked me.
Elias walked in.
"Sofia, enough. Could you not put any thoughts into her mind?" Elias asked Sofia.
"What? I was genuinely asking her questions that she would soon have to think about," Sofia answered.
"Sofia, it's not your place," Carl Philip said.
"No, it's okay. She's right; I've been ignoring the consequences of my stance on marriage, and I should not make you face them with me, Elias," I said.
Elias frowned.
"Adrienne," Elias said.
I held my hand up to stop him from talking.
"I'm trying to lash out on you; I just need to take a nap," I said, standing up.
"Adrienne," Sofia said.
I looked at Sofia and smiled. "Thank you for the talk," I said, then walked out of the living room.
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"Please welcome, Her Royal Highness, Princess Adrienne of Wales," The host of Universell Anteckning Awards announced.
I received a standing ovation as I walked to the stage. The cheers and clapping surprised me a little bit but I smiled.
I walked onto the stage and stood as I waited for everyone to finish clapping. I began speaking in Swedish before switching to English.
"We all have gifts, and hopefully, we use them to make the world a better place. Tonight, I have the pleasure of presenting the grandest award to an amazing woman in her field but also my best friend who inspires me. Linnéa You have always pushed the boundaries and you have insisted on shaping the world around you to fit the person, and have not allowed the structures in that world to define you. Your passion has been your compass," I said.
I continued with my speech before I ended it by announcing Linnéa to approach the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, this year's Universell Anteckning Participant, Linnéa Abrahamsson," I said as Linnéa walked up the stage.
I hugged her then handed her award before striking back to let her say her speech.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness for your kind words and for making me tear up, Adrienne," Linnéa said as I chuckled.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRODUCER: How long have you two known each other?
"Uni days," Adrienne answered.
"It's been about fifteen years," Linnéa said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Princess Adrienne of Wales and Dr. Linnéa Abrahamsson seat down for a interview about friendship, tips on life and more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"Tonight, an exclusive, in- depth interview with he Royal Highness Princess Adrienne and myself," Linnéa said.
"Introduce yourself, Linnéa," Adrienne said.
"And myself, Dr. Linnéa Abrahamsson," Linnéa said.
Pictures of Adrienne and Linnéa from their University days appeared. Then an embarrassing photo of Linnéa with milk coming out of her nose appears.
(LAUGHTER)
"Oh, gosh," Linnéa said.
"That picture, Linnéa," Adrienne said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
"Is this overwhelming?" Linnéa asked Adrienne.
"No, it's not overwhelming. I'm just happy to be here," Adrienne answered.
"Have you wanted to talk to the media this year?" Linnéa asked Adrienne.
"Um, no," Adrienne answered.
"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" Linnéa asked.
Adrienne ignored Linnéa's question.
"Do you have any beauty regrets?" Adrienne asked.
"I went through a phase where I basically had jet-black eyebrows—and still as a blonde. Jet-black eyebrows! I love a big brow. I live for a big brow, but now the tone of my brows is a little more toward my hair color," Linnéa answered.
"You travel all the time. What country or city gives you the most inspiration?" Linnéa asked.
"If I'm going to New York, I definitely feel inspired by the city. I tend to wear darker colors and feel like my looks are a little edgier there. I'm also walking, so I'm wearing boots instead of heels or sandals. I went to Mexico [over the summer], and I think I packed every colorful item in my closet. I lean in to what I feel is the vibe for that place," Adrienne answered the question.
"Does it feel living in Sweden?" Adrienne asked.
"I love it, but I think you have even more reason to love living in Sweden, Adrienne," Linnéa answered.
Adrienne smiled.
"I do," Adrienne said.