5th of April 1987 - Chapel Royal at St James's Palace
Smoothing out christening gown which had been created in 1841 for the christening of Victoria, Princess Royal; Diana took a deep breath as she stared down at her youngest child and only daughter.
Adeline was everything that Diana had hoped for in a daughter, the only snag in her mind that the Windsor genes seemed rather strong in her youngest compared to her brothers but that wasn't something she could blame Adeline for.
Holding her daughter in her arms, Diana stared down at the baby that had arrived into the world not two months before; she often wondered if the tiny thing realised how unhappy her parents were.
"Are we ready?" Charles asked stiffly approaching his wife, his hands fidgeting with his tie and he eyed the dark blue dress that Diana had opted to wear for the christening.
His tie had been chosen to match, the sight of unity between the couple despite the fact that they were at odds and had been since the birth of their last child.
Diana nodded her head, she wanted this over with so that she might return to their home in Kensington and away from all the eyes that seemed to watch her every move and judge her.
The couple moved forward, approaching the altar where the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie was waiting for them with a patient smile upon his face.
It was always a blessing to be asked to conduct such events, he had been the one to christen both William and Harry upon their christenings in past years.
Diana tuned out what the Archbishop was saying, staring down at her daughter as she slept peacefully in her arms; she didn't want to hand her over to anyone in fear that she might not be returned to her.
There was no ignoring the whispers, even from her own family, those that doubted that her youngest daughter was even her husband's.
It would forever haunt Diana, her actions casting doubt on her daughter's paternity even Charles had doubted her when she was pregnant with Adeline.
It had been the year previous that her relationship with Major James Hewitt had taken place, the man that had been the family's former riding instructor and Diana had sort him out on more than one occasion before discovering her pregnancy.
It was only then that she had dared cast him aside, fearing what people would say if her child proved to be anyone else's.
Thankfully Adeline favoured her father in looks, she was a Windsor and that was all that matter to Diana; her beloved daughter would never be seen as less than her two older brothers.
The ceremony seemed like a blare to Diana, only handing her daughter to the Archbishop when it was required for her to do so; her blue eyes watching like a hawk as the man blessed her daughter before she was handed over to Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips.
Anne had been named one of the godparents to the youngest Wales child, the others included Sarah, Duchess of York, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, David Armstrong-Jones, James Colthurst and Sir Nicholas Soames all of whom were close with Diana and Charles.
Close friends and family that the couple felt that they could trust with their youngest, Diana was thankful that certain people had been included in the list of potential godparents by her husband.
"She's a beautiful girl," Anne noted moving to hand the baby back to Diana, a small smile directed at her sister-in-law as she peered down at Adeline who seemed to have drifted back off to sleep.
It was certainly a calmer event than the last christening that had been held by the family, Harry had been rather a fussy baby and had cried throughout the service even when in his mother's arms.
"Thank goodness that she looks like a Windsor, imagine the scandal if she had not," the Queen Mother added pursing her lips as she stared down at Diana, her lips set into a slight frown that seemed ever present as of late when she was around the Princess of Wales.
There was no doubt that Diana's actions had been spoken of in recent times, concern being raised by more than one person about the paternity of her youngest.
Diana bit her tongue, she would never have brought the family name nor lineage of her children into disrepute if they'd listen to her concerns for her marriage before now.
There had been serious doubts in her mind before she had married Charles, things that she confessed to her siblings who told her that it would all work itself out and it was far too late to back out when she had her doubts.
Her saving grace were her children, she loved them all and she would do anything to make sure that they grew up into happy and healthy young people that would have better chances than she ever had.
"I do hope one has learned from all of this, we can't have anyone doubting the heir's heirs now can we," the Queen Mother continued on, ignoring the look that Diana was giving her and returning it with her own colder one.
The last thing that this country after everything that they had been through needed was for someone like Andrew to become Monarch and bring about an end to the monarchy itself.
Diana didn't say a word, instead looking over at her boys who where with their father; William would make a fine king, far better than his father in her mind.
"I also had some thoughts on the name, it's rather unroyal. You could have picked something more fitting for a Princess," the Queen Mother scolded with a shake of her head, even Adelaide would have been a better choice in her mind.
There were plenty of fine names for them to choose from, many royal ladies that had passed before them that could have been honoured in the naming of the youngest Wales.
"I think the name is a fine one for a princess, Adeline will never be Queen afterall," Diana snapped, she would not stand for this woman telling her how to name her own child.
She could say what she wanted about herself but she would not allow her to shame her daughter for her name, the Queen herself had even agreed that it was a fine name for a royal child when she was informed on Diana's decision.
If she was lucky, Adeline would be the next Princess Royal after her aunt, who if rumours were to be believed would be granted the title in a few months' time.
The Queen Mother pursed her lips, a tutted before walking away from Diana not looking back at the woman that she had pushed into the position that she now held.
She had done everything in her power to find the right wife for Charles, a future Queen Consort of the realms of which he would govern and yet the woman now spat on everything that the Queen Mother had done for her.
Diana took a deep breath to calm herself, excusing herself from the conversation with Anne as she made her way over to where Charles and the boys were.
A lump in her throat as she peered down at Adeline, she'd had her fears when she first found out that she was pregnant yet she prayed that her daughter would not be tainted by her actions.
Charles looked up from where he was helping Harry with his shoe lace, an eyebrow raised at his wife as she stopped by his side and released a shaky breath.
It was never going to be easy, the both of them were unhappy and yet there seemed to be no way out of this unhappiness for either of them.
They were ill-matched and Charles knew that his preferred time away from the city with their family was not something that Diana enjoyed for herself.
His wife enjoyed the action of the city rather than the quietness that Charles craved after competing his royal duty.
"I am sure Her Majesty meant well with her comments," Charles told her, he too had been at the end of her bitter jabs in recent times especially with his return to Camilla in recent months as their marriage deteriorated around them.
It seemed almost clear to them more than everyone else that the marriage would not survive this, Adeline would most certainly be the last time that they had.
They'd done their duty to the crown as far as either of them were concerned, they had their heir and spares who would secure the succession to Charles' line in the future rather than passing it to his younger brother.
It was one of the few things that the estranged couple did agree on these days, they loved their children more than they disliked one another and there was no way in hell the throne could be allowed to pass to Andrew.
Charles stood from fixing Harry's shoe and moved to take Adeline, he nodded to Diana as he did so knowing that he would never allow anyone to cause doubt in their daughter's parentage as long as he was around.
He'd always longed for a little girl, someone that he could spoil and he would do his best with her as he did with the boys; he wanted all his children to experience things that others around them had not before.
He would be more active in their lives than his parents had been, his position allowed for that better than his mother's had done when he was a child.