Samantha
I sat in the little back garden at Nott Cott, waiting while Colin and Harry supervised the TV crew setting up cameras and lights in our living room.
Prince Charles and the Queen thought it would be a good idea for Harry and I to do an interview, hoping to stem the tide of rumors and negative press after the surprise announcement of our marriage. The details had all been carefully managed, beginning with the choice of Wanda Naylor, a staunchly royalist TV personality who agreed to submit the questions ahead of time. The Queen had suggested we do the interview at Nott Cott, hoping that I would be more relaxed in a familiar location, and that Harry and I would look more down-to-earth in our cozy cottage as opposed to some glamorous gilded salon filled with priceless paintings at Windsor or Buckingham Palace.
I felt carefully stage-managed as well. Rona, my newly-appointed wardrobe adviser, had gone through my rather sparse closet, nodding her approval at some of the clothes I had made, and suggested a few English designers I might want to work with. For the interview she chose a dark blue dress I had made, murmuring about how it "hearkens back to Diana's and Catherine's engagement photos and shows off the color of your diamond" while she added a designer belt and shoes to the ensemble. My hair had been cut, styled, and blown out in soft waves similar to Catherine's do, and I had a fresh manicure in "Ballet Slippers," the Queen's favorite neutral nail polish.
"You have it easy," I'd grumbled at Harry that morning over breakfast.
"Why?" he'd asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.
"All you have to do is put on a dark suit and shave," I'd replied. "In fact, you could probably wear the same dark suit to 90% of your functions and no one would notice or comment. But my outfit is going to be scrutinized and criticized. Gods forbid I have a loose button or a chip in my nails."
"Maybe this will make you feel more confident," he'd said, sliding a velvet box across the table to me.
I'd opened the box with a bit of trepidation, wondering how long it would be before I could receive presents from Harry without cringing at how much they must have cost.
Resting on the black velvet was a simple silver necklace with a drop pendant of blue diamonds and a large pearl, and drop earrings to match. "They're beautiful," I told him softly. "Thank you."
"You're beautiful," Harry said, coming over to give me a kiss. "The Duchess of Sussex should have something to complement her engagement ring in her first TV interview," he said. "Especially since we don't have wedding bands yet."
The side gate into the garden opened, pulling me back to the present, and I got to my feet, expecting Harry or Colin, but it was William who advanced across the grass, looking uncomfortable, an envelope in his hands.
To curtsey or not to curtsey? was the panic-stricken question zapping through my brain, but before I could decide, William waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and said, "Please don't. I just wanted to—well, Catherine asked me to bring you this before your interview."
He handed me the sealed envelope, with Samantha, Duchess of Sussex written on the front in a feminine hand. Inside was a folded note, and another envelope.
Samantha,
I know you must be terribly anxious about your first official interview. Don't worry—you'll do fine! Just remember that what other people say about you is not important—just be yourself. I've never seen Harry so happy and everyone else will see that too.
Have sent this note with Will in hopes that he will run into Harry and apologize.
Catherine
P.S. George wanted to write to you as well, so I've played secretary and transcribed the enclosed note. He is glad your name only has 3 letters.
The second envelope had SAM printed on it in shaky letters, and another note inside, printed in Catherine's handwriting.
Dear Sam of Canada,
You will look beautiful on TV. I hope you and Uncle Harry come to visit us soon. We have more books to read. Lottie and I have riding lessons at Windsor, maybe you can come ride with us one day. Here is a picture of all of us riding together.
Love, GEORGE
He had signed his own name in large letters, and included a crayon drawing of several colorful shapes that I interpreted to be people on fat Fell ponies riding amongst the trees at Windsor.
I looked up at William with a smile. "Thank you for bringing these."
"Catherine said she remembered being deathly anxious before our engagement interview and wanted to send you a bit of encouragement," he said. "And she insisted that I hand-deliver them."
"Please thank her for me," I asked, making a mental note to send over some flowers later. "How is she doing?"
William gave a genuine smile as he thought about his wife. "As well as can be expected. She's more than ready to have this baby. The doctors say it could be any day."
The cottage door opened and we both turned as Harry entered the garden, looking surprised.
"Will? What are you doing here?"
I closed the distance to Harry, sliding my arm through his. "William brought me some lovely notes of encouragement from Catherine and George."
William looked uncomfortable. "And I wanted to welcome Samantha to the family," he said, sounding very stiff and formal. "I was remiss in not doing so before."
I looked back and forth between the brothers. "Thank you," I said to William. "And believe me, I understand your hesitancy about me. I know this has been way too quick of a courtship and this is not how things are usually done. It's not exactly how I wanted to become a part of this family. But I wasn't planning on falling in love with a prince."
"Sam," Harry muttered, squeezing my hand.
"It's true," I said. "And I'm sure you didn't envision yourself married to the Cinderella stable girl either. I mean, if there was a handbook for future princesses, I've probably broken all the rules in it."
William's lips twitched into a smile, and then he laughed.
"Is she always like this?" he asked Harry.
"Yes," Harry and I answered at the same time.
William nodded, then he gave me a quick hug, "You are perfect for my brother," he whispered into my ear with a laugh. As we separated, he added, "I'm glad you're willing to take on the rough task of being married to Harry."
"And putting up with the rest of you," Harry added with a grin.
"So very true," William said.
Colin stepped into the garden. "Sir—oh, and Your Royal Highness." He bent his head to William. "The crew is ready to start the interview."
"I'm out of here," William said, heading for the gate. Over his shoulder he said, "You two better come visit soon."
"We will," I said, and I squeezed Harry's hand before he could contradict me. "Both of us."
The lights were hot and bright but Harry was close beside me, holding my hand. We had practiced our answers, and once we got started I was not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. Maybe I didn't look as relaxed as an actress, but I thought I was doing okay as we answered the questions, Harry taking the lead on some of the tougher ones, making Wanda laugh as he told of me knocking him over when we first met at the polo match.
"Some people are going to say that you rushed into marriage," Wanda said diplomatically. "What would you like to say to them?"
Harry looked down at me with a smile. "When you know you are with the right person, why wait?"
"What about Meg Moran?"
It was one of the difficult questions, but Harry had agreed to answer it, to try to quell some of the rumors and the pro-Meg faction. With a serious look, Harry said, "Unfortunately, Meg was not honest with me during our relationship. When I was made aware of the depth of her lies and deception I separated from her, but it takes a long time to officially break a royal engagement. But Meg and I were not romantically involved when Samantha and I began seeing each other."
And I suppose that was true enough.
Wanda nodded sympathetically. "However, many people are disappointed that there will not be a royal wedding."
Enough of the bad press—time for the positive news. Harry squeezed my hand.
"No, there won't be a royal wedding, but Sam and I are happy to announce that we will be celebrating our marriage with a service of prayer and dedication performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 25th."
"That's wonderful!" Wanda said, seeming actually excited. "Will it be televised?"
"Oh, yes. It seems to be expected," Harry said with a laugh. "And there will be a short promenade and walkabout, so the public is invited to gather and celebrate with us."
"Are you excited, Samantha, to have your blessing ceremony televised?" Wanda turned and asked me a totally unscripted question.
I smiled and looked at Harry. "I am very happy to be a part of this family, and excited to share my happiness," I said carefully, "but I think Harry will agree with me that my father will be even more excited than I am."