A Dark History.
Once the young Princess had left them alone the mood of the King seemed to change and he spoke up, with a somewhat more somber expression on his face. He said, "I must impress upon you how important the welfare of our dear daughter is to us. You must know, of course, that Victoria Jane is not the first magical person of Royal Birth, we know of at least one other for certain. Prince John, back in the early part of the last century. Sadly his story is a tragedy, made so both by the Royal family's attitude at that time and that of wider society. But also, I must add, by the failures and over deferential attitudes of the Ministry of Magic at that time."
The King went on, saying, "Since getting the Ministry's letter we have been examining the archives relating to that sad event and it is obvious that between us we created a terrible, indeed a fatal situation for that tragic young Prince. We will not allow our darling Victoria Jane to suffer anything like that poor lad did. She will get the finest magical education available and, within reasonable constraints, will be allowed to make up her own mind about how she uses her powers and who learns of her abilities when she becomes an adult."
"Yes Sir, I agree. She seems a very responsible young lady and I'm sure she'll use her training wisely once she leaves school." Kingsley replied. He went on to say, "Of course I know of the sad story of the young magical Prince and how the ill advised attempt to suppress his powers ended in his tragic death at a young age. You are right, no such ill judged action must be allowed in the case of the Princess and we must all give her as much assistance as possible, to become the best witch and the best person she can possibly be."
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said. "I read about that sad piece of history and it must never be allowed to happen again. As we all know, the 'cover-up' story was that Prince John, who was born in July 1905 and who only lived until January 1919, was an epileptic, although even this explanation was only given in hushed tones, as the condition was falsely considered shameful at that time. He was hidden away from the public here on this very same Royal Estate. He died very young and was buried here in January 1919 at Sandringham Church.
Heremione continued. "In fact, as we all know, his death was due to an ill advised attempt to suppress his magical abilities and this proved fatal, as he died from some sort of magical seizure when the outbursts of his power could no longer be contained. It was almost as if his own magic turned on him and destroyed him. I agree though, it was not only the then Royal Family who should bear the blame for this tragedy, as I believe they really loved him and thought that what they were doing was for the best. For a large part I blame the Ministry at that time, who should have much more strongly insisted the child be taught formally at Hogwarts and learn how to control his powers. However, the then Ministry did not make any attempt to pressure the Royal Family into allowing Prince John to go to Hogwarts and so, in my opinion, were just as culpable in the child's death as the attitudes of the then Royals and wider public at that time.
"However," Hermione said, "Yourselves and the rest of the current Royal Family should not beat itself up too much about that tragedy. Something similar happened later within our own magical community, when the young sister of one of our most respected figures died in tragic circumstances. The girl, Ariana Dumbledore suffered violent abuse whilst still a child, at the hands of some thugs. This caused her similar problems in controlling her magic. As a result she was also kept hidden away from our world. The exact cause of her death was never determined either, but her older brother Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time, was nevertheless unable to help her. He blamed himself for her death all his life, as it had happened when he was engaged in a three way magical duel, or rather a magical brawl, with two other wizards, one of them his own brother, Aberforth. Although there was never any proof that any of Albus's spells, nor indeed those of the two other protaganists in the fight were the direct cause of her death. It might simply once again have been a magicaly induced seizure, brought on by Ariana's stress at witnessing the conflict."
"Anyway Your Highnesses," Hermione smiled, "To happier things. I'm sure my friend, Headmaster Neville Longbottom and his fine teaching staff at Hogwarts will be delighted when I tell them the good news is confirmed and that their charming new young pupil will definitely be joining them in September. Please let me know when the Princess will require escorting on her 'shopping trip' to Diagon Alley. It always gives me a big kick to see the reaction of new visitors to the place and escorting her there will give me an excellent excuse to get out of the Ministry for a while. Indeed it would be delightful if either or both of you would do me the honour of coming along. I'd love to show you all around and I think it would make for a unique opportunity for a 'Royal Walkabout', I'm sure the whole wizarding world would be honoured." She beamed at the Royal Couple.
"Let me second that idea of our Minister's, Your Majesties. Added Kingsley. "Never before has there ever been a magical Royal Princess welcomed into our community, such a formal marking of the event would be wonderful! I'm sure it would be a hugely popular success. Please think it over and let us know. If nothing else I'm sure you also would also enjoy seeing Diagon Alley."
With that, and a few parting pleasantries Hermione curtsied and Kingsley bowed, then they walked out into the grounds of the Sandringham Estate and disapparated, back to London.
Authors note: The story of Prince John is fictionalised, but is based on a real, but little known, Royal tragedy in the early 1900's. For the real story look it up on Google if you are interested, but be prepared, as it's a really sad story. John is now considered an unlucky name in Royal circles, so there is now little likelyhood of another King John, (Who incidentally was not in any way the villain popular history makes him out to have been, he was a far better King than Richard, who was a thug!) There's more still to come, as next we join the beginning of the first Royal Visit to Diagon Alley!