London, England
July 2017
Issues both humble and grand
"First of all, Sir, Ma'am, please allow me to express my best wishes and congratulations on the occasion of your engagement," Elphinestone states, his words formal but his voice genuine.
"That goes for all of us, of course," Oliver adds and makes a motion to include the other people sitting around the table. Several of them nod to show agreement and Melissa gives me a discreet thumbs-up.
"Thank you." I smile at them. "It's much appreciated."
"It is," Ken agrees and briefly squeezes my hand. "We also want to thank you for coming here today at such short notice. I know it's a lot to ask for your help in planning a second wedding this year, but I'm confident that together, we will manage it."
'We' includes him, me, several of his (our?) staff, his parents' respective private secretaries and representatives of the Lord Chamberlain's Office. We're ten in total and we've gathered in a small, nondescript boardroom somewhere in the bowels of Kensington Palace.
"Will Their Majesties be joining us at later planning meetings?" asks Tennant, Leslie's private secretary.
Ken shakes his head. "Not directly. My parents will naturally be involved and we will seek their advice, but the decisions will be made by Rilla and me. The planning will lie with our office as well, but of course we want to liaise with you regarding the main aspects to keep everything running smoothly."
Elphinestone inclines his head to show his approval. As Owen's private secretary, he's the highest-ranking member of all royal households and likes to be informed of everything that is happening.
"Before we discuss anything else, we need to set a date," points out Dame Eileen Brinkley, the Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office and thus, the royal family's main in-house party planner.
Her deputy, Pinkham, opens a manila folder lying in front of him. "If you allow, Sir, Ma'am, I've already made some note with regards to a possible date."
"Of course. What do you suggest?" I enquire curiously.
Pinkham nods seriously and consults his folder. "Taking into account all pre-planned events and engagements as well as the Middle Eastern tour tentatively pencilled in for Their Majesties in April, I'd suggest May 17th as the best possible date."
May 17th? But… but that's nearly ten months!
"We were actually looking for something a little sooner," Ken remarks after exchanging a quick glance with me. "We don't really want to wait another year."
"Um…" Pinkham clears his throat, looking a little embarrassed. "To be clear, I meant May 17th in 2019."
Having made the mistake of taking a sip from my glass, I nearly choke on the water when I hear him say 2019.
I mean… excuse me?
Frantically, I try to catch Ken's eye to communicate that no, I'm not alright to wait until May 2019, no matter whether Pinkham considers it the best date. Ken, however, looks at Pinkham pensively.
"May I ask why prior dates were ruled out as options?" he asks calmly.
I swat at his knee under the table to draw his attention, but he just grasps my hand and holds it tightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Uh, yes, of course." Still looking a little flustered, Pinkham consults his folder once more. "We should allow a minimum of five to six months to plan the wedding, which would take us right into winter and as everyone will agree, a winter wedding is out of the question. Next year is the King's silver throne anniversary and there shouldn't be any competing events drawing the focus away from it. This brings us to spring 2019 and because of Their Majesties planned tour in April, May is the best time."
Tugging at Ken's hand, I again try to get him to look at me, but he just brushes his thumb over the back of my hand, keeping his eyes on Pinkham.
"So, May 17th 2019?" Ken wants to know.
Pinkham looks at Dame Eileen, before nodding. "That is my suggestion."
Thoughtfully, Ken taps his fingers on the table top as everyone else waits for his reaction.
I, however, have heard enough. "If I may say something… no."
"No?" repeats Pinkham, confusedly.
"No," I emphasise.
Finally, Ken looks at me and smiles. "She's right. No."
"Sir?" asks an increasingly nervous-looking Pinkham.
"We're not waiting until 2019 to get married," Ken states, politely but firmly.
"I understand that's a long time, Sir, but there's the matter of His Majesty's silver anniversary to consider…" begins Dame Eileen, stepping up to support her deputy.
Ken raises a hand to interrupt her. "I've taken that into account. If 2019 is too late and 2018 too crowded, the only solution is for us to get married this year."
Now that's more like it!
"But, Sir," protests Pinkham weakly. "Even falling back on the plans we already drew up, we need several months to plan a wedding of this scale. We couldn't possibly organise it before winter."
"Winter's fine," I tell him, smiling in what I hope is an encouraging way.
Dame Eileen shakes her head. "We understand your desire to get married quickly, but a public royal event of this scale couldn't possibly happen in winter."
"My parents were married on Christmas Day," Ken points out.
"That is correct, but Their Majesties' wedding happened under special circumstances," explains Dame Eileen. "Due to Her Majesty's personal history, it was celebrated at a much smaller scale than normally befitting the wedding of an heir to the throne."
Oi! I want the small scale, too! Especially if it means not having to wait another two years to get married!
"May I ask why a winter wedding is so unthinkable to you?" I want to know.
"Certainly." Dame Eileen nods. "We expect that up to a million people will line the streets to witness the wedding procession. May offers the best weather conditions for these spectators to stay comfortable. Summer could potentially be too hot and winter too cold."
"So they just need dress warmly," Ken remarks drily. Somewhere down the table, someone stifles a laugh, but I'm not quick enough to see who.
"Sir…" begins Pinkham.
But Ken shakes his head, effectively silencing him. "No, Mr Pinkham, Dame Eileen. I appreciate the thinking and planning that went into this, but ultimately, the decision lies with us. I realise a winter wedding poses some additional problems, but if 2018 is out of the question, I'm afraid a winter wedding it will have to be."
He pauses briefly and looks at me. "Just to be clear: As far as I am concerned, I will see in the new year with my wife by my side. The only thing that could possibly convince me to consider a later wedding date is if my lovely fiancée here tells me she prefers to be married in spring or summer."
I smile brightly at him. "I'm Canadian. What you call a 'winter' barely counts as such for me. It's more like a prolonged, very depressing autumn or something…"
Ken laughs. "So, that settles that. We'll be married this year, winter or not." He turns to Pinkham. "Any alternative dates, Mr Pinkham?"
More flustered than ever, Pinkham flips through his folder. "I'm sorry, Sir, I… I'm afraid we didn't consider dates in 2017 at all…"
"If I may interrupt?" That's Elphinestone from the other side of the table. The private secretaries have held back during our exchange, but now he clearly sees it fit to intervene.
"Certainly." I nod at him to continue.
"I just consulted His Majesty's calendar and there are several openings near the end of the year," he tells us. "I'm sure we can find a date that also aligns with the calendars of Her Majesty and you, Sir."
That's the spirit!
"If possible, I suggest picking a Friday," chimes in Arlene, Ken's head of communications. "I expect the government will make the day a national holiday and this way, people will have a long weekend."
"Anything to curry favour with the public," remarks Ken with a grin.
Arlene inclines her head and smiles, not contradicting the statement.
Elphinestone is already clicking through the laptop standing in front of him, no doubt consulting Owen's calendar. "If we're looking at Fridays only, that leaves us with October 6th, November 17th, December 1st or December 22nd."
"October is too soon," Dame Eileen immediately interjects. "We need five months to plan and October 6th leaves us with barely two and a half."
"And December 22nd brings us too close to Christmas," muses Elphinestone, shooting down his own suggestion. "Normally, Their Majesties leave for Balmoral earlier than that and the public will also have Christmas preparations on their minds."
"What about November 17th?" asks Oliver.
Tennant looks up from her iPhone and shakes her head. "Unfortunately not. Her Majesty has an event in France that day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Auguste Rodin."
It might seem odd to some people that a British queen would travel to France to commemorate a dead French sculptor, but of course everyone in this room knows that artsy events like this are right up Leslie's alley. She's where Teddy gets his interest in visual arts from and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that she had Tennant put out feelers to the French about a possible invitation, simply because she decided she wants to go.
"Which leaves us with December 1st," I summarise, looking at the assembled staff expectantly.
"Um, actually…" begins Andrew, one of Ken's assistant private secretaries. "Actually, we have an away day to Wales planned for December 1st…"
I feel my heart sink.
"A trip to Wales in December?" Ken sounds distinctly annoyed. "Whose bright idea was that anyway?"
Andrew looks down at his hand, embarrassed, and without anyone saying anything, it's clear that he was the one who planned that particular trip.
"Well." I turn to Ken and raise an eyebrow playfully. "I guess you'll just have to dress warmly then."
I've lobbied his own words back at him and when he realises, a smile appears on his face, immediately defusing any tension in the room. "I guess I will," he agrees, "but not on December 1st."
"It will take some re-planning, but I think we should be able to move the trip," Oliver states, already busily tapping away on his tablet. "There are several organisations involved, but it's doable."
"Perhaps we could pull it up to an earlier date and sweeten the deal by sending Ril- Miss Blythe along," suggests Melissa.
Arlene nods approvingly. "The first engagement of the future Princess of Wales to take place in Wales? I like the angle of that."
"There's an opening on September 30th," states Oliver, still tapping frantically on the tablet. "Unless Miss Blythe is otherwise occupied that day?"
That actually makes me laugh. "I'll be unemployed in about a week's time, Oliver. It's safe to say I don't already have any plans for September 30th."
He nods business-like. "So, we're looking at September for the trip to Wales."
"Short notice, but I think we can manage," agrees Andrew, clearly eager to avoid a situation that involves Ken and Wales and December simultaneously.
I catch Ken's gaze and raise an amused eyebrow. He smiley and shrugs slightly, as if to say 'let's just roll with it'.
"So, it's settled?" asks Melissa. "Wales in September and the wedding on –"
"December 1st," I finish for her and we grin at each other across the table. I have a sure feeling Melissa is as excited about this as I am and no doubt the same applies to Charlotte and Roisin as well, even though they haven't been invited to today's meeting.
"December 1st," Ken repeats as he clasps my hand under the table. He lets his eye drift over all the people assembled around the table, almost daring them to disagree, but no-one does. Even Pinkham and Dame Eileen seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that they'll be planning a winter wedding after all and doing so in just four and a half months.
That means…
That means we have a date.
It's really happening.
We're really getting married!
Squee!
There's a part of me that feels like jumping up and down and doing something crazy, but that's not nearly dignified enough for a future princess. Therefore, I keep the squee-ing on the inside and limit myself to another shared grin with Melissa, while squeezing Ken's knee under the table. He winces slightly and reaches down to pry my hand lose, interlacing our fingers instead. (Looks like I might have squeezed a little too tightly. Oops.)
"We have a date, now for a venue." That's Elphinestone, clearly looking to move things along.
"That would be Wabby, right?" I ask, before catching myself. "I mean, Westminster Abbey."
There are smiles around the table. Obviously, I'm not the only one familiar with and amused by Westminster Abbey's twitter handle.
"Westminster Abbey is the obvious choice," agrees Dame Eileen. "It's where Queen Alexandra and the first Duke of Kendal were married as well."
"It has a seating capacity of 2000, so that gives us an estimate how many people can be invited," states Pinkham, already back to flipping through his folder. "The official guest list stands at 1784 right now, not including the bride's family, friends of the bridal couple, guests of Their Majesty's and representatives of the groom's charities."
Um…
"That doesn't leave us with a lot of wiggle room, does it?" I wonder. "I mean, not that I have hundreds of people to invite, but…"
"It's not enough," Ken decides, echoing my thoughts. "We need to cut the official guest list."
Pinkham scratches his chin, looking nervous. "I'm afraid there's not much we can cut. The official guest list includes the wider royal family, meaning all living descendants of King Edward VII, and representatives of all foreign royal families. The highest-ranking politicians from all four countries of the United Kingdom will be invited as well as governors-general and prime ministers from all Commonwealth nations. There will be heads-of-state, ambassadors and other political leaders from all over Europe and a sizable number of other countries we're friendly with. Further, we will extend invitations to religious leaders from all over the kingdom as well as representative of the British Armed Forces. If we cut any of them, it could lead to seriously diplomatic upheavals."
Serious diplomatic upheavals?
Over who gets invited to my wedding?
Huh.
Fancy that.
"If we can't cut down the list, we need more seating space," points out Melissa sensibly.
"Maybe we can add tiers like they did for the wedding of Queen Alexandra back in the day…" muses Tennant.
"Or we move the entire show to St. Paul's," remarks Ken, before looking at me. "Unless you prefer the Abbey?"
I wave an airy hand. "I don't care either way. They're both pretty."
"St. Paul's offers a seating capacity of 3500," knows Elphinestone. "However, I imagine security might become an issue."
"How so?" asks Oliver. "I don't think it's more difficult to secure than the Abbey is."
"Not the cathedral itself, but the route to get there," Elphinestone clarifies. "St. Paul's is nearly twice as far from Buckingham Palace as the Abbey is. We'd need twice as many policemen to line the route and I'm not sure we have that many available without disrupting police service in other parts of the country."
Ken sighs. "I don't suppose we can just space them further apart?"
He isn't seriously suggesting it, but I don't think Pinkham realises that. "I'm afraid with a high-profile event like this and so many important guests, that won't be possible, Sir. Several of them will bring their own security and of course, with the US president involved, her Secret Service will take an active role, but we need to keep up our end of the deal with regards to security as well."
Ken sighs again. "I thought as much."
"Couldn't we ask the armed forces to help out?" I suggest tentatively. "I mean, you've served in several different units over the course of your military career, haven't you? If they all send a delegation of soldiers…"
I trail off, but Ken is nodding slowly, catching on to my idea. "The regiments of the Household Division could also pitch in. They have experience with public events like these."
"And they look good in their hats," I add teasingly. The bearskin hats are a bit of a running joke between Ken and me.
He chuckles. "They do look good in their hats."
If we'd been alone, I would likely have said 'not as good as you', but as there are seven other people present, I just smile and leave it at that.
"Can I suggest something?" pipes up Melissa when she deems my exchange with Ken to be over. "Could we ask Canada if they would like to send someone as well? Soldiers or policemen or something? I mean, what with you being Canadian, this could be a way for Canada to be represented."
"Good idea!" praises Arlene, always looking at the public side of things.
Elphinestones inclines his head thoughtfully. "That could work. I will extend feelers towards the Canadian government."
"And Felix can talk to the armed forces here about a possible participation," adds Oliver.
"So, we have a date, a venue, half of a guest list and an outline for security on the procession route," Ken summarises. "Anything else?"
Oliver grins. "Plenty of things."
It almost sounds like a threat and I'm afraid he's right. We haven't even begun to make a dent into all the things that need to be planned and organised in the upcoming months. I've seen first hand the work that went into Teddy's and Amy's wedding and this is going to be several times as big.
It's almost a little daunting, but if this is what it takes, this is what we'll do.
"We need a finalised guest list as soon as possible so we can start sending out invitations," states Dame Eileen, clearly a little unnerved by how little time she has to make this wedding happen.
"But not before the official engagement announcement," chimes in Arlene. "We need to talk about that as well. I'm thinking a press call for domestic and international media, followed by a sit-down TV interview with a presenter of our choice, perhaps in early August?"
A TV interview?
No-one said anything about a TV interview! Amy didn't have to do a TV interview!
Ken, likely sensing my sudden nervousness, reaches out and lightly strokes my arm to calm me. "We'll talk about that tomorrow, Arlene. And we'll make sure to finalise the guest list as soon as possible, Dame Eileen."
Both women nod, reasonably pleased with his answer.
"I think that's enough for now," Ken decides and pushes his chair back. "We made good progress today and I thank all of your for your support and your input. Oliver will contact you about our next meeting."
"It would help if you could all prepare topics of discussions until then," I add. "We're grateful for all suggestions you have, so the more material we have prepared beforehand, the sooner we can make decisions, I think."
Ken smiles at me and bows his head slightly. "You're the expert." To the others, he says, "She's much better at this than I ever could be, so if in doubt, she decides."
I'm hardly the expert when it comes to organising big royal events (that'd be Dame Eileen, Pinkham and maybe Elphinestone), but between my experience in party planning and everything I learned while pitching in with Teddy's and Amy's wedding, I think I got a decent idea what to do and what to look out for. Therefore, instead of disagreeing with Ken, I smile and nod, accepting the role as the primary decision-maker when it comes to the wedding business.
"Excellent." Ken gets to his feet and everyone else follows suit. "Thanks for coming today, everyone, and thank you for your help. We appreciate it."
His words are both thanks and dismissal, as these experienced royal staff members well realise. Packing up their folders and laptops and tablets and phones, they slowly file out of the room with murmured goodbyes. Only Melissa remains behind, bouncing on the back of her feet and smiling at me.
Ken, seeing her, laughs and waves her closer. "Make your case, Melissa."
She does so just as the door closes behind Andrew. Darting around the table, she comes to stand before me. "I want to apply for a job."
"A job?" I frown.
She nods eagerly. "You need your own staff, don't you? I'd like to apply for a job as part of your staff."
Briefly, I look at Ken, because the last thing I want is to steal away his staff members, but he just waves my concern away. "Don't mind me. I can find someone else to work for me. In some ways, I think Melissa was always meant to end up with you."
Hmm…
He has a point there. Melissa has always been the one person in Ken's office who has worked closest with me, from that long-ago day in New York when she organised me a hotel room at the Ritz, right up until the commemoration at Vimy Ridge when it fell to her to brief and prepare me.
Nodding at Ken to show I understand, I turn back to Melissa. "I'd be honoured to have you as my private secretary."
She blinks, then starts shaking her head. "No, no. You don't understand. I'm an assistant private secretary."
"For Ken, you were," I tell her simply. "I want you as my private secretary. I have no doubt you can do it and I know I won't find anyone I trust more."
For a moment, Melissa seems to process that, but then a wide smile spreads over her face. "Oh, thank you! I promise I won't disappoint you!"
"I know you won't," I reply. "If anything, I might disappoint you, because I'm completely new to this side of the royal business. I'll be looking to you to guide me through this."
"We'll be fine," decides Melissa firmly. "And we'll have so much fun! I'm not supposed to say, but Charlotte wants to ask whether you'd accept her as your personal assistant. I don't know about Roisin, but –"
"Rilla and I will share a communications office, so Roisin can continue to work with all of you," Ken interjects, looking distinctly amused.
Melissa's smile widens. "Great! I need to go tell them right away!" She turns for the door, then suddenly pauses and looks back. "That is, if you do want Charlotte as your personal assistant?"
"I do," I assure her. "Provided you don't mind, of course." The last remark is directed at Ken, still standing by my side.
He shakes his head. "Not at all. You need some experienced people to build your staff around and I'm sure Melissa and Charlotte will do an excellent job." He turns to look at Melissa. "It'll fall to you to build the rest of the staff, with Rilla's input."
"Yes, absolutely." She nods, her mind clearly going a mile a minute already. "I already have a few people in mind. I think Elena Romano is looking to transfer out of Her Majesty's office because she wants a new challenge. Oh, and there's Bilal Sardar who's currently employed as an assistant to Golding, the Master of the Household. With your permission, I'd approach them about a possible transfer."
"Let me check back with Their Majesties first whether they mind me purging their staff," I reply, smiling.
"They won't," Ken remarks drily.
No, I don't think they will either, but it would be impolite not to ask.
"Certainly," agrees Melissa. "I'll wait for you to give me the go ahead."
"Perfect. I have to work tomorrow, but I'll come see you in the afternoon and we can hammer out more of the details," I tell her.
Melissa nods. "Of course. I'll see you then!" She, too, knows how to understand a subtle dismissal, so without further ado, she collects her bag and heads for the door, nearly skipping as she does so.
When the door closes behind her, Ken turns to me and takes both of my hands in his. "Have you decided when to tell everyone at the youth centre?"
"Not before we make the formal announcement," I reply. "The kids have been great at keeping our confidence so far, but this is too big for it not to get out somehow."
"That's sensible," he agrees. "Do they know you're leaving?"
"They know my contract is running out at the end of the month and that I told Simone I'm okay with her not renewing it. I promised I'd come back to spend time with them though and I will. That's non-negotiable." I narrow my eyes slightly to show that I'm not prepared to budge on this one, but it turns out I needn't have bothered.
"Of course you will continue to go there and spend time with them," Ken states, quite as if that was never in any doubt. "Though we should probably tell your head of security so he can prepare accordingly, don't you think?"
"My head of security?" I repeat, wrinkling my nose in confusion.
Smiling, Ken walks to the door and opens it, revealing no-one else but –
"Hanson!"
The title of this chapter is taken from the song 'Winds of the Old Days' (written by Joan Baez, released by her in 1975).
To DogMonday:
I had a lot of fun writing the Skype call of the Blythe family! I still remember that when I started out with this story, the big family chapters felt so daunting because there were so many characters to keep track of, but they're now among my favourite chapters to write. It's also easier because I feel that I really know all those characters by now and their behaviour and reactions come naturally to me. That said, I still go through the family scenes afterwards and check whether everyone made an appearance or if I accidentally forgot anyone ;).
You're correct to say that Zoe wasn't included in the call, which is because I decided she was napping. She's 19 months old now, so she's at the prime age for causing chaos and those Skype cooking lessons do require a bit of order with some many people involved. So, my reasoning was that Faith and Jem put her down for a nap before starting the call and will include her in their own small family baking session later on. But I definitely haven't forgotten about Zoe and she'll get to play her role in Aunt Rilla's Big Royal Wedding Adventure yet =).
In Gilbert's defence, he doesn't really expect anyone to ask his permission, because he knows his daughters make their own decisions and make them well. It's just his idea of teasing the his daughter's partners a little because he feels that as a father, that's his prerogative. Alas, he has Anne and Bertha to put him in his place about it, because if he didn't ask anyone's permission, how could he expect anyone to ask him, right?
Similarly, Rilla just thinks that Ken is a bit too smug about her having done the proposing, so she feels she has to knock his ego down a little, but it's all done playfully. It's just part of the general banter they often have going on. She doesn't tell his family a falsehood and she's not opposed to them knowing exactly how the proposal happened (she and Ken will, indeed, tell the public about it in their engagement interview), she just doesn't want to feed Ken's ego more than she has to in one single day.
It's true that the reaction of Ken's family is more traditional. It's no less heartfelt, but as a family, they're just not as spontaneous and boisterous as the Blythes are. I deliberately set out to write the two "telling the families" scenes a little differently, because I felt these two families would react differently. Everyone is very happy for Rilla and Ken, they just have somewhat different ways of expressing it. Ultimately, however, their love and support of Rilla and Ken is not in question, I think, as expressed by the two mothers who're both just incredibly glad to see their children happy.
I definitely have some fun moments planned for the engagement period and I hope you'll enjoy them =). And I promise no-one's waist will shrink by 12 centimetres!