August 2027: The Coronation Part XI.
In Dublin, Agnes had not asked any questions about the late-night mission the two husbands had undertaken over breakfast, which suited them all; she knew that they would not answer her, so there was no point in asking. Trent had been happy to hear from Burt earlier, and more than satisfied to know that Jonathan was on his way home. He was also glad that embassy staff would be dealing with the items he had left in his studio apartment in the city, as he had been worried that he and Rory might have been asked to do so.
After their day at the beach and then the one at the lake, they were heading to the city's children's museum that day, an interactive one that would keep the children occupied, and by the sound of it, Agnes too. It was not long after they had arrived there that Cooper's call came to Trent's phone; one look at the time, and Trent was smart enough to realise exactly why the Broadway star was calling him. There was no greeting when he answered the call, just a gruff, "Was it definitely him?"
"There was no mistaking him, I'm afraid. He was trying to get to London to find your mom and possibly disrupt the Coronation in the process," Trent replied, and then something hit him. Burt had stated that he did not want Nick finding out, so surely he would not have wanted Cooper to find out unless his mother wished it, and furthermore, why would he tell someone that was married to Nick's sister? "Can I ask, did Burt call you and tell you about all of this?"
"No, he hasn't, and it was a choice between calling you or him… The truth is that Grace has a friend that keeps an eye on her father for her to see what he is up to. He was arrested last night, and Grace's friend has contacts that can access the facts. She was able to tell us all about what happened with my father. Is it going to be splashed all over the media?"
"No, that is the last thing Burt or indeed the British authorities want. I hate to say this, but I think that Grace's friend needs to have a chat with Burt, because there is no way that the information she has given you should have come out at all to anyone. It may well have been done in a well-intentioned manner, but it was a state secret, and whoever told her is a leak…"
Cooper nodded, as the truth dawned on him. If someone in the government had been willing to tell a friend something that was strictly confidential, then what was to stop them taking the information to the highest bidder in the media next…
As soon as he ended his call to Trent, Cooper passed on what he had just been told to Grace, who went to call her friend at once to ensure that the information that they had been told would indeed go no further and remain confidential between them; furthermore, she would ask them who had leaked the information to them in the first place, so that the leak could be plugged, before they all had the FBI on the doorstep.
As she hastened away to do it, Cooper found his own phone ringing, and he was not in the least bit surprised to see that it was Burt calling him now. Trent would no doubt have told Rory that he knew what had happened, and he would have called his boss, to let him know that what he thought was secret had made its way out into the open, even if it was only to Cooper and Grace so far. Burt would no doubt want to know all the details of how he had found out. He braced himself to be lectured, then answered the call…
Burt was not angry with him or Grace, however; he was just concerned that there could potentially be embarrassment to the Crown if the story leaked out to the less sympathetic members of the media. He then urged the younger man to call his mother, as she had been through the wringer in the last few hours, and to hear from her son would be a delight for her on the eve of the big day. When Burt rang off, Cooper made his second call of the day, and the older man was right; Pam was overjoyed to hear his voice. After some small talk, he decided to come clean about what he knew…
"I heard about what happened with dad overnight. Grace has a friend that lives near his new home, and they have been keeping an eye on him for all of us for some time now. We woke up to a message from them this morning to say that Grace's dad had been arrested, and then they told us why he had been… I have also been told that dad was attempting to blackmail you; I wish that you had told me about that, because we could have gone to the authorities together and nipped it in the bud. I hate to think that you were suffering in silence all this time… So, when you get back to New York, we will be going to see a lawyer and we will get those court orders strengthened so he can't even send you a one-word letter; I want that to be like being in the same state as us."
"I didn't want to burden you and Grace with my problems…"
"Mom, your problems are our problems. I love you, and if anyone is threatening you or hurting you, I need to know. I am so proud of the woman that you have become over the last few years, and maybe I should have said that sooner. I will not stand by and let dad destroy you again; he won't be coming near you or even contacting you ever again if I have any say in the matter. Now, he is out of the way, so the time has come to show the world exactly why you are in London right now. That is the best way to destroy him, by showing all of the people that knew you as a couple that he was the weak one…"
"I will do my best, son, and I love you too…"
Meanwhile, Grace had spoken to her friend and had managed to find out exactly who it was that had told her what had happened the previous night. She sent Burt a text with the name of the person, and he had responded that he would ensure that the person in question would be taken aside and spoken to; there would be no official reprimand this time, merely a caution as to what they should reveal to people, even if they were involved. He also stated that she was not under any circumstances to tell Nick about what had happened; as he put it, he did not need to be told that their father might have been aware of what Jonathan had been planning, and a certain blond definitely didn't need to know anything about it…
With the drama over for the day, hopefully, Grace and Cooper returned to their breakfast, but no sooner had they sat down with it than there was a draught, and Blaine was standing in the room. "I hear that father has been detained and arrested in Wales," he began, with a butter wouldn't melt expression of innocence on his face. Grace burst out laughing at that expression, whilst Cooper just rolled his eyes. "I did pop in to see him in the holding cell, out of a natural concern for his wellbeing, and he is not liking being incarcerated one little bit! Worst of all, the only flight they can accommodate him on is the departure to Atlanta, and the only seats left are the worst ones in economy…"
Cooper snorted at that, knowing that as well as hating anywhere that didn't speak fluent English, his father had a dislike for anywhere more than a few miles south of the Mason-Dixon line. "It's awful, he will have to stay there overnight, no doubt in a holding cell again, as there is no connecting flight home until the following morning. He really didn't look happy, and I was so disappointed to discover that there wasn't even a mirror on the wall for me to write a message to him on. As it happens, Wes said that I couldn't do that anyway…"
"Well no, that is understandable squirt; you don't want him smashing up a holding cell in an airport in England," said Cooper seriously. "I don't suppose that Wes would have any objection to you writing on the mirrors in his own house though, so he can trash it…"
Grace laughed again as Blaine's face took on an expression of disbelief and shock that his big brother would even suggest such a thing – but in no time his eyes were twinkling with mischief, and he replied, "I suppose that would be okay…"
"On another note, little brother, I think that mom has been left quite shaken up by all of this, so maybe you should go and see her again."
Blaine smiled, and replied, "Oh, I will be, because she turns out to be much more receptive to the idea than we had originally anticipated. Indeed, I think that by the time she returns to New York, she might well be in the same position as the two of you; fully able to hear me and see me, as well as all of the others. It is really going that well…"
By the time that this conversation was happening in Manhattan, those in London that had headed to The Mall to witness the rehearsal of the procession had not been left disappointed in any way. Although there had not been anybody in the Golden Coach – Nick would later be told in confidence by Jeff that there had been bricks to the approximate weight of the King and Queen Consort sitting on the floor though – everything else had been as it would be the next day. The troops were in their formations, in full regalia, and the bands had been playing. The horses had moved in complete co-ordination with both the music and the troops.
The crowds had been large, but they had arrived early and were thus able to secure a good spot down at the front; that had allowed Wes to see it all without the need to be held up or placed on his father's shoulders. Nick was glad about that, as his son was nowhere near as light as he used to be.
They had looked down the street towards Admiralty Arch and had seen all of the television lights set up, and knew at once that it marked the spot where Adam and Sam where filming one of the pivotal moments of the London based episodes. They had glanced that way from time to time and had seen the moment when what could only be described as a large shower had been brought out to create the rain for the wet weather version of the scene. As if someone upstairs was looking out for the film crew, the sun was almost immediately blotted out by a large dark cloud, which they all knew would make the scene even more authentic looking.
Lawrence confided in them all that the first time the shower machine was used it would be solely to make the ground wet, as they had added in a third iteration of the scene, one in which it had rained, but it wasn't being shot right now. Only once it was filmed would they do it a third and final time, with the rain falling on the actors. Burt shook his head at the lengths that they were going to, but he knew that accuracy was all important to the viewing public these days. He was just glad that they hadn't asked the procession to pass three times as well to ensure it would be a total replica…
Once the procession had passed, Burt insisted on taking everybody to lunch. As they sat around two tables in a gastropub in the middle of St James, the person that found themselves the centre of everyone's attention was Peter Smythe. He had been left to his own devices, more or less, since he had arrived in London with his family, and had taken the opportunity to explore the city himself. He had gone out to see the city's culture and to meet people of his own age. Yes, he had taken advantage of the lower legal drinking age, but only socially and not to any excess. Unbeknownst to his parents, he had also arranged to meet up with a couple of old schoolfriends from Dalton, both of whom were studying at Oxford. They had taken him out to the Science Museum first, then had escorted him north to see the vibrant culture of the Notting Hill area. That had been followed by a trip across town on the Central Line to the Shoreditch area, and an Indian meal in one of the many restaurants on Brick Lane, which was a centre for the ex-pat communities from the Indian sub-continent.
That expedition had taken place on Wednesday; the following day he had taken himself off to Pimlico to visit Tate Britain, then had taken a bus from there that dropped him off within a short walk of the Imperial War Museum. That visit had ended up affecting his emotions much more than he might have anticipated; they had an exhibition on The Holocaust, and it was one that did not spare the visitor from the hardest of punches. He talked about it in hushed tones, conscious that there was a little boy at the other end of the table, a child of an age that was not permitted to enter the exhibition in question, as there was graphic film footage…
Nick had listened to Peter and had nodded in understanding at how upsetting it must have been. He of all of the people around those tables felt it most, as he had distant relatives that had been involved on the other side of the war and possibly in what was one of the greatest crimes in history. They were long dead and forgotten now, but their names were a stain on his family tree. Of course, his father was a more modern version of those that had perpetrated some of the biggest horrors of modern times, but thankfully, although the world had teetered on the edge of a resurgence of those kind of policies, it had now stepped back from the brink to a place of safety…
Until that morning, Peter had not really taken much of an interest in the whole build up to the Coronation, the event that had the whole of the United Kingdom and half the world enthralled, and he admitted that much freely. "I think that might have something to do with the attitude of my mother and her family; they had no time whatsoever for the notion of a monarchy, that someone should rule over a people just because of who their parents were. My grandfather was born in Canada, but his parents moved to the United States when he was just a few months old, as his father was vehemently opposed to the notion that he was a subject, not a citizen. His son would say much the same thing to his daughter and me. What he did not know was that my mum and grandma actually admired Queen Elizabeth, because she had so much power and influence, and had that at a time when the rest of the leaders of the most powerful nations in the world were male. People thought that as a woman, she would be weak, but I think we all know that wasn't true…"
Peter paused, and took a sip of his drink, then continued, "We read about her when I was in elementary school, and well, the facts spoke for themselves. She was the most recognisable person in the world, the Head of State for over 153 million people and the Head of the Commonwealth, which has nearly a third of the world's population living in it. No wonder that she was such an influential figure on the global stage! The fact that I would go on to meet her when Uncle Sebastian performed especially for her at the National Theatre here in London, well that is one of the best memories that I will keep with me for the rest of my life…"
The small company around his end of the table nodded, before Nick spoke. "The first time that I met her will always be something that I will recall vividly too. She was much smaller than I had ever imagined, but those eyes… She seemed to have a knowledge of everything, and particularly on the history of the world in her lifetime; she had met the majority of the influential people that will merit pages in the history books over the seven decades of her reign. She was also her country's best travelled monarch, visiting more of the Commonwealth nations than any of her predecessors, and countless other nations too, including China and Russia. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes for peace, and even now, the two occasions that she visited the United Nations and spoke at the General Assembly are fondly recalled. She was also able to forget the past, to visit Russia knowing that they had put their Czar to death, a relation through Queen Victoria. Then there was her trip to Ireland, where she stunned the dignitaries at a dinner by talking in Irish Gaelic and went on to shake hands with a man that had been part of the terrorist group that had murdered one of her relatives during the troubles."
Nick paused for a moment, then went on, "She was a great woman, but her son is a pretty remarkable man too. He has represented her abroad many times and is not afraid to speak his mind on the big issues that concern him. He was an environmental campaigner before it became popular, and a pioneer in organic and sustainable farming on his own estates. He believed in the idea of community, of places made up of buildings constructed in human scale, of a more classical design. He embraced biofuels for his own vehicles. He established The Prince's Trust, an organisation that works with young people and other disadvantaged groups to let them get a foothold in society by providing them with training, with homes, and a sense of self-worth. All of that will be carried on by others now…"
"It has to be that way, because as The King, he cannot be as outspoken. He will have to be more selective in terms of the charities and causes that he embraces, because he will have much less time; however, nothing is just being abandoned, he is passing them all on to other members of his family. We all know that his reign will be much shorter than his mother's was, but I have a feeling that it will still contain as much upheaval and change in society as hers did. I have heard rumours that there will be a step change in the Commonwealth for a start, becoming an organisation in which the United Kingdom is an equal to all the others, not the focus. Tomorrow we will all be here to witness a moment in history as a ceremony that had a long history takes place – and yet, that ceremony will be very different to the one that was held for his mother back in 1953…"
As her stepson discussed the question of the monarchy with a UN lawyer in the company of the man that was third in line to be the President of the United States should there be a major crisis, Isabelle Wright was enjoying her own lunch in the surroundings of the Royal Collection gallery. Her husband and daughter had been in awe of much of what was on display for them, even Julian being deeply impressed by the outfit that the late Queen Elizabeth had worn to her own Coronation, which was displayed alongside a replica of the outfit that she had worn to her own father's Coronation when she was a girl.
Isabelle had to admit that the dress she had worn that day in 1953 was beautiful, and it was hard to believe from looking at it that it had really been made over seventy years ago. The colours were still so bright, and the fabric was in good order… She made it her business the moment she viewed it to find out the name of the person that was in charge of the costume collection, and once she had it, she knew she had to try and get an interview with them. An article in which the some of the secrets that the Royal Household used to keep these items so vibrant and fresh were revealed would go down well with her readers, and to be honest, she was dying to know them too.
Artie had proved to be a very competent photographer for her as well; he was able to second guess the exact angle she would want, and the focus required too. He had done all that she asked in the main, although on a couple of occasions he had taken the initiative and done it a different way; those pictures proved that he had a great eye, as they were better than those that she had initially requested. It was also his idea that she be pictured alongside the Coronation dress herself, that image conveying to the readers that she had actually been in London and was not just writing the article whilst a minion had done all the work.
It had come as a total surprise to everyone when the Duchess of Edinburgh had arrived to join them in the gallery, and she had been the focus of the attention of the media as well. Isabelle managed to secure a brief interview with her, and those off the cuff questions and answers told the Vogue editor all that she needed to know about Sophie. She knew the family and was able to give her some little bits of inside knowledge too. She was down to earth, and as she moved on, Isabelle had realised that what she had heard was most likely true; that she had been a particular favourite of the late Queen, who also had a no-nonsense attitude. Of course, the lady in question, Sophie's mother-in-law, had technically been the previous Duchess of Edinburgh…
The lunch that was served to the gathered media was in fact the luncheon that had been suggested by the Palace for the public to share the following day; it looked and tasted delicious. It was not as much of a departure from contemporary British cuisine as Coronation Chicken had been in 1953, but the real selling point of the dish was that all of the ingredients were produced in the United Kingdom and most of the fresh ingredients were in season. It was a way to both promote the nation's framing industry and to reduce food miles at the same time.
As they ate, Isabelle took the opportunity to chat with the editors of the other big fashion magazines that were present; they were not strictly friends, but neither were they all sworn enemies. They all knew that they would put their own spin on what they had just seen, to suit their very different demographic. The editors of Paris Match, Marie Claire and Elle would all see things from a different angle for their French readership for a start…
One thing that emerged from the conversations was that the invitation to attend the Abbey that afternoon and see the inside of the venue was even more exclusive; she realised that her own family, Artie and Kitty would be the only non-journalists in attendance. They had arranged a meeting place and time with both Peter and Kitty that morning; they would be conveyed to that place, the closest point on the road network that was now accessible by a driver that the Palace had arranged. Most of the roads around the Abbey were now closed to all traffic, as the security precautions really kicked in…
They arrived at the meeting point a little early but found Peter and Kitty had arrived before them. As they gathered themselves together, only one of them was aware that what they were about to witness inside the ancient building was so much more than the decorations that had been put in place for the ceremony that would now take place in less than 24 hours' time. The first hint should have been the number of security cordons that they had to pass through to reach the doors of Westminster Abbey, but only Peter began to wonder why there was so much security now, when the building would be empty bar a few invited journalists and the clergy. The fact was that he had come down and walked past the Abbey that morning as he killed time before his rendezvous with Burt and the others, and there had been hardly any police in sight then. To him, that could mean one of two things; that there had been a warning of a risk since this morning, or that there were actually some very important people in the Abbey that they weren't aware of. He sincerely hoped that it was the latter…
They had been directed to enter the Abbey by the main front door, and their credentials were checked once again as they stood below the temporary canopy that had been built there to shield the royal party when they arrived, as there was rain anticipated now. The moment that they stepped through that door they heard singing in the distance in the Choir, along with the sound of the organ playing. The main surprise though was that the words being sung were not in English, which caused them all some confusion for a moment or two…
"I guess they must be having a final practice of the music for tomorrow," announced Isabelle with a smile. "I had heard a rumour that some of it would be in Welsh, as a tribute to the country that the new monarch was the Prince of for nearly sixty years. That explains why it isn't in English."
Artie nodded, knowing that the music wasn't the only part of tomorrow that was currently being rehearsed, then said, "So we would want to take the bulk of our photographs up in the main area of the Abbey, beyond the choir stalls? I hear that is where the bulk of the ceremonial will take place…"
"Yes, that is where I wish to start," said Isabelle, and she walked off up the aisle, followed closely by her husband and their two children.
Artie and Kitty were left to follow behind them more slowly, the uneven old floor of the building meaning Artie had to take more time. As they headed up, Kitty took the time to glance around her, drinking in all of the splendour of the great church, before turning back to her husband. "This building looked magnificent on the television during the funeral, but now that I am actually here… the cameras do not quite do it justice…"
She stopped then, as she suddenly realised that just a little way ahead, the others had suddenly stopped dead at the arch that separated the choir stalls from the main body of the church…
Kitty looked back at her husband then and was surprised to see that he was grinning at the sight before him. She frowned, and said, "Okay, what do you know that the rest of us clearly do not? Did the Queen Consort tell you something when the two of you were sitting alone at the Ball? I saw how the two of you were chatting away quite conspiratorially whilst I was dancing with the King…"
"Yes, I will admit that we did chat and that she told me two things; one, that I should just have made a request for an access pass to check buildings out for the forthcoming film, because I would have been granted one without any problem, and two, that the time of the full dress rehearsal for the Coronation tomorrow had been moved forward…"
Kitty stared at Artie for a moment, then hastened forward to join the others where they stood below the archway that led into the choir. Sure enough, she saw in the near distance beyond the choir stalls the new monarch, surrounded by clergy and others in elaborate robes and costumes, in the throne in which he would be crowned the next day. Nearby there were other members of his family, all in their robes too, in the places they would be the next day. Isabelle was staring open-mouthed at the scene before her, and her husband was much the same. Peter had knelt down and was now whispering in his half-sister's ear, no doubt telling her exactly what she was seeing…
Isabelle suddenly noticed Kitty had arrived, and turning to her, whispered, "We probably shouldn't be here whilst this is going on! I suggest that we all retreat backwards quietly and hope that we don't get dragged away by the security services!"
"Don't worry," came Artie's voice as he joined them. "The truth is that the Queen Consort was very much aware of our little scheme to get me access to the Abbey today, and she decided to get you back for agreeing to it by not informing you that the time of the full rehearsal had been moved forward by two hours. Of course, she was also kind enough to issue you with passes for Julian and the children, and of course, that is why Kitty was allowed to join me."
"Well, that is not exactly a very regal thing to do!" huffed Isabelle.
"No, but we did plot and scheme ourselves. Did I mention that we also have permission to take as many photographs as we wish of what is happening just now, as long as we promise not to publish any of them until the whole ceremony and the balcony appearance is completed tomorrow?"
That news did mollify Isabelle a little, as she realised they were the only media people present, and thus all the pictures would be exclusives, something that no other publication would have. She took a step forward and found herself beside a verger in a black cassock, watching with a broom propped up beside her. The lady knew that they were to be present and the instructions that she had for them were quite simple; be unobtrusive, silent and respectful at all times. She directed Julian, his children and Kitty into some empty seats that were located in the opposite transept to the Royal Family, directing them to go there behind the choir stalls themselves, so as not to distract the choristers. Isabelle left her bag with them, whilst she and Artie moved closer to the action itself, the latter taking the kind of candid shots of proceedings that the world would be longing to see…
He knew what he had to concentrate on; as well as the actual ceremonial, he was taking close up shots of the costumes that were being worn, particularly by the ladies present, as that was what a large percentage of Isabelle's readership would be particularly desperate to see. He also made sure to take several close-up shots of the Queen Consort's face, as he was sure that Pam would have been tasked to make her up as she would be the next day. As he took the pictures the music was being sung and the whole atmosphere was regal and stately. He caught the faces of all of the members of the clergy taking part, leaders of all of the main Christian churches in the United Kingdom playing some role in a ceremony that had once been entirely the responsibility of the Church of England. The new King wanted to be leader of the faiths, not just the one church that he was titular head of.
The only thing that was not rehearsed that day was the actual moment of crowning itself, although the St Edward's Crown was there, sitting on the altar, ready for the event that the world would be tuned into the following day…
After it was all over, there was a dignified exodus from the Abbey by the Royal Family, processing down the aisle towards the main door just as they would do in less than 24 hours' time. As the organ played the triumphal music, Isabelle and Artie rejoined their respective families, all of them still just a little stunned at having been present at a moment when history was being made…
"Well, that was something else," said Julian. "I have a sneaking suspicion that my little brother will be jealous of the fact that I was here to see all of this, not that I can actually tell him that before the ceremony is past tomorrow…"
"I don't think that would actually be an issue; it is just the images that are embargoed until tomorrow," replied Artie.
"Thank goodness for that," said Peter quietly. "I might have sent Constance a text to tell her where I was and what I was seeing, but before anyone has a breakdown, I did not send her any photos to prove it. She believed me, and I think she might be even more jealous of the fact that she is in New York doing her medical work whilst I am enjoying myself in London…"
By now, the Royal Family had left the Abbey, and the building was empty save for a few staff; the verger was now sweeping again, and glancing at her, Peter couldn't help but think she resembled the grim reaper from a distance in her black robe carrying the long-handled brush. Of course, there were guards around the treasures at the altar, but Artie was permitted to get up close to photograph them. He also took several shots of the ancient throne that would be used the next day, hoping that Isabelle would approve.
With that done, they all headed off to dinner. Around them, the city continued to make its final preparations for the historic moment when a new monarch was officially crowned before his people. Whatever the weather turned out to be, it would be a day to be remembered…