Arthur
No one had needed to tell Arthur; he had always suspected that his son was homosexual. From a young age he had tried to help Henry where possible. He had taken henry to movie sets with him. Introduced him to people Arthur had known in the industry that were also queer. He and Henry had done philanthropic work with charities that had been raising monies for AIDS research.
Henry was his special boy, his soft spoken, gentle souled son. He had always tried to protect henry from the weight of his role in the royal family. He had stood up for Henry more times than he could count against the Crown. Especially his mother-in-law, the queen. She had always seemed to bully and belittle Henry, from the moment that he was born.
Arthur had been accused of mollycoddling his son so many times by Queen Mary, that Arthur would simply smile and say to her "Well at least my children don't hate me." Which had only ever seemed to irk the Queen further.
His wife would always gently rebut later with a "Why do you enjoy vexing her so much? Whether you like it or not, she is the Queen of our God forsaken kingdom. Even if she is a cow."
When Henry had been twelve, Catherine had insisted he sit Henry down and give him the birds and the bees talk. Arthur had prepared for it for weeks. He hadn't explicitly sought advice from the queer people he had known. He had simply spoken with many people.
When the day came for the talk, he'd been sure to use gender neutral terms. He had explained the need to remain safe to him and to his partner at all times. He had stressed the importance of condoms and lubricant to his son. "Do you need me to go through the mechanics?" Arthur had offered and Henry had looked back at him, horrified. "In general terms, obviously."
"Absolutely not. Err, besides ... I am not sure ... " Henry had answered, flushed red in embarrassment. His son had noticed that his father had been using gender neutral terms and pronouns. Not like everyone else had and used a feminine pronoun. Henry had blurted out the question of his observations to his father, without thought.
"You can tell me anything, you know that." Arthur began, sighing softly. "But I did not want to assume anything."
"I am gay, dad." Henry told him. "Been gay as a maypole since I came out of mum."
"Thank you for telling me. I may not be gay, son." Henry chuckled at his father's declaration. "But I do know enough of the world to discuss safe sex with my gay son."
In that moment, Arthur was proud of Henry. He smiled to himself; he was proud that he had managed to educate himself, so he could give his son the correct information.
"You're a good Dad. But you can never tell mum." Henry had said at the conclusion of their conversation.
"Henry, Darling. It's your truth, come out on your own timeline and in your own time. or not at all, the choice is yours."
Henry had been twelve then. It hadn't been until Henry was sixteen, and Arthur had been in the fight of his life, that Henry had confirmed his 'gay as a maypole statement'. Arthur's blood had run cold, at his friend Shaan's words of what his son had endured. That was when he wished he had of broken his confidence to henry and given him a heads up on henry and his sexuality.
When he had arrived at Shaan's flat, Arthur had apologised to Shaan. But Shaan had waved him off. In that moment, Arthur knew. Making Shaan Henry's equerry had been the right call.
Arthur died four months later. He never saw Henry in his slutty oxford days.
He never saw the files and files of Henry's signed NDAs from the sexual partner's he had had.
Arthur hadn't been there when Henry had met Alex in Rio.
Arthur wasn't there when Alex and Henry had toppled into Philip and Martha's wedding cake.
He didn't get to witness the awkward and tense month of Henry withdrawing and ghosting Alex, after New Years eve's kiss under the linden tree.
He didn't see the smile on Henry's face, when he returned to the UK, after attending the state dinner at the White House.
He wasn't there to see Henry during his charity polo match in Connecticut, where he showed off and played better than he had ever played before. Knowing that Alex was in the crowd, cheering him on.
He didn't witness how Henry and Bea had managed to manipulate the Queen, to get Philip and Martha to go to Germany, so he could go to Paris to meet Alex. Taking advantage of the fact that Martha was incredibly shy in front of the press.
Arthur missed out on seeing Henry slip Alex his hotel room key in Berlin.
He missed seeing Alex welcome Henry to New York, on the steps of the MET and their whispered words to one another in front of the paparazzi.
Arthur wasn't there to see Henry stalk off after an argument at Wimbledon, only for him to drag Alex into a storeroom.
Arthur didn't get to see the bliss on Henry's face when he and Bea returned from the charity gala in LA. The one where Henry had sung Karaoke and given his whole body over to Alex.
He wasn't there for Henry's heartbreak when he fled Texas in tears, after Alex had been keen on confessing his love for Henry.
Arthur missed out on witnessing Alex storm Kensington Palace on the stormy night and argue with Henry.
No one saw the two of them sneak out to the V and A, before sneaking back into the palace, up to Henry's room and spending the night together.
Arthur missed out on seeing Henry shut down in the wake of the email scandal. He missed Philip losing his cool and breaking a priceless Anne Boleyn vase. He missed Bea protecting Henry from their brother. He missed Alex coming in to be by Henry's side.
He missed Bea's ass kicking to his wife, over what had happened to Henry being outed. Arthur wasn't there to see Catherine fight back her own mother not to keep Henry closeted. To let Henry love who he loves.
He missed Henry finding the love of his life and much more, but Shaan was there. Shaan saw it all and he had promised to Arthur on his deathbed that he always would. He had meant it too and it had made Arthur find his peace. Henry was in good hands with Shaan, Arthur trusted him to always do right by Henry.
And Shaan did.