demanded. She wants to be a queen in name only. Xander, God bless him, is so blinded by love, he’s trying to sort it out—you know, find a way for her to keep her work—but it’s selfish. If you marry into the monarchy, you take on your role. As Clementine Jones will when she marries Prince Christian. Poppy doesn’t want that. She doesn’t care. She is determined to have her cake and eat it, too. And peddle her decorating all over YouTube and Connectivity, no doubt with a crown slapped all over the adverts.”
A friend close to Prince Alexander agreed.
“It’s sad, really. Xander has worked so hard to build his new reputation as someone ready to roll up his sleeves and work hard for the throne, but he’s willing to throw it all away for a self-promoting biscuit artist. How can anyone take him seriously if he’s trying to pave the way for his potential future wife to bake cakes in the palace? The public doesn’t want a biscuit baker. They want a queen who will serve the Commonwealth!”
Richard Thompson, the author of The Chadwicks—A History of the Modern Monarchy, says: “She’s not like Lady India Rothschild, his last girlfriend. Now, that was the woman his family truly wanted him to marry. She was poised and polished, and a perfect match for Alexander in every way. She would have upheld the traditions and values that King Arthur and Queen Antonia have built. Their legacy would be safe with Lady India. She would never try to turn the kitchens of Buckingham Palace into her baking studio. What’s next? Would Poppy try to sell muffins in the palace gift shop? It’s madness!”
“Honestly, it’s embarrassing to watch the future king run around and try to redefine royal roles so his girlfriend will be happy,” Edwina Lewiston, a royal historian, declares. “All of his friends hope the romance will run its course soon before he further humiliates himself.”
So will Poppy get her wish and get the prince, the palace, and shameless self-promotions her biscuits? Or will this romance go the way of souffle that has fallen before it’s time?
Stay tuned to Dishing Weekly for all the latest details!
I’m going to be sick. I drop the phone on my lap. I can’t get any air, and my chest closes so tight, I’m gasping for breath.
My greatest fear has come true.
I have humiliated him.
I’m shaking all over. Bella is talking to me, but I don’t hear her. My phone keeps going off, as now the world knows I’m dating a prince. The future king of the United Kingdom. One of the most sought-after men in the world.
A man I will ruin if I stay with him.
While parts of the article consisted of lies, there were pieces of truth in it. But how did anyone know about my desire to keep a part of me, if I were to become royal? I trust the squad, but did a staff member overhear them talking? Is Xander’s cottage bugged? Was his social media hacked?
I despair as I close my eyes. It doesn’t matter how the information came out. I think of what the royal watchers said about me. These are some of the first opinions that have been formed, and in their expert eyes, I’m going to drag Xander down if we go forward.
I think of how hard he has struggled to find his voice. To finally come to terms with the future he has no choice but to accept unless he were to turn his back on his history completely.
On his family.
If I stay with Xander, his reputation will be destroyed. Nobody will take him seriously. There will be an outcry against his ideas to modernise the role of a queen. He will be treated with suspicion. They’ll say he’s destroying everything the public holds dear for me. That I’m trying to have it both ways, by living in a palace and pursuing something I love.
For those who already hate the monarchy, like my coworker Ian, it will be a great excuse to further the case for abolishing it. It’s another point in their argument that it’s outdated and stupid.
And, of course, Xander will be brutally mocked and ridiculed. His motivations questioned. This was only the first article. What will the talking heads say on breakfast TV tomorrow? On the radio? How many royal experts will share their opinions that I’m dragging the monarchy down and into the mud? What are people even saying on social media now?