misgivings, Louise with secret elation.
All would be well. When the time came she would be beside her husband to guide him.
She had made an important discovery. She was to have another child.
Uncle Frederick called at the Yellow Palace with his morganatic wife, Countess Danner. Frederick was bluff and hearty and very friendly; Countess Danner was less so. She could scarcely feel pleased that Christian and Louise should be the heirs to the throne when it was not impossible that she might have a child. Large – she and Frederick were both very fat – she sprawled on a sofa and assessed the contents of the room; very clean but also shabby. She looked at the glittering rings on her fingers and then gazed somewhat contemptuously at the bare hands of Louise crossed in her lap. It was clear that she would have liked to snub the whole family but that was more than even she dared to do. Frederick was easy-going but after all these people had become important. This was the future King and Queen while she must remain the morganatic wife to whom many people referred as the mistress.
All the children were brought in to pay their respects to the King. Dagmar stared round-eyed at the enormously fat, rather short man with the hooked nose and beaming smile.
‘What a pleasant family, eh?’ he cried. ‘You’re a lucky man, Christian.’
‘Yes, sir,’ agreed Christian. ‘I know it well.’
‘What I’ve come to say is this. The Yellow Palace should not be your sole residence now you’re heir to the throne. What would you say to Bernstorff Castle as another residence, eh?’
‘Bernstorff!’ cried Christian very loudly so that Louise would know she had not been mistaken. Louise had grown a little deaf in the last years and did not like to admit it. ‘But that would be wonderful.’
‘Why yes,’ agreed Louise. ‘It would be most wonderful to have Bernstorff as an alternative residence.’
‘Well, it’s yours.’
They overwhelmed him with gratitude.
‘Don’t forget,’ he said with a grin. ‘You’re the heir to the throne now.’
It was not to be thought, Louise explained to the children, that now they had two residences they were rich. Far from it. A palace and a castle needed a big outlay to keep them going, and although Papa would one day be the King of Denmark they were still the poor relations. They must continue to live simply, make their own dresses and not expect luxuries.
It didn’t matter. There was so much to make life exciting. Bernstorff was wonderful and it was always an adventure to be there. It was some ten miles from Copenhagen and set in a beautiful park. Here they could ride every day, and Alix loved being in the saddle; they could play all sorts of games and the entire family were very good at inventing them. There were lessons every day; Papa continued with the physical exercises and it was no unusual sight to see him with the children – including Dagmar – turning somersaults on the lawns of Bernstorff.
A new sister had arrived. She was called Thyra and for a while the whole family could talk of nothing else but this wonderful child; then Thyra ceased to be a baby and in due course she was there in the schoolroom and in the gymnasium. And the happy life continued.
There were trips to Rumpenheim to be enjoyed each year and best of all was the reunion with aunts and cousins, and relatives of all kinds.
There were picnics and dancing, riding and endless conversation; there were games of all kinds; and there was Cousin Mary of Cambridge. Each year they met and their friendship had grown. It was true that Mary was ten years older than Alix but as the years passed the difference seemed less.
As they walked through the avenues of trees and sometimes planned the next day’s excursion, Mary would talk about her home in England. She lived in Cambridge Lodge on Kew Green, that part of the world which was made famous by King George III, the mad King of England, and his severe wife Queen
All would be well. When the time came she would be beside her husband to guide him.
She had made an important discovery. She was to have another child.
Uncle Frederick called at the Yellow Palace with his morganatic wife, Countess Danner. Frederick was bluff and hearty and very friendly; Countess Danner was less so. She could scarcely feel pleased that Christian and Louise should be the heirs to the throne when it was not impossible that she might have a child. Large – she and Frederick were both very fat – she sprawled on a sofa and assessed the contents of the room; very clean but also shabby. She looked at the glittering rings on her fingers and then gazed somewhat contemptuously at the bare hands of Louise crossed in her lap. It was clear that she would have liked to snub the whole family but that was more than even she dared to do. Frederick was easy-going but after all these people had become important. This was the future King and Queen while she must remain the morganatic wife to whom many people referred as the mistress.
All the children were brought in to pay their respects to the King. Dagmar stared round-eyed at the enormously fat, rather short man with the hooked nose and beaming smile.
‘What a pleasant family, eh?’ he cried. ‘You’re a lucky man, Christian.’
‘Yes, sir,’ agreed Christian. ‘I know it well.’
‘What I’ve come to say is this. The Yellow Palace should not be your sole residence now you’re heir to the throne. What would you say to Bernstorff Castle as another residence, eh?’
‘Bernstorff!’ cried Christian very loudly so that Louise would know she had not been mistaken. Louise had grown a little deaf in the last years and did not like to admit it. ‘But that would be wonderful.’
‘Why yes,’ agreed Louise. ‘It would be most wonderful to have Bernstorff as an alternative residence.’
‘Well, it’s yours.’
They overwhelmed him with gratitude.
‘Don’t forget,’ he said with a grin. ‘You’re the heir to the throne now.’
It was not to be thought, Louise explained to the children, that now they had two residences they were rich. Far from it. A palace and a castle needed a big outlay to keep them going, and although Papa would one day be the King of Denmark they were still the poor relations. They must continue to live simply, make their own dresses and not expect luxuries.
It didn’t matter. There was so much to make life exciting. Bernstorff was wonderful and it was always an adventure to be there. It was some ten miles from Copenhagen and set in a beautiful park. Here they could ride every day, and Alix loved being in the saddle; they could play all sorts of games and the entire family were very good at inventing them. There were lessons every day; Papa continued with the physical exercises and it was no unusual sight to see him with the children – including Dagmar – turning somersaults on the lawns of Bernstorff.
A new sister had arrived. She was called Thyra and for a while the whole family could talk of nothing else but this wonderful child; then Thyra ceased to be a baby and in due course she was there in the schoolroom and in the gymnasium. And the happy life continued.
There were trips to Rumpenheim to be enjoyed each year and best of all was the reunion with aunts and cousins, and relatives of all kinds.
There were picnics and dancing, riding and endless conversation; there were games of all kinds; and there was Cousin Mary of Cambridge. Each year they met and their friendship had grown. It was true that Mary was ten years older than Alix but as the years passed the difference seemed less.
As they walked through the avenues of trees and sometimes planned the next day’s excursion, Mary would talk about her home in England. She lived in Cambridge Lodge on Kew Green, that part of the world which was made famous by King George III, the mad King of England, and his severe wife Queen
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