Chapter 14: Another Princess

Carrie and I met with Martin Hart for an hour. He was cordial and seemed to know his stuff. He was impressed with the princess, and was certain that he and his contacts in the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service could make everything go smoothly for us, especially since the princess was so well known, and that her story had been told time and again on the air since the interview she’d done with Marjorie.

The next series of events in our lives dealt with Carrie’s family.

Carrie had talked to her mother and occasionally her father since the episode at the cabin where we’d officially been discovered. She explained where she was living, that she had a boyfriend (me) who she was madly in love with (sigh), and that she also had a growing number of close friends (Marjorie!) that made her life a joy.

Carrie weathered the storm of leaving the family the way she had, and then of renouncing the life of the princess on television for which she had been destined. When her interview by Marjorie had appeared on British television, there had been an uproar in the British press.

For a bit, Carrie was not a popular person. The Brits love their monarchy, and didn’t want to see anything upset that balance. Soon, however, celebrity after celebrity came out on her side, often telling their own stories and citing their own wishes to live a life unexamined by the media and without the anxiety and pressure of fame.

Carrie’s own family mounted a campaign to woo her back to Britain and to the monarchy. Almost every relative of Carrie’s out to third cousins called and urged her to reconsider her decision. Each had their own ‘persuasive’ argument about why she should return to her old life. All were unsuccessful.

Carrie did note that one obvious omission from the call list had been her younger sister Emma. In a couple of text messages, Carrie happily reported that Emma fully backed what Carrie had done and wished that she was brave enough to do the same.

I guessed that the shit would hit the fan when she told her parents and the media about our engagement. For the first couple of weeks after I gave the girls their engagement rings, we didn’t make a big deal of our new status. Also, Carrie had wisely had not talked about Marjorie except in the context of a close friendship. I had not talked to any of her family, so all they knew of me was through their daughter’s eyes.

So, one Saturday morning about three weeks after we’d gotten engaged, Carrie announced, “I guess I’d better tell Mum what’s going on with us.” I could tell she’d been steeling herself for the call and the fallout.

Marjorie and I listened with an attentive ear, as she placed the call.

After the pleasantries and a chronological update on what she’d been up to at the TV station, Carrie said, “Mum, I have something important to tell you.”

I could almost feel her mother’s back stiffening three thousand miles away. Then I had the daunting realization that ‘Mum’ was the Queen, and that Carrie’s father was the King.

“Mummy, James proposed to me and I accepted his offer. We are now officially engaged. I have a beautiful diamond ring on my left finger. We’re going public with all this on Monday. I’ll send you a picture of the ring and of us.”

Carrie was silent for a long time on the phone; an indication that she was being talked to from the other end. Occasionally, she’d mutter a one-word answer of yes or no, or just hmmmm to show she was still on the line.

I tried to gage whether she was getting upset; however, I didn’t sense anything in that direction. Carrie looked serious, but perhaps for relief from the lecture she was getting, looked over at me and blew me a kiss. I put my hand on my heart and returned the favor. I used both hands to make the shape of a larger heart for her.

Marjorie went over and kissed Carrie on the cheek, and stroked her arm. The action was pure love and affection, and demonstrated our obvious support for her.

Finally, Carrie said, “Well, have Emma come over whenever she wants. We have a guest room, and of course she can stay with us. I’ll even be able to spend some time with her; we can have some fun seeing the sights. Washington is such a pretty city.”