The Shadow of Great Britain

Arthur’s brow subtly furrowed when he heard the words ”William of Prussia,” as if he’d heard some over-familiar yet ridiculous old news.

”Which William?” he asked in a voice almost weary: ”You mean the future King of Prussia? If I’m not mistaken, it’s nearly ten years since he got married, and his wife is from Bavaria, Princess Elisabeth Ludovika, isn’t she?”

Flora didn’t answer immediately; she merely raised her teacup and took a sip, seemingly trying to maintain some decorum for the answer.

”Or is it his brother, the other William? But he seems to have married too, hasn’t he? His wife is Augusta of Saxon-Weimar-Eisenach.” Arthur was not particularly enthusiastic about the European Royal Family in the past, but due to Victoria’s marriage, he had crammed various royal family genealogies last year, studying heraldry carefully: ”Except for these two, Prussia has only the third Prince Carl and fourth Prince Albrecht left... Or, did the Duchess set her sights on some William from the branches of the Hohenzollern Family? Which Prince from the Hohenzollern-Hechingen Family?”

”Arthur.” Flora finally spoke, still gentle yet with a hint of restraint: ”For now, this is just a notion of the Duchess, and isn’t the name William not rare in the Hohenzollern Family?”

”So, you’re just using it as an example?”

Flora replied meaningfully: ”Not me, but the Duchess, dissatisfied with Baron Stockma and His Majesty Leopold’s influence recently.”

Only upon hearing this did Arthur finally make sense of the situation.

After all that fuss, she was merely wrestling with her younger brother, intending to use the name of the Prussian Hohenzollern Family to exert pressure on him.

After all, notwithstanding that she was third in the family, she was indeed Leopold’s elder sister, and being scolded by her brother last year had genuinely hurt her.

And Flora’s following words essentially confirmed Arthur’s speculation.

For in the first half of this year, the Duchess of Kent had invited her two elder brothers, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Ferdinand I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, to Kensington Palace as guests.

Yes, she had invited two brothers, leaving out her brother Leopold alone.

Of course, this was possibly because Leopold had just visited England last year and was now constrained by his identity as King of Belgium, making frequent trips to London inconvenient. However, understanding that Leopold hadn’t visited London this year is reasonable, yet the Duchess of Kent not writing to her brother for half a year was purely sulking.

Yet, Leopold’s lack of communication with his sister did not mean he hadn’t been communicating with his niece.

Almost monthly, he sent at least one letter to his niece, and every time Uncle Leopold’s letters arrived in London was the only time Victoria had ventured out this half-year.

Arthur had heard of this habit from Victoria when he was teaching her at Kensington Palace.

She said that personally retrieving letters from the post office was her Uncle’s request, as Leopold had once taught her the risk of mail being read when delivered by others, hence she always personally collected her Uncle’s letters from the post office to prevent them from being read by outsiders.

Victoria’s actions, through the anxious eyes of the Duchess of Kent, could be interpreted differently.

Perhaps she believed her brother Leopold was instigating her daughter to secretly oppose her?

After all, with age, Victoria was visibly becoming more defiant.

Moreover, Leopold’s aversion to Conroy was well-known, coupled with the recent incident where Baron Stockma incited her eldest son, Prince Leiningen, to flee overnight...

Whether from the perspective of consolidating her own position or stabilizing Victoria’s claim to the throne, the Duchess of Kent urgently needed strong support now, even if this support was imagined.

And the Prussian Hohenzollern Family was quite a suitable candidate.

When Flora discussed these matters with him now, it may not genuinely be about persuading Victoria to marry some William from the Hohenzollern Family, perhaps it was more about the Duchess using Arthur as a mouthpiece to inform her brother Leopold she was negotiating with the Prussians.

Sure, she could channel these words through Baron Stockma or Victoria’s letters to Leopold, but neither these two nor Arthur were under her control, and the Duchess herself was too proud to write to her brother, thus she could only hint at Leopold through various means.

But regardless of the truth, the Duchess’ series of bewildering actions somewhat bore the vibe of ”being overly satiated.”

Though Arthur couldn’t entirely rule out that Conroy might be stirring things behind the scenes.

If Conroy was indeed desperate to this extent, Arthur certainly couldn’t afford to relent.

Despite being unclear on the various happenings within Kensington Palace over the past half-year, considering the current situation, supported by Baron Stockma and Lady Leisen, Victoria not only withstood the pressure but even cornered Conroy to the verge of desperation.