Page 101 of The English Queen

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For Immediate Release -

We are most excited to announce the birth of our fourth grandchild, Lady Bernadina Vanora Silvia Sanchez Ferguson, who was born to the Countess and Earl of Lauderdale early this evening. She will be styled as Lady Bernadina Sanchez Ferguson. Her middle names reflect the Princess of Wales, her mother’s dearest friend, and the baby’s paternal grandmother. In typical Mexican fashion, she carries two last names—her father’s first and then her mother’s.

Lady Bernadina was born at home unexpectedly, delivered by members of the emergency services and Doctor Ravi Sharma, the Countess’s consultant overseeing her care. Also in attendance at the birth were the Earl and the Duchess. The child is the third for Lady Mairead and the first for Lord Bruno. The Countess has two children from a previous marriage—Master Winston Stephens, 12, and Master Gerry Stephens, 11. Both are proud big brothers to their new sister.

We could not be happier to welcome another grandchild into our family and request privacy for the family as their bond with their new child.

-The Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale

Broken Toy

Being a pregnant queen wasn’t easy. Early pregnancy was full of aches, pains, and nausea which were all in full-swing by week five. Beth’s largest miscalculation was discounting how knackered growing a human made her. Keeping up with her schedule was difficult when she felt well-rested. Suddenly, it was impossible. Then, there were her titres. Her pregnancy changed how her hormones were metabolised. The doctors expected this and acted to increase her medication, but the process was slow and laborious.

Early in her pregnancy, Beth and Louis went to Luxembourg to visit the royal family and tour a new arts centre. This was a high-profile engagement. The previous Grand-Duchess of Luxembourg was late King Albert’s sister, making the Grand-Duke of Luxembourg Louis’s first cousin. Louis considered his cousin, Daniel, a close personal friend. Beth did not get on quite as well with his wife, but she found her agreeable enough. The age difference between the Queen and Grand Duchess was palpable, making it unlikely they would ever be besties.

The four were on the tour together. It was to be a symbolic example of the continued partnership between Luxembourg and Belgium’s creative training programs for young artists. Beth suddenly felt her body shutting down. Before she could retreat, she lost consciousness with no fanfare. It never happened to her. As she came to, Louis knelt beside her, she realised what happened.

“How long was it?” she asked in Dutch, thinking the press wouldn’t understand.

“A few minutes,” Louis answered, looking terribly out-of-sorts. “Did you know?”

“No. It came out of nowhere. I felt sick and then, boom.”

“Okay, well, let’s sit you up,” Louis said. “When you can.”

Beth pulled herself up with his help. She stared at Daniel and Brigitte as they looked on in horror. Louis propped her head with his suit jacket. Beth handed it back and he straightened himself, standing. She was left on the cold marble floor for a moment before rising to her feet. They now had to go to hospital. Beth requested no fuss, but the press was down for a chase.

While Beth never watched herself have a seizure, she now saw it in full colour. The press snapped away at the four of them while a state TV camera rolled. No one told them to stop filming while everyone took care of Beth’s health. Usually, she would have time to step away. However, this time the media were poised to capitalise on Beth’s pain. By the time she arrived at hospital, her parents rang her. The video went viral.

Beth watched her seizure in horror. As she flinched and writhed, she understood why it was frightening. Then, the video ended with Louis helping her to her feet. She smoothed out her skirt and left to climb into a car which rushed her to the hospital. It was alarming how fast word reached every inch of Europe and soon fanned across the globe.

Beth was suddenly sobbing. “I don’t want to be the broken toy. I don’t want people to think I am beyond repair. I hate that it is this which now defines me. I’m that one who can’t handle the demands of the job. I’m defective. I hate this.”

“You aren’t broken or defective,” Louis assured.

The doctors released Beth after speaking with her neurologist, but suggested she rest for twenty-four hours. Louis called off their engagements and whisked her back to their Chateau in Wallonia. Beth took to bed, upset and concerned. She was discouraged from her planned travel home for the long weekend to watch her brother be announced as King. She called to apologise, and he was overwhelmingly concerned about her health rather than worried about her attendance. She and Louis already penned a statement to congratulate Robert on his new job and to highlight the work of her dear mother as monarch.

The press haunted Beth’s dreams. She was supposed to rest but couldn’t. She doom scrolled. She worried about what they said. They were concerned about her fitness for the position. They were worried about her health—supposedly. Instead, it was only pearl-clutching. It was ableist. Beth worried Louis regretted his decision to hitch himself to her. Moreover, she wondered if he was about to regret having a baby with her.

“You need to eat, maanstraal. The baby needs you to eat. You need to eat to keep your strength up, mijn liefstre.”

Louis attempted to coerce Beth to eat anything.

“I can’t, Louis.”

Louis climbed into bed next to her. “What is wrong? You have been unusually down. You never take things this hard. Is it physical or is it something else?”

Beth burst into tears at his empathetic face.

“Baby, we have to talk. I need you to tell me what is going on.”

“I love you, but I know I’m not good for you.”

“Oh, how? I am so happy with you now. I am concerned for your health, but I love you so much. I wouldn’t change this. I am so happy to have you here.”

“I just… people are saying dreadful things about my ability to do this. And if they knew why—”

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