Flowers, Swords and France

"You can think of it that way."

After hearing the prince's profound words, Charles also abandoned his original relaxed state at this moment, and his whole spirit became tense again.

He once again confirmed the fact that the people he had traveled thousands of miles to meet were indeed not an ordinary couple or ordinary people, but the supreme ruler of this world empire. Although in a more meaningful sense It's nominal.

"I am very grateful for your kindness to us and to France." After a moment of silence, he bowed slightly to the prince and said no more.

He could see that the prince was a calm and pragmatic person, at least much more rigorous than his wife, so he took it seriously. He said no more, but quietly thought about how to deal with this person next.

Unlike the silence between the two men walking side by side, the atmosphere between the two women on the other side was much more harmonious.

The Queen asked Charlotte to come close to her, and then she introduced the places she passed along the way in the same cheerful tone she had just used. She also interspersed some interesting things she had experienced here when she was a child for Charlotte to listen to. He was very fascinated and asked the Queen some questions from time to time, which made the Queen laugh from time to time.

The maids next to them followed them without saying a word, and their serious expressions reminded people that this was the palace after all, and the treatment Charlotte received was extraordinary.

However, Charlotte continued to chat and laugh with the Queen as usual, which made these maids secretly admire her.

Charlotte did not feel the honor bestowed upon her by the Queen. Not to mention trembling and fearful. In her heart, the queen is not a noble monarch who is a head above her. She is just a very kind lady who is a few years older, so she seems particularly relaxed and at ease.

but. To be honest, she felt that Buckingham Palace was lackluster, so she just dealt with the Queen and said some random compliments.

The two people chatting and laughing so easily made Charles feel a lot more relaxed - at least, it seemed that the Queen had a very good impression of Charlotte, and she might be able to earn a few impression points for her diplomatic career.

"You must be familiar with the furnishings here, right?" After chatting for a while, the Queen suddenly pointed to the Baroque-style marble carvings in the corridor and said to Charlotte with a smile. "Many of the furnishings here were decorated by Charles II. And did you know that Charles II was very fond of the French, so he used a lot of things that were popular in France at the time..."

Charles II was the third king of the Stuart dynasty of England and the eldest son of Charles I. After Charles I was defeated in the civil war and was executed by Parliament in 1649, he was unwilling to lose the throne and fled to the European continent to seek various supports.

The reigning French monarch at that time, Louis XIV, gave him courtesy. I also gave him a lot of verbal support, but no real support. He also married his sister Henrietta to Louis XIV's younger brother, Philippe, Duke of Orleans.

In 1660, the British were worried that Britain would fall back into civil war after Cromwell's death. He was welcomed back to the country and made king. During his reign, Britain and France had better relations, and they also formed an alliance against the Netherlands.

However, after his death. Britain soon became at odds with France, and fought against France with the Netherlands and the Habsburg Alliance in the War of the Grand Alliance that began in 1688 - of course. In this cordial and friendly atmosphere, no one would think of raising this matter.

"Yes. It is indeed familiar. When I visited Versailles, I saw a lot of such furnishings." Charlotte nodded, and then sighed as if she was aggrieved, "It's a pity that I can't see it anymore in France." There are no longer such beautiful furnishings, and we French people have abandoned it entirely... What a glorious era this was, but we can only see their relics in various palaces and castles... What a pity. "

"If you wish, you can put these things in your home?" The Queen replied with a smile, "I heard that M. Bonaparte gave you a palace...don't you use your own hobbies to Has it been completely remodeled?"

Charlotte was immediately speechless when she pointed out something like this.

She didn't understand why the queen said that and what she wanted to express from it, but one thing was very obvious - the queen seemed to know their family well.

Thinking of calling his wife to the palace specifically, this should be considered a rare honor...

"As you know, my husband bought us a mansion, and I did redecorate it to my own taste, but I was always unhappy because the cultural atmosphere of that era was gone. Save, today’s designers will only talk about art, and then change everything to be stingy and tacky..." Thinking of this, Charlotte sighed with dissatisfaction, "Hey, the French will one day You know, what a glorious era they abandoned!”

Because the Queen's tone was a little strange, Charlotte couldn't help but become a little cautious, trying to get rid of the negative impression of 'robbing the property of the Royal Family of Orleans' in front of the Queen - but judging from the performance of the Queen and his wife, They didn't feel any dissatisfaction with the couple because of this incident.

"History always wants to play jokes on us, so it looks lovely and charming, doesn't it?" The queen still smiled, "Take this poor Charles II for example, it's a good thing he has no offspring, otherwise I wouldn't be standing in front of you today..."

Poor Charles II is indeed a bit regrettable. This romantic king has many mistresses and more than 10 illegitimate children, but because the queen is infertile, there is no legitimate offspring to inherit the throne, so after his death, his younger brother James inherited the throne. And it was this King James II who completely ruined the Stuart dynasty and gave the Hanoverian royal family the opportunity to inherit the British throne.

However, when Charlotte was lamenting the old era, she suddenly said this. Charlotte couldn't understand whether the queen was careless and unintentional, or hinting that she did not reject the new era.

Does the queen look much smarter than she seems? Charlotte thought.

"Oh, I forgot that you are from France, a country that likes to be grand in everything. Of course you will like the style of the old times! Mrs. Treville... Oh, I'll call you Charlotte?" After strolling around for a while, the Queen suddenly looked at Charlotte with interest, "I think you won't object to me calling you that, right?"

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Charlotte, who was awakened, quickly replied, "It is really my unspeakable honor to be called by you like that!"

Of course, even if it is just for etiquette, she will never call Her Majesty the Queen by her name.

"Okay, Charlotte..." The Queen waved her hand slightly, indicating that she didn't need to be so nervous, "You are 24 this year, right? It's still quite late to get married."

Marrying at the age of 24 is definitely early marriage in the West in the 21st century, but it was already very late in the 19th century. Her Majesty herself got married when she was less than 21 years old, and gave birth to her daughter, Princess Victoria, less than a year later.

This is not because of someone's fault! It took so long!

Thinking of this, Charlotte frowned slightly, and then glanced at Charles. "Well... we actually agreed to get married a long time ago, but it was delayed because of some things."

The original text can be read in the Six # 9 @Book/Bar!

Seeing Charlotte's dissatisfaction, the Queen seemed to understand something, and then smiled even more happily.

"Sometimes, I really think we are quite similar?" The Queen suddenly leaned slightly to the side, narrowing the distance between the two people a little, and then lowered her voice, "I married my cousin, and you married your cousin..."

Speaking of this, it is indeed quite similar. The Queen and the Prince are cousins, while Charles and Charlotte are cousins, and the age difference between the two couples is a few months.

"But you already have several children, but I don't." Charlotte also replied in a low voice. "So I really envy you..."

However, when Charlotte was this age, the Queen already had almost three children, but Charlotte had none. Although she knew she still had plenty of time, Charlotte was still a little anxious.

This unpretentious envy made the Queen happier than any compliment.

"It's okay, you're still young, aren't you? You'll have children eventually. I've blessed you on behalf of God, and you'll have children soon, as the fruit of your love, to inherit everything you have." The Queen still smiled. "My blessing is more useful than the Pope's - I'm the head of the Church of England, and my country is larger than the Roman Church, and my subjects are more numerous. Am I not closer to God than that Pope?"

"Then I'll take your good words, Your Majesty!" Although she didn't think the Queen's blessing was much better than the Pope's, Charlotte was still happy in the face of goodwill.

As for the Queen's disrespect for the Church, as a French noble, she didn't think much of the Church and the Pope anyway.

Seeing the two talking and laughing, the two men behind them slowly melted the gap between them.

"We are brothers in name, but we have to do the work of the elder brother..." The prince suddenly sighed, "I think you should understand my feelings, Mr. Treville."

"Well, what do you mean?"

"Son-in-law who marries into the family is always annoying, sir. What my wife can do with confidence, I can't even do secretly." Prince Albert sighed, and then as if self-deprecating, "No matter how hard I try to serve this country, the people of this country still don't like me, and think that I try my best to come to Britain to take advantage of them..." (To be continued..)