Victoria to Vikings - The Circle of Blood by Trisha Hughes - Book Tour
Victoria
to Vikings – The Circle of Blood
At the
heart of our present are the stories of our past. In ages gone by, many
monarchs died while they were still young. There were battles and diseases and
many were simply overthrown. But the days of regal engagement in hand-to-hand
combat are over and the line of succession has a good ageing prospect these
days.
One of
the most famous monarchs in history is Queen Victoria and her passing brought
an end to an amazing era. She could be demanding, rude and she frequently fled
public duties for the solitude of Scotland. But she loved fiercely, and her
people loved her fiercely in return. Under her reign, England achieved
greatness it had never known before.
‘VICTORIA
TO VIKINGS – The Circle of Blood’ spans from this great queen to another one:
Queen Elizabeth II. Ours is the era of the longest living monarch in history
and her ancestry is incredible. But walking two steps behind her, stalwart and
loyal, stands Prince Philip, the strawberry to her champagne, and with him
comes his own amazing Viking heritage.
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Guest Post
THE
ABDICATION OF EDWARD VIII
Early morning fog lay heavily over the
Thames on Friday 11th December 1936. The river wound sluggishly through
London as dark clouds collected on the horizon, turning it dishwater grey in
the gathering gloom. Slowly, the fog lifted revealing Fort Belvedere in Windsor
Great Park as a rambling turreted lodge. For 40-year-old Albert, younger
brother of David, King Edward VIII, it was the most distressing day of his
life.
For days before, Albert had not been
welcome at Fort Belvedere, even though he had tried repeatedly to talk to his
brother. When he arrived, the press were already camped outside and a myriad of
flashbulbs went off simultaneously to catch a glimpse of the distraught prince
for a worldwide audience. Everyone knew that the British monarchy was being
shaken to its very core.
Once inside the gates, the uproar ceased
as Albert was led through a hallway to where his brother waited for him. A few
officials whispered quietly in respectful conversations but as Albert entered,
they ceased talking. The unseen presence in the room was Wallis. Albert had no
doubt that it was she who was the
catalyst that was bringing the four brothers together that morning. She was the presence who had brought
David to this point to sign away his birth right.
On a writing table, small elegant crystal
glasses and a jug of water waited on a gleaming silver tray. Beside them sat
copies of the Instrument of Abdication ready for David to sign. Each copy needed to be signed and witnessed
by each of his brothers as the kingdom and empire was transferred from one
brother to the other. When that was done, Albert would be the next king of
England as King George VI. All that was needed was David’s signature to make it
official.
Albert was in shock. Nothing had prepared
him for this calamity. Although painfully aware of his own weakness, he fully
understood his older brother’s failings. The passion that burnt in Albert’s
chest had never burnt brightly in David’s. There were too many rules and too
many regulations for him. It had been less than a year since their father had
died and Albert shared his mother’s bewilderment that the monarchy was being
plunged headlong into this crisis. His mother and father had brought all boys
up to believe that the monarchy was “something
sacred” and every monarch had the responsibility and obligation to put the
country before anything else. But here was David, abdicating because his wish
was to marry a divorced woman already in possession of “two husbands living”. The newspapers had exploded with the news
and the scandal had been splashed over the headlines in every paper, both in
Britain, in Europe and throughout the Commonwealth. Suddenly, the monarchy was
tainted, perhaps destroyed. But in that room on that morning, there was no hint
that David was bending under the strain.
Albert still couldn’t believe what was
happening. In his eyes, his brother had qualities that he would never have.
Just one week before, David was the life and soul of a dinner party, while
Albert was happy to stay quiet, dull and reserved. As always, David had dazzled
everyone as he talked about labour problems in South Wales. Albert never
imagined he would be able to match his legendary older brother, much less
replace him. For most of his life, he had never lived up to anyone’s
expectations of being a royal.
Albert had seen the danger in the
approaching months as David paraded Wallis on his arm around London. He knew
that behind the figure-hugging satins was a determined, strong woman with an
incredible belief in herself. Life out of the limelight was not what she had in
mind. She wanted to be royal and acknowledged in every bow and every curtsey.
At the very least, she wanted her royal sisters-in-law to show her some sort of respect. She was the one
who had captured David’s heart and she wanted everything that he had promised
her. And she was prepared to fight for it.
To Albert, the storm his brother created
was excruciating. David was known the world over while Albert had managed to
stay quietly in the background. It meant that when David stepped down, pictures
had to be hastily found of Albert and the newspapers played the family card.
Pictures of the awkward Duke, his wife Elizabeth and his pretty daughters,
10-year-old Elizabeth and 6-year-old Margaret were discovered and overnight the
family became public property. Pictures surfaced of his wife on a blanket with
her Welsh corgi, looking motherly, as she played in the garden with the
dark-haired princesses in identical dresses. She looked plain, not elegant like
Wallis, but to Albert she was utterly wonderful. Only the day before, crowds
had gathered outside their Piccadilly home, hoping for a glimpse of their new
king, and he had felt like he was on the edge of an abyss.
Now the dreaded event was becoming a
reality. The time had come for David to sign the pages that would change
history. Albert watched as David moved slowly towards the writing table and the
room fell silent as he picked up the pen. All three brothers simultaneously
held their breath, hardly daring to move, as David’s pen poised over the page.
Then without any more delay, the pen scratched over the page and it was done.
In that one moment, the world tilted and Albert and David swapped places in
history.
As soon as David put the pen down, he
glanced at Albert as if trying to see inside his heart. To anyone watching the
pair, David looked like a swimmer coming up for air while Albert stared in
dread at his brother. Without another word spoken, the four brothers shook
hands and parted.
Author
Bio –
I am an
Australian author born in Brisbane, Queensland now living in Hong Kong. My writing career began 18 years ago with my
best-selling autobiography ‘Daughters of
Nazareth’ published by Pan MacMillan Australia. Over the past 8 years, I have been
researching and writing a historical fiction trilogy based on British Monarchy
throughout the ages beginning with the Vikings. Originally meant to be a single
book, as facts accumulated the material gradually filled three books. I call
this series my V2V trilogy.
Social
Media Links –
Facebook: Trisha Hughes
Author
Twitter: @TrishaHughes_
Pinterest: Trisha Hughes
Linkedin: Trisha Hughes
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