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aimeedaisies · 5 months

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On the road with the inexhaustible Princess Anne

8am 800 miles travelled, 12pm 650 hands shaken, 9pm 0 cups of tea drunk

By Hannah Furness, 9 May 2024

The Princess Royal is standing up a 42ft tower, looking out to sea in a north-westerly force six wind. Her hair, that neat up-do that has barely changed in 40 years, does not move, even as a sudden gust blows a seagull past her eyeline.

‘It’s quite exposed,’ she says, with understatement, then gets on with peppering her hosts with questions about tides, volunteer timetables and what precisely the diggers on the beach below are doing.

Outside the watchtower, her arrival in the Lancashire seaside town of Fleetwood has caused the smallest of stirs. A handful of curious dog-walkers gaze at her, camera-phones aloft, and she offers them a brief wave.

Inside, the volunteers of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) could not be more excited for a visit from their royal patron. The chairman, Stephen Hand, launches into a stream of compliments about the Princess’s work. ‘If I haven’t made the point clearly enough,’ he finishes, ‘we love her.’

This is her first engagement in a day that will see her travel 421 miles from Gloucestershire to Lancashire, then Merseyside, and back again via helicopter and Range Rover. It is one of 10 engagements in this typical week; she will complete about 450 this year.

‘She’s a dynamo,’ says the CEO of The Pony Club. ‘The best president imaginable,’ agrees the chairman of Carers Trust. ‘She should be queen,’ offers a member of the public. This is said at least once a day.

Not for nothing does she have the reputation as Britain’s hardest-working royal. In numbers of engagements, she and the King vie for the top spot each year. While he and the Princess of Wales have taken time off from public engagements to undergo cancer treatment, the 73-year-old Princess Royal has ploughed on with her head down, her work the definition of ‘unsung’.

Most of the time, that is how she likes it. She has eschewed the ‘rota’ system of journalists, photographers and broadcasters who cover her family’s outings. ‘I don’t go for their benefit,’ she once said of the press. ‘I go for the people who ask me.’

This week, in the middle of April, she has made an exception to grant vanishingly rare permission for The Telegraph to follow her on the road, for a snapshot of her work.

At no small effort from her close-knit team, which has accommodated me in its nomadic office, I have been allowed to document her encounters with the approximately 650 people she has met, the many charities and organisations she has put in the spotlight – and report from inside a Windsor Castle investiture for the first time.

I’ve spent seven years writing about the Royal family, travelling across the UK and the world to watch them at work, but Princess Anne’s no-fuss, no-frills team is unlike anything I’ve seen up close before. Professional and precise, she barely stops – every hand is shaken and every minute counts.

The Plan

The Princess’s diary is set months in advance. Twice a year, her office sends an invitation to 300-plus organisations she is affiliated with, asking for their requests for her time. Typically she’ll receive 1,000 to 1,200 requests a year – some suggest a visit, others ask her to write forewords to books, or ask for meetings. All are compiled into a database, arranged by date and region, and printed neatly in a book for the Princess to study. ‘[She] goes through everything required and decides what she’s going to do and when,’ says a member of the team. A planning meetings follows – and ‘once [the programme is] set, she sticks to it’.

Across the year, the Princess Royal travels the width and breadth of the United Kingdom

Her staff then go through it again to add last-minute audiences into the gaps. ‘The week is there to be filled,’ one long-serving team member tells me. ‘If she’s got a free hour and a half in London, we’ll look again to see what else to add.’

The Princess’s team is small but mighty. There’s her private secretary, Colonel John Boyd, who is fresh from 32 years in the British Army; her deputy private secretary, Commander Anne Sullivan (the double Annes occasionally cause confusion for outsiders); as well as five programme managers tasked with ironing out the exact schedule, right down to how long the Princess can spend talking to each person.

They are aided by 13 ladies-in-waiting, spread geographically, who accompany her out and about. Some of her first, who began working with her in the early 1970s, have only just retired.

‘You never quite know what she’s going to say yes to, but it’s never an outright no,’ says the long-serving team member of her schedule. ‘She’s probably been to more industrial estates than any other royal.

Monday - Estimated miles travelled - 0 (worked from home)

Hands shaken - 8

‘It’s a balance of what do the organisations want, what could she hear or learn or teach here? Every day is a school day where the Princess is concerned.’

At Gatcombe Park, her Gloucestershire home, the Princess’s assistant, Donna, welcomes a small group of eight smartly dressed representatives from the Royal Dairy Innovation Award with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

The Princess joins them once they are settled, in a homely barn conversion with framed seascapes on the walls. She reassures them that it’s ‘not going to be one of those formal events’, then starts grilling them about the Nova Scotian dairy industry and on-shore salmon farming.

Ash Amirahmadi OBE, winner of the prestigious Princess Royal Award, is there to officially collect the certificate honouring his leadership in the dairy industry. Afterwards, when the private engagement has sunk in, he tells me: ‘We had practised our formalities but she immediately put us at ease.

‘I was thinking, “How does she know this stuff, and how does she remember?” I come across eminent scientists and business leaders and not many have a better understanding of the food system than the Princess Royal.’

Ash Amirahmadi, the winner of this year’s Princess Royal Award, pictured with the Princess Royal

Before he leaves, the Princess tells him that she’ll be in touch to sign him up to deliver a speech at a conference next year.

She fits in a horse ride, dodging the worst of the day’s rain and hail she feared could be ‘painful’.

‘There’s no such thing as bad weather,’ she says later, with satisfaction. ‘Only inappropriate clothing.’

Tuesday - Estimated miles travelled - 421

Hands shaken - 200+

In Fleetwood, the wind whips across the sandy beach and the Princess Royal doesn’t flinch. She is there with a handful of volunteers from the NCI, celebrating its 30th anniversary. With an average age of 69, these are the local ‘eyes and ears’ that saved 22 people from trouble in the water last year by raising the alarm.

After a turn with the telescope, the Princess – wearing a navy-blue coat, colourful silk scarf and (the now famous) wraparound sunglasses – reaches the top of the Rossall Point Observation Tower, which looks out over Morecambe Bay, where conditions can be treacherous.

The Princess Royal inspects the Rossall Point Observation Tower

‘It really is extraordinary,’ she says. ‘Classically people say the sea is never the same, but in a place like this it really never is the same. The seasons, the bird life, the activity…’ Everyone nods.

This visit, it emerges, has little in common with most royal engagements, where guests of honour hear how things work. This has more of an air of a diligent business manager checking in on a regional branch. Nothing needs explaining to the Princess, a keen sailor and lighthouse aficionado, and she wins the approval of what could be a tough crowd with on-the-money observations about tide timings.

She speaks sparingly. Questions and remarks are formed from one or two words: ‘Since?’ ‘Previous experience?’ ‘Quite handy.’ She has a reply to everything, having travelled every inch of Britain in the line of duty.

John Bradford, who at 77 is the longest-serving volunteer, waits on the tower to shake her hand, but he is accidentally missed. The Princess is swept on to the next part of the engagement, presenting long-service awards and meeting 25 more volunteers in the nearby Marine Hall, accompanied by her new lady-in-waiting Dolly Maude, a midwife and friend of Zara Tindall who wastes no time in charming the room.

When her team discover someone has been missed out, they tell the Princess directly and Mr Bradford is whisked into the very last line-up.

‘I’m very glad you made it in,’ the Princess tells him, spending an extra few moments in conversation.

Then, plaque and certificate duties completed, she disappears to a back room where sandwiches are on offer. Ten minutes later, she’s back on the road.

It is a cliché that the Royal family thinks the world smells of fresh paint. The ground floor of the watchtower was drained of flood water shortly before the Princess’s arrival and the corridors at her next engagement in Merseyside have the distinct smell of bleach – but at the Wrea Green Equitation Centre in Preston, it is quite the opposite: a muck heap has been left intact. The hosts deem futile any attempts to fool the Princess into thinking it didn’t exist. She is, after all, a life-long equestrian.

She arrives on time; I do not. Without a helicopter, it’s impossible to keep up with her formidable itinerary.

Skipping the champagne reception and tea party, put on to celebrate 25 years of the Pony Club Centre Membership Scheme, the Princess instead strides around the yard watching the young riders and their parade of ponies.

She tours the stables and classrooms, chatting to children about horse massage and how side-saddle is still relevant for people with prosthetic legs, then she holds a presentation of commemorative plaques to 20 proprietors, each of whom has a different chat with her.

When a ‘naughty pony’ in a stable behind her unties itself to join the royal party, she is entirely unfazed.

‘She didn’t mind a bit,’ says Marcus Capel, CEO of The Pony Club – she simply carries on talking while stroking the pony’s ears.

The third engagement of the day: Sefton Carers Centre at Waterloo in Merseyside, which supports unpaid carers. Some of those assembled remember the Princess from 30 years ago, when she opened the centre. She is back to celebrate the anniversary.

Wearing a red jacket that looks strikingly similar to the one she was wearing back then (only the length and buttons are different), she hails a stream of people with a cheerful, ‘I haven’t seen you for a while,’ and, ‘This has changed a bit.’

The Princess Royal visits the Sefton Carers Centre to celebrate its 30th anniversary

Everyone is assembled in horseshoe shapes – her preferred arrangement for talking – and she ploughs on with gloved handshakes, getting through five large rooms of people. Among them are two men in their 90s who care for their wives with dementia, an eight-year-old girl in a wheelchair dressed as a princess, and teenagers who look after siblings and parents before and after school.

Some are nervous; a few curtseys are a little shaky. The Princess has a neat trick: her questions get more specific – no opinions are required, just short, easy-to-recall facts, to help ease them in. ‘Where do you live?’ ‘How long have you been coming here?’

Her own opinions are brief, delivered as common sense. On hearing that GPs don’t see the same families from cradle to grave any more, so find it difficult to support carers, the Princess says: ‘That’s part of the way people live their lives.’

She spends a few extra moments talking to the building’s cleaner, loudly declaring her ‘very important’. When one woman jokes about her long service, adding, ‘I think my face shows it,’ the Princess does an exaggerated double-take and says, ‘I’m sure that’s not true.’

She has another habit, shared with King Charles, of ending engagements by turning back for one last comment, leaving the impression she wishes she could stay.

The Princess Royal cuts the cake, on the promise it will be eaten

Downstairs, she unveils her third plaque of the day. There is a celebratory cake on the table in front of her and an expectant crowd waiting. She takes control of the moment. ‘You want the cake cut? On the basis that you’re going to eat it? Otherwise it’s just vandalism.’

Before she leaves, she is presented with a large rose planter. ‘Oh my word, a monster!’ she marvels. ‘What a lovely thing… I hope the helicopter can cope.’

By the end of the day, in small heels and with the briefest of breaks, she has spoken to at least 250 people. If she’s flagging, it doesn’t show.

Wednesday - Minutes of continuous conversation - 180

Hands shaken - 140

At 11 o’clock in Windsor Castle, Yeomen of the Guard stand on duty in the Grand Reception Room, as the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra plays quietly. The Princess Royal moves into position, wearing naval uniform, and the orchestra strikes up with God Save the King. Standing on a dais, a red velvet stool placed in front of her, she is ready for a full day of investitures.

The Princess is one of only three members of the family who perform them and while the King and the Prince of Wales have been needed at home, she has been carrying the load.

Some 140 people will receive an honour today, among them Paul Hollywood, who is being made an MBE. The pair discussed the smells of baking, he says later. ‘She loves Chelsea buns. I did promise her some so I’m not quite sure how I’m going to sort it out.’

The Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood was among those honoured by the Princess Royal

Diana Parkes, a domestic violence campaigner who has worked with Queen Camilla in memory of her daughter, is made a CBE. She finds immediate common ground with the Princess via a family member who sold her horses.

One of the large team that makes the investitures happen tells me quietly that ‘you can always tell when it’s HRH’ on duty, because the day takes longer.

In theory, the Princess has her deputy private secretary on hand to jog her memory with details about people as the Lord Chamberlain announces each name. In practice, says a long-serving aide, she sends investiture notes back with her own comments about where she has met people before and which of her patronages they have links to. This is the case ‘95 per cent of the time’.

‘She’s got such a great brain. We often hear, “You must have briefed her really well,” but no, it’s all her. She makes it very easy in that respect.’ As each encounter winds up with a brisk handshake, recipients walk backwards to bow – desperate to get it right before rejoining their watching families. The Princess smiles at each one like they could not have performed it better.

After the 90-minute session has overrun slightly, she takes lunch in the private apartments before repeating it all in the afternoon.

Thursday - Core working hours - 9

Hands shaken - 250+

London’s Guildhall. The Princess Royal arrives via train for The Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch, a City fundraiser for military veterans which has raised more than £3.3 million since it began in 2008.

To walk in as an outsider is to enter a new world where London’s livery companies (guilds dating back to medieval times) line the corridors with stalls – the Worshipful Companies of Bakers, Fruiterers, Gardeners, Pewterers and Framework Knitters are all there.

The Princess has no entourage, only her protection officers and one lady-in-waiting. She does not bat an eyelid at being escorted in by members of The Company of Pikemen & Musketeers, who wield weapons from the Charles I era and take their roles seriously.

Guests are an eclectic mix – a pearly queen mingles with barristers and bankers, alongside the military. An injured veteran in his mid-30s tells me: ‘In the Army, I’ve often been in front of high-ranking people who don’t care what you have to say at all… She’s different.’

Michael Hockney, co-chairman of the event, says the Princess is ‘very well-known and popular in the City because she’s involved in the livery movements’.

The Princess Royal greets the traders at London's Guildhall

Lunch is served on long tables. The Princess sits with servicemen and women, eating from an identical plate piled with chicken tikka masala, prawn malai, dal, rice and mango chutney.

Ballanupalli Sainath Rao, executive chef, asks if she remembers her last visit, in 2015, when she said she knew the factory of the company supplying the food and thought they could offer more variety than chicken every year. ‘Two meats and three vegetables,’ she suggested. Chef Rao added the prawn dish on that advice. ‘We had a lot of compliments.’

The Princess is plied with goodie bags, including matching socks for her and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, her husband. On her way out, she views a small garden with artwork by children from forces families and inspects a stall from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (est 1272); the stallholders have been hastily restocking ice and swatting away flies as they wait in the sunshine.

‘She was saying it’s great to see the array of fish,’ fishmonger Andrew Kenny explains afterwards. ‘She asks really precise questions… It’s very disarming.’

Climbing into a waiting car, the Princess tells the organisers: ‘[I’m] not causing too much chaos, I hope.’ And then she’s off – next stop Buckingham Palace.

At 7pm, the Princess Royal walks through the ‘secret door’, disguised as a mirror and cabinet, which links the Palace’s private rooms to the White Drawing Room, a State Room with a gold piano, familiar from some of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas broadcasts. Tonight, she is hosting a black-tie dinner to celebrate The Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conferences, which bring together future leaders to address pressing problems facing the world. In particular, she is saluting the Canadian team, which has led the way in hosting the conferences and keeping her father’s vision alive.

The Princess Royal enters Buckingham Palace's White Drawing Room via the secret door.

Wearing a long skirt and sequinned jacket in red to match the Canadian flag, she carries a handbag under her arm and wears her late mother’s three-strand pearls. Unlike other royals, the Princess’s team won’t confirm to the press what exactly she is wearing. One suspects anyone who asked would get short shrift.

She spends roughly an hour in the Picture Gallery, working her way through a crowd. One guest tells her of her memories of a drinks reception with the late Queen and Prince Philip on Britannia, during their visit to Ontario in 1984. Asking another about their trip to London, she agrees that walking is the best way to get around, although ‘not at this time of night and dressed like this’.

Ahead of a dinner of poached citrus salmon salad, roasted lamb, and crème brûlée with poached rhubarb, the Princess delivers an eight-minute speech. At one time, she is said to have written every speech herself. Nowadays, she often works from prepared notes, which she edits ruthlessly with liberal red pen strokes and capital letters.

The conferences, she says, were ‘envisioned by my late father, but I suspect he never thought it would last this long.

The Princess Royal greets guests at the Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conferences dinner.

‘At the moment, in these rather difficult times – post-Covid and just generally complicated – it’s just as important to have the ability to bring people together across the widest possible range.’

The Princess will stay on for dinner, sitting at a round table and entertaining guests until long after sundown.

Friday - Minutes on feet presenting honours - 90

Hands shaken - 79

Friday morning and the Princess is back at it with an investiture. There are 79 people this time, with their families, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.

Neil Constable, former CEO of Shakespeare’s Globe, is here to receive his OBE for services to theatre. He says afterwards that the ‘professional’ Princess knew the brief so well that she could make conversation about both his previous job and his next, at The Musicians’ Company. She told him she had just been to the Guildhall that week for the Big Curry Lunch, adding, ‘You’ll have a great time with them.’

‘You leave thinking, wow, actually we had a really good conversation,’ he says. ‘We talked about her late father Prince Philip being a long-standing patron of the Globe and how some of the timber from the Globe came from Windsor Great Park’, donated by Prince Philip.

‘[She] made it a very special day.’

At this point, I close the notebook that clocks in at 84 pages of shorthand. Everyone – kindly, warmly, generously – is saying the same thing, and we have run out of superlatives. The job, too, must get repetitive but you would never know it. In continually asking questions, the Princess has found a way to keep interested even after all these decades.

Princess Anne salutes at the conclusion of a commissioning ceremony aboard HMCS Max Bernays as part of Fleet Week, in North Vancouver, B.C

She treats her work as a ‘nine-to-five job’, one Palace source tells me. ‘Except it doesn’t often finish at five.’ I have barely seen her sit and haven’t seen her accept a single cup of tea while working.

The week after we meet, the Princess will be in Windsor, Shropshire, Cambridgeshire, London and Cornwall. After that, she will go from the Royal Windsor Horse Show to Canada for a three-day trip with Sir Tim.

She will be 75 next year but shows no sign of slowing down. I am half her age – and after barely a week of trying to keep up with her, I’m off for a lie down.

Weekly total

Estimated miles travelled - 818

Hands shaken - 677+

#a fascinating insight in the princesses week #i love articles like this #matching socks for her and her hubby #that curry plate sounds delicious 🤤#hardest working royal 🫡#princess anne #princess royal

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hclib · 8 months

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HCLIB Tumblr Waves Goodbye

After almost 13 years of blogging about Minneapolis and Hennepin County history on Tumblr, Special Collections staff are calling it quits. We've shared some pretty great stories, images, and discoveries through the years in nearly 2,000 posts!

Take a look back at our 10 most liked and reblogged original posts since 2011, which illustrate the wide variety of materials and subjects in our collections.

Audubon's Passenger Pigeons

Sean Daley’s (Slug of Atmosphere) senior portrait

Vice Raid at the Camel's Club

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

First Mailwoman in Minneapolis

John Glanton Photograph Identification Project

Workers of the World Unite

Eloise Butler and Women in Botany

The Traveler's Green Book

House Plans Now Online

Subscribe to our email newsletter, published every other month, to stay on top of what's new and noteworthy in Special Collections.

While we won't be posting new content to the hclib Tumblr, you can continue to browse and search posts in the Tumblr archive. And more permanently in our web archive.

And as always, you can visit us in person at Minneapolis Central Library or contact us via email or phone for assistance with all your Minneapolis and Hennepin County history needs.

Bye bye!

Photo of a group of kids waving to the milkman, from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

#Minneapolis #Hennepin County Library #Goodbyes #Minneapolis history

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realtimefanduboutofcontext · 8 months

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The journalists of Palestine

You may have heard a couple of names floating around social media - and I do mean ONLY social media - who have been vital to getting the facts about the genocide in Palestine right now. Let me highlight them for you.

Artwork by Ram Reyes @oversettext

Bisan Owda (she/her)

Bisan is the one you're probably familiar with. She's a young filmmaker who has worked with the UN on gender equality and climate change, and most recently this genocide. Her focus is social media. She called the strike, and is why we're all here.

Twitter - Instagram - TikTok

Motaz Azaiza (he/him)

Motaz is a photographer best known for capturing life in the Gaza Strip. He works for the UNRWA. His photo titled "Seeing Her Through My Camera" (depicting a girl being picked up from rubble) was named one of TIME's top 10 photos of 2023.

Twitter - Instagram

Plestia Alaqad (she/her)

Plestia is a citizen journalist and travel blogger, formerly an HR professional. She has been posting video diaries from Gaza - and even from Egypt as she had to flee in November. Her work has been a reminder of how beautiful Gaza can be.

Twitter - Instagram - TikTok

Wael Al-Dahdouh (he/him)

Wael is a journalist for Al Jazeera and the chief of its bureau in Gaza City since 2004. He has worked for the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, and is a journalism veteran. Most of his family was sadly killed by Israeli strikes.

Twitter - Facebook - Instagram

As I've said before, mainstream media outlets have been avoiding the reporting of Palestinian journalists, or filtered their own biases through the Israeli army. It's important to listen to, and uplift voices from Gaza, no matter how uncomfortable it may get. Let them be heard.

#not dubposting #global strike for palestine #global strike #free palestine #free gaza #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #from the river to the sea #journalism

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azucarmorena97 · 5 months

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Money Ties (Jungkook Love Story || Pt.11)

Pt.10 || Pt.12

Your parents have worked hard to get to the top and have made sure to teach you everything you need to know to be successful in this business: from tough but lucrative financial decisions, down to the right ball gown for any given banquet. A promising and extravagant future awaits you- that is, if you agree to one teensy detail...

Son of Mr.Jeon Sr. and heir to June Company, Jeon Jungkook is an immature playboy with nothing to offer a woman but good looks and a crap ton of money, and he stands to inherit much MUCH more, so long as you both enter into the arranged marriage contract that was drawn up before the pair of you were even born.

You're more than willing to try, but you're not sure you'll be able to stand each other long enough to inherit a single penny...

Series Warnings: There will be smut in the near future and I will label those chapters as such. As I say before most of my pieces- I do not endorse any themes, ideas, or behaviors in this series. This is all purely fiction/fantasy! Feel free to inbox me suggestions/ideas/what you'd like to see in this series and I'll see what I can do! Enjoy <3

Recap: Suddenly, it's as though the world was set to slow motion; Frame by frame, you watch as Jungkook lifts your veil, the last barrier between you and destiny.

He wraps his arm around your waist and brings you closer to him until your faces are centimeters apart, "To the ride," He whispers, drawing back to the night where you both shared a toast at the bar. "To the ride."

His lips collide with yours and eventually, you don't know where you end and he begins- as now, and forevermore, you are but one flesh.

When he pulls away, he looks at you under hooded eyes, lashes barely exposing his beautiful brown irises. You'd give anything to stay like this...

But of course, it comes time for the both of you to turn to everyone: friends, family, and receive their love and cheers. He grabs your hand and then the both of you are running out of the ballroom, the crowds muted by the double doors closing behind the both of you.

For a moment, you and him are alone again, as the photographers haven't made their way out to take your photos.

"You look so beautiful..." He says, his own cheeks blushing slightly. "Thanks...They-they found a dress," You say, adjusting your shoulder straps nervously, feeling quite shy yourself under his gaze.

"I can see..." He can't take his eyes off of you, meanwhile, you're looking everywhere else but at him; you might just burst if you do.

Finally, the photographer comes out and leads you both out to the courtyard of the hotel; the perfect spot for photos. There's a tall fence around the perimeter of the courtyard, along with a tall hedge full of beautiful flowers. You do, however, spot a few cameras being held high on the other side of the fence in order to capture a few lucky pictures of your groom. "Are those...paparazzi?" You ask. "Yeah...a lot of people really care about our wedding." "I can see."

It does make you a tad uncomfortable, but you try to shake it off; this is something you'll have to get used to. Back home, no one really recognizes you- although, you do typically keep a pretty low profile. Jungkook, on the other hand, has a slew of loyal followers ranging in the thousands- as confirmed by his social media.

"Okay, Mr.Jeon, can we get one of you hugging her?" The photographer asks. Without hesitation, Jungkook pulls you in from your waist, pressing you close to himself. You blush, not used to such public displays of affection...not used to affection very much at all, considering you've never had a boyfriend. This is gonna take some getting used to.

"Mrs.Jeon, a little more to the left."

That's gonna take some getting used to, too.

"Ah! Mr. and Mrs.Jeon!" B/f/n's voice travels over to the both of you as the bridesmaids and groomsmen all trail behind her into the courtyard.

"Shut up," You laugh. "My man!" One of the groomsmen come up to Jungkook and hugs him, "I'm happy for you- for the both of yo." He turns to you and extends his hand for you to shake.

"Thanks, uhm...?" "I'm sorry, I know we haven't formally met you. I'm Felix," He says with a sweet smile. He's quite handsome, as is typical for Jungkook's friends. "I'm Y/n," You say with a slight bow.

"That's Mrs.Jeon to you," Jungkook cuts back in, wrapping his arm around your bare shoulders, though his smile is playful.

Suddenly, Jungkook is abruptly pulled of of you, "Kookie! I'm so happy for you!" Lisa exclaims, throwing herself on him before he gets a chance to react. He doesn't hug her back, just keeps his arms open, "Lisa- I- uhm, thanks."

She pulls away slightly, though she doesn't let him go, "Look at you all grown up and mature now."

You didn't think she'd stoop so low, but here she is blatantly flirting with him in front of you and everyone else. "Yeah...thanks," Jungkook says, clearly uncomfortable. He gently pulls her off of himself, which is clearly a move she didn't expect from him because she immediately goes into clean-up mode, "And you- you make the most beautiful bride, Y/n!"

"Thanks." You can't even be bothered to say anymore than that because if you do, these cameras are gonna catch you pummeling her into the ground in your wedding dress.

"Anyway!" B/f/n cuts into the conversation, emphasizing how awkward the interaction is, "Time for pictures!"

And, as though someone has flipped a switch, everyone is back to their excitement and merriment.

Except, of course, Lisa.

All things considered, the time spent taking pictures was a breeze. Everyone got their chance to pose with you and Jungkook, and you're sure even the paparazzi must've gotten a few good shots.

Now, you're all standing outside of the dining hall waiting to be announced upon entry. Pair by pair, each bridesmaid and goormsman walks in until it's only you and Jungkook.

"Ready?" He asks, a smile on his face as he takes a deep breath. You nod, "Ready."

"And now, I'd like to present, for the first time ever as man and wife, Mr. and Mrs.Jeon!"

You and Jungkook enter into a room teeming with cheers and shouts, a few tables being banged on in excitement.

Of course, unable to resist the applause, Jungkook take an exaggerated bow and then pulls your hand straight up in the air in triumph before leading you to the table where all your court is already sat, with two large empty seats in the middle, saved for the both of you.

Slowly, guests come up to congratulate you both personally, their smiles genuine and warm. All this time you spent dreading your wedding day; you never thought you'd feel so at peace in your new role- of course, it's only been about an hour and a half.

You spot Namjoon walking around from table to table recording people, "Wanna say a few words to the bride and groom?" He looks quite happy for being "Jungkook's babysitter", as he'd put it that night at Jungkook's birthday party. You chuckle. "Namjoon's funny, isn't he?" Jungkook asks, as though he's able to read your mind. "Yeah...very much so." "You know he's totally in love with B/f/n, right?" "Totally." You watch as B/f/n follows him around with a small ring light.

Soon, people start making their way to the dance floor, having had their fill of food and drinks. "Come dance with us, Mr. and Mrs.Jeon," B/f/n says, pulling on your wrist. You look at Jungkook who is aggressively noding his head, "Oh, absolutely." He puts his drink down and then grabs your other wrist, the both of them leading to the dancefloor with the rest of your court- except Lisa, who you spotted only moments ago, seething, sitting at a table with Rose, arms crossed.

You all dance together in a cluster on the dance floor, Jungkook and Felix are clowns, of course, and soon they're pulling their pant legs up so they can get in a "twerking stance." "They're a little too good at this," B/f/n laughs, "Oh, you should see him twerk on a door," Namjoon cuts in, bringing his drink up to his lips as he sways slightly. Jungkook looks at Namjoon, clearly already a little buzzed and he puts his hands square on Namjoon's shoulders, "You were the best ring bearer that ever...beared rings." "And you were the best groom that ever...Yeah, let me not finish that sentence." "Aaaay! The wedding man!" You all turn to see Jin coming up and throwing his arm on Jungkook's shoulders, "You sly devil, how'd you manage to nab a girl this fine," He says, motioning to you. Jungkook's tone gets immediately more serious, "Yo, that's my wife." "Of course, of course. I'm sorry- you know how I get when I get a few drinks in me. I say whetever comes to mind." "Oh, we know." Namjoon rolls his eyes. Jin says, "I'm so glad there was a wedding after all." "The wedding was never off, dweeb," Namjoon looks annoyed whenever he has to interact with Jin- I wonder if it's because he's almost always intoxicated. Jin furrows his brows, "I know, I meant after the whole dress thing." You all look at each other in confusion, "What about my dress?" You ask, narrowing your eyes at him.

As far as you know, your mom and B/f/n didn't tell anyone about the dress except Jungkook and it was right before the ceremony. The dress you're wearing now is one they'd previously considered at the bridal shop weeks ago that they'd held on to in case you didn't like the first one. How the hell did this bozo know anything about your dress?

Unless...

"Oh- uhm, your dress? I- I didn't mean to say that," Jin's eyes widen and he starts trying to backtrack. Jungkook gets in his face and takes Jin's arm off from his shoulders, "No, too late. Say what you were going to say." "It's nothing, man. Like I said, I say anything when I'm drunk." "Jin." With Namjoon and Jungkook both standing so close to his face, Jin has no choice but to give in to the pressure. "LisatoldRosethatshewasgonnaruinY/n'sdressbforetheceremony!" He blurts. "What?" Jungkook asks. "Ugh...Lisa told Rose that she was gonna ruin Y/n's dress before the ceremony. She's been planning it since Mrs.Jeon asked her to be a bridemsaid..."

Your heart is pounding in your chest. Of course it was her. How could you not have known? The nerves and adrenaline of it all completely clouded your judgment before. You and B/f/n immediately start looking around for Lisa. Wedding or not, you're gonna beat this bitch's ass.

"Do you see her? I don't see her," B/f/n says, still looking around. "She was just there, what the hell?" You groan. When you turn back to say something to Jungkook, you realize he's not there anymore. "What- where'd he go?" You ask Namjoon, who only points in the direction of the dining hall doors.

You see Jungkook walking over to the security guards standing at their posts. You pick up the skirt of your dress and follow after him. Once you get over to where he is, the bodyguards immediately walk in the directions of the tables. "What- what are you doing?" He doesn't answer, just stands there watching. The goofiness from minutes before is gone and he seems completely sobered up. You both watch as the security guards approach a birdesmaid over at the punch bowl- It's Lisa.

They exchange a few words, her face going from confused to irritated, her eyes immediately darting to Jungkook, and then settling on you.

All three of them walk back toward where you are, right in front of the doors, and you see some people who were sitting in that general vicinity are now staring, whispering to each other. Everyone else seems completely oblivious.

"Kookie, what's going on?" She asks, her eyes switching from snake to deer in the headlights, but you know better than to fall into it. Does Jungkook?

"Cut the shit, Lisa. Jin told us everything," Jungkook hisses. "What- what are you talking about?" She starts playing with her fingernails, getting more and more nervous but trying to play it cool. "The dress, Lisa. The fucking dress. How could you do this to me? To Y/n?" "Are you insinuating that I had something to do with her dress?" She narrows her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know, so many people have tried to warn me over the years, but I ignored it all. I ignored the warnings, I ignored the cattiness, I ignored the childish games- this ends here."

Her eyes get wide again, "Kook, come on. It's- it's not that serious. She found another dress- Y/n, come on. Can't fight your own battles so you got my best friend to turn on me?-" "Don't ever talk to my wife again." "Jungkook-" She puts her hand on Jungkook's arm but he swiftly pulls it away, "Get her out of here." He doesn't even stick around to watch her go, just grabs your hand and leads you out of the double doors and back out to the courtyard where you'd previously taken pictures with your court.

Once you're outside, he lets go of your hand and just leans against a pillar, putting his face in his hands, "I'm so sorry, Y/n."

"Jungkook, it's okay. I-" "No, it's not. You tried to tell me again and again and I didn't listen. I couldn't protect you even from something so petty. I'm so sorry-" You step toward him and take his hands off of his face, "Hey..." You say gently, looking up at him. "Hey..." He says, sadness melting into a small smile.

You hadn't noticed it before under the dim lights of the dining hall, but his cheeks are flushed the perfect shade of soft pink, the drinks having caught up to him, despite how soberly he was talking only moments ago. His hair is just messy enough to fall in his eyes, but still neat enough to hold an entire photoshoot for Calvin Klein if he wanted to, especially with his loosened tie and slightly unbuttoned dress shirt.

Again, Michelangelo's David comes to mind.

You stand in silence for a bit, basking in each other's presence; the first time you've been alone as husband and wife. It feels the same...and yet different. Jungkook's called you his wife twice tonight. Both times, it made your heart stir in your chest. You're his wife...

"You're my husband now," You say shyly, putting your hands behind your back and looking down, your smile practically cramping up your cheeks,

"I am," He chuckles, staring at you.

He takes another step closer and lifts your chin, your eyes locking once again, though just as you think he might kiss you, he's pulling your arms onto his shoulders and snaking his around your waist, beginning to sway with you. You only now notice that they've begun to play a slow song inside, the distance making the melody barely audible...but you don't mind.

You're in his arms again.

You lock your hands together behind his neck, letting him lead you, and you just let your head rest on him. After a moment, you realize he's humming. "You know this song?" You ask. "Mhm...She is Love by Parachute." "It's pretty." He doesn't respond, choosing instead to sing the words softly to you.

"It was all the same, all my pride and shame, but she put me on my feet... They call her love, love, love, love. She is love and she is all I need. She is love and she is all I need. She is love, and she is all I need."

His voice so angelic, you wish you could record this moment.

But that's the thing about these beautiful moments; we always wish we could capture them somehow, though if we could, they might not be so special anymore.

Maybe what makes them so, is their inability to be bottled up.

You and Jungkook are back at the dinner table chatting it up with your court, the only empty seat being Lisa's. Funny enough, Rose and Jin seem perfectly settled in and comfortable despite the fact that their bestie has been swiftly kicked out. You're sure Rose's mission is now to relay everything to Lisa.

"Excuse me everyone, may I please have your attention! Before we wrap up the party, the father of the groom would like to say a few words to the Bride and Groom." The DJ says, the lights brightening just a bit as Mr. and Mrs.Jeon Sr. come up to stand by the booth.

"Yes, hello everyone," Mr.Jeon bows, "I'm so happy that everyone came to support our family on this momentous occasion. Truly, an occasion we've looked forward to since the day our son was born," From where you and Jungkook sit, it almost looks like Mr.Jeon's eyes are watering.

"As you all know, this wedding will mark the beginning of the merger of our family companies, with my son and new daughter-in-law being the heirs. We cannot begin to express how incredibly proud we are of them- so, as a gift to express our love, my wife and I, along with Mr.L/n and Mrs.L/n, have gotten the bridge and groom a gift."

He waves you and Jungkook over, to which you both respond by looking at each other confusedly. Jungkook helps you out of your seat and you walk up to them. Mr.Jeon hands an envelope to Jungkook, who quickly opens it and pulls out its contents.

A paper, and two sets of keys.

"Wait-" Jungkook says, brows furrowed. He passes the paper to you and then looks at his dad, an expression of complete disbelief. "Congratulations, son."

A house. They've bought you a house.

Everyone begins cheering at every table, as though they've instantly understood the gift.

Jungkook immediately hugs his dad, and then his shoulders start shaking violently- he's begun to cry, and so has his father. You hug Mrs.Jeon tightly, and then go over to your parents who are sat at a table a few feet away, hugging them with all of your strength, your own tears falling onto their shoulders.

You rejoin Jungkook after he's had his moment, and he takes the mic from his dad, "Wow, I cannot tell you all how shocked we are. This was truly unexpected. I think I can speak for my wife-" He glances over at you, a smile on his face as he says it, "- and myself when I say that we are so grateful for the support our parents have given us, and also for the support you've all shown us. Not just today but every day leading up to this and even before. Friends, family- we love you all so much.

We couldn't have done it without you."

The rest of the party was a blur after that moment; more food, more drinks, more laughter and joy, and before you know it, it's all come to an end. "Okay, let's get you back to the hotel and get you out of this dress so you guys can pack your suitcase for the honeymoon!" B/f/n says, grabbing her purse and walking over to Namjoon really quickly. Jungkook looks at you, his soft eyes taking you in; you'll only be in this dress for a little while longer...he's not so eager to end this night yet. "Wanna go somewhere?" He says quietly. To which you smile and respond, "Sure."

"Ready?" B/f/n says, bright eyed and bushy tailed for someone who had thrown back at least 5 shots in the last hour and a half. "Uhm...I'm actually..." You don't quite know how to say it. "I'm gonna take her to the hotel," Jungkook interjects. "What? But you still have to-" "That sounds just fine," Namjoon says, coming up behind B/f/n and lightly pushing her along, giving the both of you a knowing smile. "Wait-" "Let's go, B/f/n," He coaxes. You and Jungkook share a little laugh and then walk out hand in hand to the car.

This time, rather than having a driver, Jungkook is behind the wheel. His arm is extended past the center console and resting on your knee, his thumb stroking the fabric gently. Your heart skips with every touch, and suddenly you feel like a shy teenager; maybe this is what Madonna was talking about when she sang, 'Like a Virgin'.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks, glancing at you. It's only just dawned on you that you've been quiet the entire car ride, which has been about 20 minutes. "I...I don't know." "Liar," He smiles. "I guess I'm just...taking it all in." "Me too." He pulls into a gas station and turns the car off, "Come on." "What? Where?" "Into the unknoooown," He sings. "Never took you as a Disney Princess guy," You laugh. He doesn't acknowledge what you'd said, just exits the car and walks around and opens your door, "My queen." His exaggerated bow elicits another laugh. You gather your skirt and somehow manage to jump out of the car. One arm hooked around his, you both walk into the gas station store. The few people inside turn to look at you and just continue staring. It was probably a strange scene: a bride and groom strolling in casually, walking over to the chip section. You almost wanna laugh imagining it from their perspective. "Pick anything you want," Jungkook says, excitedly picking up a few bags of chips for himself. You carefully examine the wide selection. He walks away to, you assume, look at more things- but when he comes back, he has a basket full of things. You toss a few bags of chips and a candy bar into the basket, along with two drinks; one for hydration, one for pleasure. "Done." He nods and walks over to the counter. "Will that be all?" The cashier says sarcastically. "Wait, wait..." Jungkook tosses in a small pack of gum, "Done."

You ride in happy silence, windows down, your hair falling out of the once-elegant wedding hair style, though you look just as beautiful- at least, that's what Jungkook thinks. You finally drive into a parking lot set on a hill, overlooking the beautiful cityscape. The businesses that would normally be bustling with clientele are closed for the night, so it's only the two of you there.

"Wow...it's beautiful out here," You say, dazzled by the way the lights twinkle down below, cars going back and forth, weaving in and out of sight between the buildings. "Yeah. I first found this spot a few years ago during one of my...not so bright moments," He chuckles, grabbing the bag with all the snacks and taking out his banana milk, "and I've just been coming ever since." "Hmm," You nod, thinking about what he's just said. Not so bright moments... "What does that mean?" You ask. You would've normally left suuch a vague statement alone, thinking if he wanted to expand then he would, but fuck it. That's your husband now, right? You deserve to know...you want to know. You want to know him so badly, now more than ever.

"What, did Namjoon not do a good enough job telling you all my business?" He smirks, causing you to roll your eyes playfully, "Shut up." His smile fades slightly as he sinks into deep thought; as though he's carefully selecting what words to use. "Well...after I came out of rehab, I kind of didn't know what to do with myself. I knew I couldn't go back to how I was living before, as far as the heavy drinking and the drugs- I had done a lot of damage to my family, you know? I couldn't bear to disappoint them like that again," He sighs, taking a sip of his drink, "So, I would spend hours- some times all night- just driving and driving. I drove everywhere, all alone. I drove angry, I drove sad, I drove numb, I drove happy...not that I had many happy moments at that time." You turn in your seat (as best as you can in this big ass dress) and look at him as he talks.

"Did you...ever ask anyone to drive with you?" He furrows his brows, a confused expression on his face, "No, I...I guess I didn't know that I could." Without another word, you reach over and grab his hand, squeezing it lightly. "You might just be the only person in my world who can relate to this feeling," He says in a low voice, looking down at your hands; you do the same. You know exactly what he means.

When you look back up, he's already looking at you; his eyes are low, dark obsidian pupils flickering back and forth from your eyes, to your lips, "Y/n..." "Yes?" You whisper, heart so loud you hear it in your ears. "Can I kiss you again?"

You nod, chest rising up and down as your breath catches in your throat. Not even at "You may kiss the bride" did your heart beat so fast as it does now.

His lips press firmly against yours and slowly, you feel both yours and his head moving rhythmically together.

When he pulls away breathlessly, you can see a tiny bit of your makeup on his nose and mouth, causing you to let out a little laugh.

"What?" He smiles, "Nothing..." You reach over and grab the side of his face, and this time, its your thumb stroking his cheek.

You could look at him forever...

Thanks for being patient in your wait for the next part! Let me know what more you want to see going forward into their married life! DM me some juicy drama to add in :)

#bts #jungkook #jin #namjoon #suga #bts imagine #jimin #bangtan sonyeondan #angst #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic

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fizzyxcustard · 6 months

Text

Covert Eyes (23)

Masterlist of fan fiction

Fandom: Spooks

Pairings: Lucas North x OC (Amy Holland)

Warnings: Stalking behaviour, anxiety, language, sexual references, angst, smut, heartbreak, gunshot wounds and recovery, abduction, hostage situation.

Summary: Lucas takes notice of a young woman, Amy, but his obsession and want to get to know her begin to spiral out of control. Amy is now working for MI-5, after being recruited by Ros. But will her involvement with Lucas cause even more problems and heartbreak?

When Amy's parents get involved, how will things pan out for Amy and Lucas?

Official soundtrack list: here

Comments/Notes: If you wish to be tagged in any of my tag lists for fics or characters, please let me know, and stipulate what you want to be tagged in.

People who don't interact with my fics over a few months will be removed from tag lists.

Bright light burst into the room and the familiar voices of Ros and Jo broke through the shroud of silence that had formed in the room. Halos around their heads. Amy winced against the light….

As Amy lay in bed, waking, she saw Lucas’ outline, his form haloed by a bright light. He was in the doorway. Every time he stood in the doorway, the room dark, with only light from the hallway behind him, it took her back. It felt as if she were time travelling back to her time locked away with nothing by Simon Caulfield’s slimy words for company.

Lucas limped into the room. She could hear his shouts in her mind as Simon Caulfield had put a bullet in his thigh merely seconds before Ros and Jo saved them. Then once they had both been released, Amy and Lucas had been in hospital overnight. They had been given their own private room due to the nature of their reasoning for being in hospital.

Harry had given them both time off to recuperate, and offered counselling. Lucas, as he had done many times, politely rejected Harry’s offer. However, Amy knew that she would probably find herself fighting against the memories for some time.

Lucas got into bed beside Amy, and studied her for a moment. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, but gradually they had begun to fade and the light in her eyes was starting to reappear.

Amy curled her arm around his head, her fingers sifting through his short hair. He was literally her everything.

***

Richard Holland held a small package in his hand, thinking back on the postman’s words that it had been sent first class but accidentally got lost at the depot, so was a week late. He ripped open the thick envelope finding a small stack of papers inside. On the top was a note, written in capital letters.

RICHARD AND SHARON HOLLAND,

THE ENCLOSED PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PROOF THAT LUCAS NORTH IS NOT WHO HE APPEARS TO BE. YOUR DAUGHTER IS IN DANGER.

Richard felt his whole body grow cold at the sight of photos of Amy bound to a chair and blindfolded. Then further photographs showed Amy lying on the pavement in a pool of her own blood, next to another woman also shot. With Lucas standing over both of them, a gun in his hand.

***

Amy and Lucas were still off work when the phone call came. Lucas was sat on the sofa with a mug of coffee, flicking through the channels, rolling his eyes at how shit day time TV was. Amy had been cleaning the kitchen; mundane tasks were enough to take her mind away from the thoughts of Simon Caulfield. The pain in her neck and back was fading day by day, but still enough to cause her grief and keep up a steady dose of painkillers.

“Dad?” Amy asked. “Everything okay?” Amy sat down at the kitchen table and sighed, wincing at sharp stab of pain which shot through her neck.

“I’m coming to fetch you, Amy. You’re not to stay with that bastard any longer!” Richard Holland demanded. “Your mum knew there was something behind the shooter; I know she was involved with Lucas. And I know you were took hostage last week.”

A rod of ice shot down Amy’s back and her heart raced in her chest. “D…Dad….what’s happened?”

“I’m coming to London to get you. He better not be there when I come because I’ll kill the bastard!” Richard seethed.

“Dad, please, stop it.”

“No, I won’t stop it, Amy. I am not prepared to let him do this to you. It’s a good job your mum is at work and hasn’t seen the photos. I won’t let her see them.”

“Who sent you the photos?”

“It doesn’t matter who sent them. I’m coming to get you. Pack some things.”

“Dad…please….”

Lucas could hear Amy’s pleas and hobbled into the kitchen. “Aim, what’s going on?”

Richard growled down the phone line. “Trying to play the protector now, is he? He can fuck himself. He’d better not be there when I come and get you because I really will kill him…”

Amy was weeping as her father disconnected the call. She held the phone in her shaking hand, until it finally fell from her grasp and hit the floor. “Dad knows!” she sobbed. “He’s got photos of me from last week and when I was shot. He’s coming to take me back to Coventry. I can’t leave.”

Lucas’ breath caught in his throat. Everything he loved was slipping away, and for a few seconds he tried to grapple with some kind of rational thought. He knew he couldn’t fight this one; Amy’s father was right. Despite having not heard Richard’s side of the conversation, Lucas knew he was doing the right thing. Amy had to be safe.

Amy dashed at Lucas, grabbing his shirt. She could see in his face that he was admitting defeat.

“You need to go with him, Aim. They can keep you safe: I can’t,” Lucas said, his voice breaking. “I love you too much to let you keep being hurt. He’s doing this because he loves you, Amy. He fucking loves you…and so do I.” His voice finally broke. Tears fell down Lucas’ cheeks and he took Amy into his arms, holding her tight. “Go with him, angel. I can’t keep you safe anymore.”

“You can,” Amy wept, looking up at him. “I want to be with you, Lucas. More than anything. Don’t push me away.”

“I’m not pushing you away because I want to. Fuck. Can’t you see that? It’s because I love you more than anything that I’m doing this.”

“If I do go, I’ll come back,” Amy argued. “They can’t make me stay.”

Lucas smiled through the tears. “You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

The next two hours were crippling as Amy packed two suitcases full of clothing. Lucas watched her from the doorway, knowing that letting her go was the only way to keep her safe. Amy belonged with her family who could be the stability she needed. “I am coming back,” Amy said defiantly, stopping for a second with a pile of underclothes in her hands. “I don’t intend on staying there for long.”

“You’ll stay as long as you need to.”

“I’m only doing this to please you and Dad for now, but I’ll be coming back,” Amy countered. She approached Lucas and lifted her hand, cupping his cheek. He kissed her palm, turning into her touch. Then suddenly he kissed her hard, catching her off guard. Heat mounted so high between them and within seconds, Lucas’ lips were trailing down Amy’s throat.

They made love on the bed. It was like the very first time they had made love: intense, passionate, full of want. As Lucas came and then rested his head on her chest, he whispered, “I need to let you go.”

“Lucas, no!” Amy whimpered. “Don’t you dare!”

Lucas got up from the bed, untangling himself from her and re-buttoned his shirt, and then pulled his jeans up, re-buckling his belt.

“When we got back together, I should have known I wouldn’t be worth it,” Amy growled. “I’m never worth it, am I?”

“You are worth everything!” Lucas shot back. His eyes were wide and his whole face was contorted in anger and frustration. “How the fuck can you say you’re not worth it? I’m doing this because I love you. I should have known better than ever bring you into any of this. I should have stayed away when I first saw you.”

Amy choked as she heard those words and dropped to the bed. “You regret me….”

“I would never regret you. I only regret that I caused you so much pain. Your dad won’t be too much longer, I don’t think.” He looked at the clock; Coventry was about a three hour drive away from London. It was now just after one in the afternoon and Richard had called at eleven. “Go with your dad. You are loved so much more than you could ever imagine. By all of us.”

Lucas walked out of the room and picked up his keys in the hallway.

Amy followed on behind, calling after him.

Before Lucas left the flat, he kissed Amy hard one last time. “I adore you so much,” he choked. “Be happy, angel, but more important, be safe.”

Amy sobbed on the doorstep as Lucas left. She watched his form walk down the hallway and out the main door into the street. Pain was ripping her so raw inside and in her own mind she knew that she could never give up on Lucas North completely. No matter what happened and what evil things were thrown at them. Their love would be stronger than any of it.

***

Amy sat in her dad’s car as they drove back to Coventry. There was only silence and the gentle sway of the car as it swept along the motorway. Until Richard broke open the silence. “Fancy a coffee?”

“Okay,” Amy whispered, her voice so hoarse after sobbing. Her cheeks were still vivid red and her eyes full of unshed tears. They threatened to fall at any moment. Just her dad’s kindness and soft voice made her want to cry all over again. Of course he was only protecting her; that had never been in dispute. That was all he and Lucas were doing.

Richard slipped out of the car and headed into a Costa at a motorway service station. Rain was beginning to spit as dark clouds began to move in. Amy stared out of the window, her focus glued to the spot in front of her where a family were getting into their car. A dark haired man, accompanied by a blonde woman. A toddler and an older child, who looked to be around ten. They looked happy.

The sound of the driver door opening snapped Amy back to reality and made her jump. Richard noticed his daughter’s shock and smiled sadly at her. “Here you go, love,” he said, offering her a large latte. “Extra shot of caramel.” Then he winked.

As Richard started the engine, he sighed. “I’m sorry, Amy,” he said. “I’m only doing this for your good; you know that, don’t you? I know you love Lucas. But being with him is going to put you at risk.”

“I know, Dad,” Amy said, her voice quiet. “I know you’re doing this to help me and because you love me.”

“You might be a grown woman, but your mum and I would do anything for you, you know that. We want you safe. No matter how old your children get, your responsibility for them never stops.”

The car was still stationary as Richard glanced across at Amy’s hands in her lap, and he noticed something dark around her wrist as her jumper sleeve had ridden up her arm. “Fucking hell,” he whispered. “Your wrists.”

***

Lucas slammed the flat door as he walked back inside, knowing Amy would be gone by now. The silence was deafening, and a gasp came from the very back of his throat. She’d gone. Her room was tidy, but her diary from her bedside table was gone, along with her slippers and most of the toiletries from the bathroom. He opened her wardrobe, just to feel the pain of her departure even more. There were barely any clothes left.

In the kitchen and Lucas slumped down on the floor, feeling the cold of tiles against his backside and thighs. Pain from the bullet wound shot down his leg, but he didn’t care. The pain couldn’t compare to that of letting Amy go. He pulled his phone from his jeans pocket and looked at the photo of them on his lock screen. She was his everything. Though the pain was excruciating, her very presence in his life had helped him to feel once more. All of the emotional and mental numbness he had felt since coming home from Russia, had been burned away by Amy Holland. She made him feel happiness, contentment, love, pleasure. But also pain. Pain seemed to be a constant in his life now, a permanent friend.

***

Amy stepped into her parents’ house, feeling the wave of familiarity rush through her. The smell of a home she had left many years ago – it was still exactly the same. It hadn’t been that long since she and Lucas had been visiting for new year, but this was different. Today marked the day she would be staying for longer. Maybe until all of this blew over, and then she could be with Lucas again. So she hoped.

“Your mum isn’t home yet, but I’ve burned the photos. I can’t let her see those. What happened, Amy? The truth, please,” Richard asked, his voice was low but firm. He had never been a demanding man, instead always being gentle with his daughters. But today had shown Amy just how fierce he really could be. “You know who sent those images, don’t you?”

“It’s all secret information…”

“No, Amy! I won’t have that shit,” Richard growled. “Tell me. I don’t care if it’s top secret and a risk to national security, or whatever, you’re my daughter and I deserve to know what happened to you.”

Amy stood in the kitchen and looked up at her dad who was waiting for an answer. He had his arms folded and his face was set in a straight expression.

“The woman who shot me was Lucas’ ex and a CIA agent. She faked her death because she killed her boss and went on the run. Then she must have found out about me and Lucas, and tried to make me think he wasn’t really in love with me. And she collared us outside the café that morning and went to shoot Lucas, but I stopped her. And Lucas killed her.”

Richard sighed and held his hand to his mouth. “Fucking hell, Amy.”

“It was Sarah’s brother who took me hostage, wanting to get revenge on him. Apparently, the accomplice of Simon Caulfield was Sarah’s ex-husband; I was told that in the hospital. They went rogue together to get revenge on Lucas.”

“And you were still prepared to stay with him after all this?” Richard asked, his eyes wide.

“I love him,” Amy replied softly. Tears were falling down her cheeks again. “I’ve never loved anyone else like this, and he actually loves me back. For so long I never felt I’d ever find a man who could love me...”

“Oh, love,” Richard sighed. He took Amy into his arms and held her tight as she wept on him. Through tears, Richard looked up at the ceiling, asking in prayer for the strength to be what his daughter needed.

Once Sharon was home from work, Richard explained the whole story to his wife.

“Where are the photos, Rich?” Sharon asked. Her dark eyes were wide with shock and her hands were shaking.

Amy was sat at the other end of the table, feeling as though her whole body was closed off. She hung her head, feeling ashamed of everything that had occurred.

“It doesn’t matter about the photos. I got rid of them. I wasn’t letting you see them,” Richard replied.

Sharon walked towards her daughter. She was slow and deliberate, and her gaze was locked on her daughter’s arms. Her skin was concealed by a thick jumper. Sharon leaned down and gently pushed the sleeve up on Amy’s left arm. “Oh, God,” she gasped, seeing black and purple bruising around Amy’s wrist.

***

Follow Forever tag list: @lathalea @linasofia @xxbyimm @middleearthpixie @knittastically @meganlpie @asgardianhobbit98 @rachel1959 @luna-redamancy @mrsdurin @lemond57 @missihart23 @quiall321 @evenstaredits @catthefearless @glassgulls @sazzlep @heilith @court-jobi @absentmindeduniverse @albionscastle @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @bookworm-with-coffee @danzalladaggers @ourlonelymountain @phantomessangel @estethell @windb3ll @protosslady

#Lucas North #Richard Armitage #Spooks #MI5 #Lucas North x OC #Original Female Character #Fanfiction

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ginandoldlace · 2 months

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A gentleman trying a grey top hat at the Herbert Johnson’ s Hatters shop in New Bond Street , 38 - London where the firm , founded in 1889 by Herbert Lewis Johnson (1856–1942), traded until 1975. This prestigious Firm, almost equaling the fame of Lock & Co., was subsequently sold to Swaine Adeney Brigg in 1996 and thereafter shared premises with its new owners, first at 10 Old Bond Street, then at 54 St James’s Street, and now in Piccadilly Arcade. This picture was realized in 1957 by the American photographer Burt Glinn ( 1925-2008), an associate member of the Magnum Photos Agency who made his mark in the ‘50s with spectacular color series on the South Seas, Japan, Russia, Mexico, and California. His reportages appeared in Esquire, Geo, Travel and Leisure, Fortune, Life, and Paris-Match. He also covered revolutionary leader Fidel Castro’s entrance into Havana, Cuba, and photographed famous people such as Andy Warhol.

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legend-collection · 9 months

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Am Fear Liath Mòr

Am Fear Liath Mòr is the name for a presence or creature which is said to haunt the summit and passes of Ben Macdui, the highest peak of the Cairngorms and the second highest peak in British Isles after Ben Nevis.

Pic by mlappas on deviantart

Although there have been many purported encounters with the Big Grey Man, few eyewitnesses have actually seen the creature. It is reported to be very thin and over ten feet tall, with dark skin and hair, long arms, and broad shoulders. Most often, the creature remains unseen in the fog of the mountain, with encounters limited to the sound of crunching gravel as it walks behind climbers and a general feeling of unease around the mountain. Tangible evidence of its existence is limited to a few photographs of unusual footprints, so the majority relies on the credibility of eyewitness encounters.

The figure has many similarities with the Brenin Llwyd (English: Grey King) of Welsh mythology, this figure is also semi-corporeal, silent and uses the mists as a cloak to prey on unwary travellers. Unlike the Am Fear Liath, Brenin Llwyd is found in mountainous locations across Wales, and is particularly noted to prey on children.

In 1925, J. Norman Collie gave the first recorded account of a Grey Man encounter. A noted hiker, professor, and member of the Royal Geographical Society, Collie recounted a terrifying experience he had as he hiked alone near the summit of Ben Macdui years earlier in 1891.

"I was returning from the cairn on the summit in a mist when I began to think I heard something else than merely the noise of my own footsteps. Every few steps I took I heard a crunch, and then another crunch, as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own. I said to myself, this is all nonsense. I listened and heard it again but could see nothing in the mist. As I walked on and the eerie crunch, crunch sounded behind me, I was seized with terror and took to my heels, staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles nearly down to Rothiemurchus Forest. Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben Macdui and I will not go back there again."

Collie's account was reported in the local press, which started a debate between sceptics and believers within the community. Other climbers came forward with their own encounters, which they had previously been afraid to share. One climber, Hugh D. Welsh, said that he hiked the summit with his brother in 1904, where throughout the day and night they heard "slurring footsteps, as if someone was walking through water-saturated gravel." Both felt "frequently conscious of something near us, an eerie sense of apprehension."

In 1945, Pete Densham was participating in rescue work in the Cairngorm mountains during World War II. One day, he reported hearing strange noises, mist closing in on his location, and increasing pressure around his neck. He fled before seeing anything concrete. A friend of his, climber Richard Frere, wrote about his sense of "a Presence, utterly abstract but intensely real" on the mountain and heard "an intensely high singing note" a few years later in 1948. Frere also presented the encounter of another mutual friend, who wished to remain anonymous, while he camped on Ben Macdui. He reported waking up feeling an inescapable feeling of dread, and looked out of his tent to see a large figure with dark hair standing in front of the moon in silhouette.

In 1958, naturalist and mountaineer Alexander Tewnion published an article in The Scots magazine about an encounter with the Grey Man in 1943.

"I spent a 10-day leave climbing alone in the Cairngorms. One afternoon, just as I reached the summit cairn of Ben MacDhui, mist swirled across the Lairig Ghru and enveloped the mountain. The atmosphere became dark and oppressive, a fierce, bitter wind whisked among the boulders, and... an odd sound echoed through the mist – a loud footstep, it seemed. Then another, and another... A strange shape loomed up, receded, came charging at me! Without hesitation I whipped out the revolver and fired three times at the figure. When it still came on I turned and hared down the path, reaching Glen Derry in a time that I have never bettered. You may ask was it really the Fear Laith Mhor? Frankly, I think it was.

No photographs of the Big Grey Man have ever been taken. Photographer John A. Rennie supposedly found a series of footprints in Spey Valley, measuring 19 inches (48 centimetres) long and 14 inches (36 centimetres) wide. These were published in a book, but he later discovered that they were a natural phenomenon caused by rainfall eroding the snow.

#Am Fear Liath Mòr #scotland

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scotianostra · 3 months

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Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was born in Edinburgh, on June 23rd 1940.

As a youngster Sutcliffe's father moved the family to Liverpool, where Stuart grew up.He attended Park View Primary School, Huyton, and Prescot Grammar School where he developed a love and aptitude for art.

While earning money as a bin man, he attended the Liverpool College of Art and was regarded as one of the best painters in his class, working mainly in an abstract expressionist style.

It was at college that he met fellow student John Lennon, who became his flatmate. After one of Sutcliffe's paintings sold for the then-massive sum of £65, Lennon convinced him to buy a bass guitar — which he could barely play — and join the band Lennon had formed with his friends Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

The band’s name had already changed numerous times. Upon joining, Sutcliffe and Lennon lit upon the idea of "beetles" as a nod to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Over the next few months, that name evolved into the Silver Beetles, then the Silver Beatles, and finally to the Beatles.

Along with hastily recruited drummer Pete Best, Sutcliffe and the Beatles traveled to Hamburg, Germany to play clubs and hone their skills. There, Sutcliffe fell in love with photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who became his fiancee just two months after meeting him. She gave him the mop-top haircut the rest of the band would soon adopt.

In 1961, Sutcliffe left the Beatles to focus on his painting and life with Astrid. He won a postgraduate scholarship to attend the Hamburg College of Art, eager to study under Edinburgh sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi.

His artistic career was cut short, however, when after a series of increasingly severe headaches, he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage on April 10, 1962, at the age of 21.

His fiancee and former bandmates were devastated. Sutcliffe’s face can still be seen on the far left side of the album cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

#scotland #scottish #history #angloscottish #the beatles #musician #guitarist #artist

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elementoftheeye · 2 months

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All the way back from 2007. my wife asked me the other day... my birthday... is there anything you have not done or anything that you would change in the past... THAT is a bit of a loaded question. The quick answer was, I really don't know. Of course what comes out of my mouth and what goes through my brain and heart are generally different. If it weren't that way I would be locked up on some island somewhere... or most likely not of this earth anymore. I will stick with this question in the realm of photography: I have no regrets about how I started in photography... I was young, had taken some art classes as a child and seemed to have an eye of it. In my teenage years, I remember everyone making fun of my dad for cutting off tops of heads with his snapshots of family. Probably around age 15 I found my dads camera. A 35mm Petri35 rangefinder. I never saw him use it but I grabbed it and loaded some color film. No idea what I was doing and teaching myself along the way... Badly I might add... I created a bit of friendship and respect with the camera. I loved aligning the images in the view finder, the smell of the back of the camera, and the heft of the camera... the light click of the shutter. Those memories are vivid to me. I took pictures of my friends and their cars, trees and flowers... then the next stage of life was the Army. I have a Pentax K1000 and a zoom lens. More photos of friends and maneuvers in the field. Travel photos, I was stationed in Oklahoma, California, Germany & Pennsylvania. Binders of 35mm negatives and color slides... to be destroyed by me through my ex wife... That is a regret ( I should have taken those binders and all of my gear. ) Jump ahead to a new life, a new 35mm Pentax ZX30. It was a good camera but felt like plastic, lightweight and cheap... Digital was in full swing by then and I got a Canon 20D... and my first trip out west to shoot with professional models... probably my next regret can 10-15 years later when I stopped shooting with models. I became a little bitter that I was not able to afford the fees. I was shooting with friends and we were splitting the fees, but I still wasn't happy. I felt self conscious when working closely with even friends... I soon just stopped making up bullshit excuses... and now I pull up old photos like this and relive my happiness if only for a few minutes. I tried to get back to shooting models maybe 5 years ago, and my experience was less than good. The model was rude, rude in front of another photographer and model. I just walked away... never got back on the proverbial bike again. That's a lot to unpack... one of the things I did as a photographer was print images for my models... this is Savannah Costello, I had sent her 5 large mounted prints from our shoot. She messaged me when she got her 1st house and thanked me because she had our photos to hang on her walls... Maybe another regret in this digital world is how many photos live on an old hard drive or only in digital realms...

#elementoftheeye #chambersburg #original photographer #original photograph #original photography #digital

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houseofbrat · 1 month

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04 JUNE 2024: US Weekly, "Inside Kate Middleton's Recovery: She 'May Never Come Back' in Royal Role We Remember (Exclusive)"

According to the second source, Kate’s team is “reevaluating what she’s going to be able to take on when she comes back,” noting, “She may never come back in the role that people saw her in before.”

[...] The reprieve is a welcome one for the couple. “The announcement that the royals won’t be able to work as much has been unexpected, but it will allow Kate and William to spend more time together,” says the second source. “They’ve been reconnecting and are closer than ever.”

05 JUNE 2024: Tom Sykes of The Daily Beast, "Kate Middleton ‘May Never Come Back’ as She Was: Report" [archive link]

In remarks likely to displease the palace, which has sought a blackout on reporting about Kate’s health apart from official updates, the outlet added that Kate has been spotted out and about with family and on her own.

06 JUNE 2024: William attends D-Day 80th Anniversary celebrations in France.

07 JUNE 2024: NY Post, "Kate Middleton not pressuring herself to see anyone amid cancer battle: ‘Doesn’t care truly what anyone thinks’" [archive link]

“Kate’s recovery is a one day-at-a-time thing,” an insider told Life & Style. “She’s not putting any pressure on herself to do anything or see anyone because deadlines in a situation like this can make the recovery way more stressful. She doesn’t care truly what anyone thinks.” [...] And while her home life seems to be as strong as can be — especially after insiders said that she and William are now “closer than ever” — the same can’t be said for her royal duties at this time. A source claimed this week that Princess Catherine “may never come back in the role that people saw her in before.”

08 JUNE 2024: Emily Prescott, Daily Mail, "Princess Kate rewards 'Girl Friday' Natasha Archer for her loyalty with new top job as senior private executive at the Palace" [archive link]

In a move that has been interpreted in Royal circles as a reward for her loyalty, Ms Archer has been appointed to the new role of senior private executive assistant to Kate and William. Ms Archer, 36, updated her profile on the LinkedIn career website last week to reflect her upgraded status. Previously she was a PA and stylist, and was pictured carrying Kate's bags on and off planes for Royal tours. Ms Archer's promotion follows reports that she personally collected The Princess of Wales from the London Clinic after her abdominal operation earlier this year. After that, the mother of two was brought into the innermost circle of select friends and family members who have been supporting the Princess through her private cancer battle. Sources say Ms Archer, who is married to Royal photographer Chris Jackson, has been dedicated to her employer. She has been inseparable from Kate in recent months, often assisting her as she travels to and from hospital appointments. Now she will have a title and salary that reflects her trusted status.

09 JUNE 2024: Reddit post stating Kate had been seen at the St. Regis in Houston, Texas.

10 JUNE 2024: Rumor then starts that Kate is being treated at MD Houston Cancer Center on Twitter.

Houston Chronicle posts an article with a response by Kensington Palace to the rumor. [archive link]

A rumor that Kate Middleton is being treated at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is false, according to a Kensington Palace representative. Speculation about the princess' location has grown since she announced her cancer diagnosis in March. She began preventative chemotherapy in February, according to Kensington Palace, with no estimated date of when she might return to public duties.

11 JUNE 2024: Tom Sykes of The Daily Beast, "No Timeframe’ for Kate Middleton’s Return to Royal Duties: Source" [archive link]

Another source, an old friend of the family, said that they thought it would be “bizarre” if Kate appeared on the balcony at Trooping the Colour this weekend having declined to appear for her own regiment a week before. “I think this idea that Kate is suddenly going to pop up on the balcony on Saturday is far-fetched,” they said. “It would be wonderful, of course, but more than slightly bizarre given that she bowed out of the Colonel’s review.” [...] The Daily Beast has reported that Kate may not be seen publicly until next year, while the Daily Mail reported that Kate’s friends have said “we might not see Catherine again until the autumn—and only then if she has recovered fully.” Us Weekly alleged that the Princess of Wales’ team is “reevaluating what she’s going to be able to take on when she comes back.” The palace has dismissed such reports as speculation. Her office has reiterated that she needs “space and time” to convalesce.

13 JUNE 2024: Richard Eden of the Daily Mail writes about Andrew and Royal Lodge:

There has been some suggestion, it is true, that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children could move into 30-room Royal Lodge. The Waleses currently live in four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage at Windsor. However, a source close to William and Catherine tells me they are very happy there and have no wish to leave. In due course, they will occupy Windsor Castle. ‘The last thing William and Catherine would want is a load of controversy about their getting another big house,’ says a friend. ‘They already have their large home at Kensington Palace and their Norfolk property, Anmer Hall, in addition to Adelaide Cottage. There was a fair bit of criticism of the cost of renovations to their Kensington Palace home and they would not want to go through all that again.’

Tiktoker said she saw Kate shopping with Charlotte and Louis. [archive link]

Kate Middleton was reportedly seen on a shopping spree with two of her children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, at a popular clothing store. The claim has been made by a TikTok user @lolchesss, on the video platform, who saw the Princess of Wales out and about with her younger ones, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. However, she clarified that she didn’t take any photos or videos in a bid to respect her privacy as the future Queen of England continues her public absence amid a cancer battle.

14 JUNE 2024: Kate announces she will attend Trooping the Colour:

Additional commentary regarding Kate's public statement:

(William made a separate statement regarding Kate's "start to engage with the work and projects," as he was not part of Kate's statement.)

Eleanor Hayward, The Times, "Kate’s ‘bad days’ from chemo will be brutally familiar to others" [archive link]

Kate is having preventative chemotherapy, also known as adjuvant chemotherapy. This is when drugs are given to “mop up” and destroy any cancer cells that are lurking in the body after surgery — to prevent cancer spreading or returning in future. Often patients undergoing preventative chemotherapy receive lower doses than those having it as a primary treatment, reducing the extremity of the side-effects. The length of chemotherapy varies from cancer to cancer. Professor Bob Phillips, professor of paediatric oncology at the University of York, said that the timeframe for chemotherapy treatment was “hugely variable”, adding that it was “traditionally between four and six ‘cycles’ of chemo, each cycle lasting 21 days and consisting of a day or few days of chemo”. He added that there would then be “time for the body to recover from it”, while the chemo keeps damaging the cancer cell. Phillips said: “Generally speaking, the healthier someone is before cancer treatment, the closer to optimal the amount of chemo and the gaps between chemo can be. Generally, the younger someone is, the healthier they will be.” [...] He added that preventative chemotherapy can “be given at lower doses and therefore be easier on the patients."

15 JUNE 2024: Kate attends Trooping the Colour and stands on the balcony for the flypast.

Allison Pearson creates a fire storm with her piece, "Our Fair Lady: Princess of Wales’s selfless display was the tonic that Britain needed"

Two words: Thank you. Thank you Princess of Wales for being an absolute trouper and attending Trooping the Colour on a cold, grey day when lesser mortals with your illness would have stayed home, tucked up in their jim-jams. Thank you for sacrificing the privacy that is so much needed to get you back to full health. Thank you for such a show of support for the King, who is not a well man, on his official birthday, and for giving a boost to the wider Royal family – which has sorely lacked star power since you withdrew from public life in January to have major surgery. Thank you for channelling the gamine beauty of Audrey Hepburn in that wow of a white dress with a jaunty, outsize, stripy black-and white bow. You are Our Fair Lady.

16 JUNE 2024: Kensington Palace releases a new photo of William and three kids for Father's Day.

21 JUNE 2024: Kensington Palace releases a new photo of William and three kids for his 42nd birthday.

(No photo was released for Kate's birthday in January.)

Tom Sykes, The Daily Beast, "William and Kate Will ‘Encourage’ Charlotte and Louis to Not Be Working Royals" [archive link]

They were speaking after a report in the Daily Mail said William not only agreed with his father King Charles’ drive to slim down the monarchy but would go even further. The report cited a friend as saying: “When the older members of the family retire, (William) won’t be inviting anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals.” The source said of the report, “It’s absolutely true. The option isn’t there for George, of course, but the children have been kept at arm’s length from royal life. They are exposed to the minimum possible publicity, and that is a deliberate strategy to let Charlotte and Louis choose their own destiny.” [...] Critics, of course, will argue that if the couple don’t want the children to take on formal royal duties, they should stop promoting them, and the royal family should stop using them to market itself. The children are often featured in Wales family photos (most recently their Father’s Day snap with William, and Wales promotional videos, such as those released after Trooping the Colour, which featured the kids extensively. Prince Louis’s facial antics have made him a superstar, and similarly Princess Charlotte is seen as a commanding big sister.

22 JUNE 2024: Kensington Palace releases a photo of William, George, Charlotte, and Taylor Swift:

25 JUNE 2024: Sophie, The Duchess of Edinburgh, is seen wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara, which was previously worn by Kate from 2013 to 2022, at the state dinner for Japan. The Lotus Flower Tiara no longer appears to be in the possession of (or loaned out to) Kate.

03 JULY 2024: William attends the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh with King Charles & Queen Camilla.

04 JULY 2024: William spotted on a scooter at Windsor Castle.

06 JULY 2024: William attends the Euro quarterfinal between England and Switzerland.

People magazine (US) announces that William will star in a documentary about his short-lived effort, Homewards, this fall. [archive link]

The Prince of Wales' Homewards program, dedicated to ending homelessness, will be featured in a compelling two-part ITV documentary series that will air on ITV1 and ITVX this fall. Titled Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the series will chronicle the first year of this five-year initiative. Viewers will follow Prince William, 42, as he launches Homewards across the U.K., capturing the stories of individuals currently facing homelessness and those with lived experience.

Last day of school for George, Charlotte, and Louis at Lambrook School until Wednesday, 04 September 2024.

Kate sends a "personal message" to Andy Murray on Twitter.

08 JULY 2024: Ellie Hall publishes "The Disappearing Timeline of Rose Hanbury" for Vulture (New York magazine). [archive link]

As far as royal scandals go, the Rose-William story barely registers on a list that includes the far more sordid (and substantiated) stories of the previous generation of Windsors, such as Squidgygate, the now-King Charles’s infamous tampon comments, and the whole Fergie toe-sucking thing.

The Telegraph posits that The Duchess of Gloucester may present trophies at Wimbledon in Kate's absence. [archive link]

The Duchess of Gloucester has been earmarked as a likely candidate to present the Wimbledon trophies this weekend if the Princess of Wales is unavailable, as she continues her recovery from cancer treatment. All England Club Chair Debbie Jevans told Telegraph Sport in the build-up to the Championships they would give the Princess “as much flexibility as possible” in determining whether she is able to fulfil her ceremonial duties as Club Patron on finals weekend, including leaving a decision until the morning of the women’s final on Saturday.

TIMELINE:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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thepromptswhisperer · 1 year

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Red Carpet Prompts

1. A’s child/nephew/etc. is going to take the stage later (to perform alone/with friends/at school/etc.). For now, however, they simply insist on walking over the Red Carpet. So, A improvises.

2. A is nominated for an award and nervous when they walk the Red Carpet.

3. A and B have a heated argument right before they have to walk the Red Carpet.

4. A camps on the sidewalk to be able to see their favorite celebrities walking the Red Carpet the next day.

5. A trips on the Red Carpet and B tries to catch them/catches them.

6. Journalist A has looked forward to interviewing the celebrities at the Red Carpet. They, however, seem to ignore them. (Could this be the end for A’s career?)

7. The cameras should all be on A. Yet, the photographers seem captivated by A’s rival/ex/etc. B and barely pay attention to A.

8. A is walking the Red Carpet when they see their ex/etc. B walking past them/at the other end of it.

9. Multiple people are responsible for rolling out the Red Carpet before the event. And yet, A always finds themselves to be right besides B.

10. A and B are announcing their relationship by walking the Red Carpet together.

11. A is responsible for the security checks on the celebrities – one of them refuses to cooperate.

12. Their manager is making A walk the Red Carpet – and they couldn’t be more annoyed about it.

13. Designer A and celebrity B work together on the perfect Red Carpet look.

14. Being the one people talk about after a Red Carpet event should be delightful – and usually it is. But this time, it’s for all the wrong reasons. (e.g. A was captured being angry at B.)

15. Camera operator/etc. A would like to be more appreciated for their work and envies the popularity of the celebrities as they walk the Red Carpet.

16. A and B always compete over who gets the top spot for best dressed.

17. A loves being in the spotlight – and apparently they love it more than they do B too since they forgot they are there.

18. The Red Carpet was supposed to be red. Red, not whatever color this is. Now, A’s outfit clashes with it.

19. A walks the Red Carpet with B by their side. Pretending to be in a happy relationship is difficult enough – but being in a fake relationship, playing it up for the cameras while trying to not fall for the illusion themselves? It feels impossible to do.

20. For their outfit to not wrinkle/etc. before hitting the Red Carpet, A has to travel there in a weird position. (Hopefully, the driver is able to make it a smooth ride.)

21. Journalist A has chosen to wear their own stunning Red Carpet outfit and the celebrities they interview notice.

22. A is walking the Red Carpet with their celebrity partner/sibling/etc. B. They want to give them some room to shine, but B insists on them staying right next to them.

23. A (almost) slips up and reveals something very private/that has to stay a secret for now in an interview.

24. A walks the Red Carpet with their co-star/duet partner B, trying to ignore the fact that the whole world seems to speculate about whether or not they are together. (They aren’t sure themselves either.)

25. Celebrity A is annoyed when people talk more about B, the stranger who held the umbrella for them so that they don’t get wet on the Red Carpet/etc., than about them.

26. A, the manager of a carpet manufacturer, and B, an event coordinator/production assistant/A’s colleague, have a few meetings about the right color for the carpet that was ordered for an important event.

27. Designer A tries to convince celebrity B to wear their design on the Red Carpet.

28. While on the Red Carpet, A meets celebrity B who they’ve admired/had a celebrity crush on for a while now.

29. A has always dreamed of walking the Red Carpet. The real experience is nothing like they imagined it would be.

30. A can’t go to the event (despite being nominated for an award), so B rolls out the red carpet (or something comparable) for them at home.

31. Red Carpet/Event coordinator A was promised that if this event goes smoothly, they’ll get assigned to manage bigger events. Unfortunately for them, celebrity/colleague B does not care for their ambition and makes the Red Carpet event hell for them.

32. A and B are at home/in their hotel room(s), getting ready for the Red Carpet.

33. A was simply doing their job of looking after the celebrities on the Red Carpet/making sure the Red Carpet event goes smoothly. They did not expect to appear in the background of press pictures and for the Internet to take an interest in them.

34. A has a wardrobe malfunction while walking the Red Carpet. (B tries to help them.)

35. The Red Carpet is open to journalists the day/in the hours before the big event. A, the event coordinator/production assistant/etc., notices something weird/shady/etc. going on.

#writing prompts #writing inspiration #red carpet prompts #celebrity prompts #location prompts #writing ideas #prompt list #occupation prompts #au prompts

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jahayla-parker · 2 years

Note

okay- i've had this thought stuck in my mind for a while now so hear me out

freddy carter x fem.reader and they're out exploring the city they're visiting and he's constantly taking photos of her candid and posed and its just sooo cute<33

if you dont feel it, dont worry about it!

Through Every Season: Freddy Carter x Reader

(Fics + SMAUs) Part 1

Description: Traveling with your boyfriend Freddy entails lots of candid and posed photos but you wouldn’t have it any other way. SMAUs and small fics / blurbs

Warnings: none I can think of!

So Tumblr doesn’t let me do more than 10 photos or one video per post 🙄 so… the collages would be one post. Aka you’d be swiping left to go from left to right in the order of top row to bottom for each collage as if it were one Insta post but it had to be one single photo for tumblr 😤

Pt 2 here

Freddy’s Instagram Profile

——SMAU Post One——

Liked by kittheyounger, lbardugo, yourusername, and 615, 471 others

freddycarter1: In the City of Love with my love 💞

view all 432, 785 comments

amitasuman_: bloody hell @/yourusername 🔥

archierenaux3: love how you’re not even in any of these 😂

calahan.skogman: excuse me, that’s clearly his sexy arm in the 5th one 🙄

kittheyounger: damn she’s beautiful

freddycarter1: je suis d'accord!

yourusername: mon bel amour de ma vie 😘

——Fic 1——

“No, stop Freddy!” Y/n giggled, covering her face as her boyfriend too another photo of her.

“But love, the sun is hitting so well off the tower” Freddy laughs, tickling her.

She squirms into his embrace while laughing, “I think you need to photograph the tower then not me babe”.

Freddy shakes his head, “you’re too adorable, please? It doesn’t have to be a candid shot “.

Y/n blushes, adjusting her hat, “alright, alright, just don’t start with those irresistible puppy eyes”.

He smirks and nods as he refocuses his camera, “ready when you are”.

Freddy smiles to himself as she pretends to blow his camera a kiss, creating the perfect portrait of his love in the couple’s favorite city.

——SMAU Post Two——

Liked by amitasuman_, lbardugo, yourusername, and 528, 920 others

freddycarter1: Previously on Candids and Cameras 📸🖤

view all 286, 914 comments

lbardugo: I’d definitely pay to watch this series 😌

calahan.skogman: don’t know which of you two I’m most jealous of, it’s not fair 😒

yourusername: numb.2 may be my new lock screen 😘

kittheyounger: would’ve lost that bet I figured it would’ve been #8

yourusername: you’d win a consolation prize as that is my home screen wallpaper 😇

amitasuman_: these adventures look so fun, let me third wheel next time haha

——Fic 2——

“I love you so much” y/n mumbles, tightly holding Freddy’s hand as they walk down the street.

He glances over at her, stopping so he can face her, “I love you too precious”.

She leans in to give him a kiss but pauses, making him let out a disappointed and confused huff.

Y/n chuckles, “I want to try something”.

Freddy nods slowly as he watches her grab the camera he bought her out of her bag.

He waits patiently despite his curiosity and soon he realizes what she’s doing.

She’d set up her camera on the park bench beside them, tilted to capture them in the frame.

Y/n blushes as she walks back to him, “I think it could be cute…”

Freddy smiles as he admires her creativity and nervousness, “I have no doubts about that dear”.

——SMAU Post Three——

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freddycarter1: Bringing my home to my home 🥰

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yourusername: they say home is where the heart is… but God I love the English 🇬🇧💙

tommyae: glad she replaced you as mum’s favorite 😉

freddycarter1: not even surprised 🙂

yourusername: stooppp Tom 😭

lbardugo: y/n you’re so stunning dear

yourusername: I happen to have a pretty amazing photographer☺️😉

——Fic 3——

“Are you sure?” Y/n asked for the thousandth time that night.

Freddy rolled his eyes lightheartedly and nodded yet again, “yes love, my parents adored you”.

She blushes and nods, biting her lip silently.

Freddy sighs, standing up and walking to her as she stood next to her dresser as she removed her jewelry from the family dinner tonight.

“I know you’re still doubting me y/n/n, so I’ll confess, you replaced me as my mum’s favorite” Freddy whispered, kissing her shoulder tenderly.

“Poor Tommy” y/n laughs, her teeth sinking deeply into her bottom lip as she grinned at his compliment.

“Tommy?! I’m the one you replaced” he teased, squeezing her hips.

“Yeah but if that’s true, it means he’s now her third favorite” y/n laughed.

Freddy smiled brightly, wrapping his arms around her, “I’m so glad you came home with me”.

“I love it here Freddy, truly. Thank you for bringing me” she sighed, turning to kiss his cheek.

——SMAU Post Four——

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freddycarter1: I love her the way she loves waterfalls and the beach 🌊

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yourusername: Frederick. James. Carter. I love you more than waterfalls and beaches. And you damn well better know that you beach😝

freddycarter1: 💀 Ily darling

amitasuman_: this has become a y/n fan page and I’m here for it 👏

freddycarter1: as if there was any other choice 💁‍♂️

——Fic 4——

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of traveling with you dear” Freddy promised, laying down next to y/n on the warm sand.

“Good, because I don’t want to travel without you” she blushed, moving to lay her head on his chest.

Freddy grinned at her, softly pulling sand from her hair.

“God I love the beach” she mumbled quietly, one hand wrapped in his while the other dived into the sand.

He laughed, “believe me, I’m well aware. Why do you think we’re here?”.

She smirked, “because you love me”.

Freddy nodded, “more than anything”.

——SMAU Post Five——

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freddycarter1: Introducing my snow queen❄️

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yourusername: not featured is poor Freddy having to help me warm up when I start to become an icicle 😇🤗

freddycarter1: I’m never going to reject cuddling before the fireplace your majesty 👑

amitasuman _: suddenly you guys being MIA this winter makes sense! Jealous of all the traveling🥹

kittheyounger: OTP ♾

——Fic 5——

“Aaahh why does snow have to be soooo cold?” Y/n asked rhetorically.

Freddy shook his head as he laughed at her, “if it wasn’t it would just be water, dear”.

She glared playfully at him, her eyes softening as he draped an oversized blanket around her body.

“You’re lucky you’re cute” She joked, poking Freddy’s cheek with her cold finger.

Freddy chuckled, grabbing her hands and cupping them in his as he brought them to his lips so he could warm them with his breath.

——SMAU Post Six——

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freddycarter1: Constantly falling🍂

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yourusername: so grateFALL for you Freddy🤎

calahan.skogman: no, not autumn puns you two 👎

lbardugo: you guys somehow get cuter every season

freddycarter1: she’ll forever be loml through every season 🫶

——Fic 6——

“Fall may be my favorite season, but you’re my favorite person” y/n hummed, cuddled up in Freddy’s arms as they lounged on their sofa.

He laughed sweetly, the sound calming to y/n.

“A bit cheesy my love, but I’m honored to even be compared to your love of autumn “.

She rolled her eyes, playing with his hand under the blankets, “Frederick Carter, you better be joking. I love you more than any season”.

Freddy blushed and buried his face in the crook of her neck, “I could say the same to you, darling”.

View y/n’s version here (again Tumblr only always 10 total per post so broke theirs up). Preview:

Freddy Carter Masterlist/Navigation

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My Main Masterlist/Navigation (all my works)

Freddy Carter Taglist (comment here to be added): @ell0ra-br3kk3r

#freddy carter #freddy carter x reader #Freddy Carter x Yn #Freddy Carter x y/n #Freddy Carter smau #smau #Freddy Carter Instagram #Freddy Carter x you #Freddy Carter x Reader smau #Freddy Carter fluff #my work #original post #two part

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