Royals (A Prince Harry Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

"What color lip, do you think?" Jackie asked Kate, who was distracted with clipping on a sapphire necklace, a perfect pair with her engagement ring.

"Hm," Kate ruffled through the drawers of her impressive makeup organizer, pulling out a tube of expensive gloss. "I think a nice coral would be appropriate. You don't want to upstage Granny."

Jackie smiled. "Of course not."

The women had done their hair and eye makeup done earlier in the afternoon, leaving them to sit around in robes, trying not to ruin any of it. The Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace was to begin at four, leaving them with half an hour before Jackie had to mingle with the guests in the garden and Kate had to join the other royals for their grand entrance.

"I suppose we should put our dresses on," said Kate, pulling two garment bags from a rack in the "Prep Room", a room in Kate's Kensington Palace apartment used for hair, makeup, and dressing.

Jackie laid her bag across an ottoman, unzipping it in one swift motion. She frowned. "Kate- this isn't my dress, I think you gave me the wrong bag." Jackie had sent an old favorite dress of hers to the Palace to have dry cleaned and readied for the Garden Party earlier in the week. Her dress was a simple tan thing, the dress in the bag was absolutely exquisite, a white Chanel dress. It had to be Kate's.

Kate could only grin, holding up her own bag. "No, this is mine."

A piece of paper pinned to the shoulder of the Chanel dress caught her eye. Jackie carefully removed it from the silky fabric, her eyes softening at the messily scrawled words.

Jackie-

I have a feeling this will look beautiful on you. (So does Kate).

Love,

Harry

Jackie was so touched a shiver went down her spine. She held the note to her chest, soaking in the moment, and acknowledging how incredibly lucky she was. Then, she turned to her friend with a wide smile and a hug. "Thank you!"

Kate laughed with glee. "Don't thank me, thank Harry! I guided his choices, but he really did choose this one all on his own."

Jackie let out a laugh, in disbelief. "I can't believe I have a Chanel dress. I always said I was going to save up to get one, but now- I just can't believe it!"

"Well, put it on!" Kate urged.

Jackie threw off her robe and carefully pulled the dress up around herself, Kate zipping it up in the back. The dress fit like a glove, accentuating her figure in the most flattering way. Her light tan was brought out by the beautiful white fabric.

"Harry was right," Kate said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Jackie waved her off, though she couldn't help but to admire her own reflection. Kate was right, Harry was right. She shook her head with a smile, letting out a sigh.

"Ladies, you have fifteen minutes," Kate's lady in waiting, Rebecca, said through the door.

"Thank you, Becca!" Kate called.

Jackie opened up her purse, pulling out a black velvet box. She opened it carefully, pulling out her most prized possession. Her mother's diamond pendant. The small, modestly sized diamond had been in Jackie's family for years, and after Jackie's mother, Mary, had passed away five years before, it had been passed down to her. As she clipped the delicate silver chain around her neck, she thought of how much her mother would have loved to meet Harry.

2006 had been a rough year for Jackie. Her mother, Mary, had been diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer at only 56, leaving her with just a few months to live. Jackie's father, George's, health had deteriorated with his wife's, leaving Jackie to take care of the pair of them. When Mary passed away, George died just a month later, of what Jackie presumed was a broken heart. Watching her parent's wither away so suddenly without much of a warning had been the hardest thing Jackie had gone through, and living her life without them was very hard for her.