HEIR - Prince William

FOURTEEN : A HAPPY ENDING

Our little Louis waved goodbye to us as he ran away with his new teacher.. unlike his two older siblings, he was very excited and happy on his first day of school & he absolutely didn't mind leaving us behind. "We have one very sociable boy, look at him go !" - I said to Catherine. "Just wait until they see his crazy side" - she funnily replied.

Just as we got back into the car & I was about to drive off, I got a call from my father.. "I wonder what this is about ?!" - I thought out loud, as he never rang during this time of day. I picked up.. "William, I don't have much time. I am just calling to inform you that your grandmother is dying. Camilla and I are on our way to Balmoral, I hope we're able to make it in time.." - that is all he said, before ending the call.

My facial expression shifted as I let out a big sigh.. "what is it Wills ?" - Catherine asked, as she held my hand to comfort me. "It's happening" - I said, she immediately understood.

Before I was able to say anything else, I got another phone call.. "Harry ?!" - I exclaimed. It felt like I was forced to pick up, "go on.." - I said. "You know I'm in the UK, I would really like to join you and the rest of the family on the plane to Scotland" - he said, I concluded that we were all set to go together. Even though he was the last person I wanted there, it wasn't my place to tell him not to go, so I replied with an "okay, fine..". "But they don't want me to bring Meghan" - he continued. "F**k off Harry, do you really want to go to farewell your grandmother or to milk some more money out of the family's situation ?!" - I angrily said before hanging up on him.

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I was able to drop Catherine off at home after she decided to stay with the kids, "you're gonna be able to tell them ?" - I asked her. She reassured me that everything will be okay. I was then able to go meet up with my two uncles, my aunt and my brother..

"We're very late.." - my uncle Edward said as he stood out of his chair in the plane. "I'm sorry" - I said. "It's not your fault William" - he replied while patting me on the shoulder. Harry left us waiting an hour for him while he argued about how he couldn't bring Meghan, only to drop out the last second and announce that he's going on his own using his private jet. How lovely of him to leave two children longing to see their mother during her last few moments waiting.. as if he doesn't know how painful losing a mother can be.

The plane finally took off after a very unnecessary delay. It was a very hard flight to say the least.. the atmosphere was tense, it felt like we were in a race against time, each one of us was very anxious but nobody expressed any emotion until that moment, the moment when we were informed of my grandmother's death, just minutes before landing.

My uncle Edward laid his head on his wife's shoulder in a moment of sorrow and shock, while my other uncle, Andrew, felt alone and in need of someone to comfort him.. despite our differences I let everything aside & I decided to be that person for him in that moment.

Just as I settled back to deal with my own feelings, I got a text from Catherine that read : "I just got the news, I'm so sorry my love.. stay strong, I love you". I smiled, the future was scary, but knowing that I'd have her by my side made it a little less terrifying.

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After the national mourning period ended, the fact that my life had been turned around in the matter of hours on September 8th, began to sink in. Being the second in line to the throne is all I've ever known since I was a child. I grew up with this role as a part of my identity, being the heir (and then king) was something I always knew would happen, but it never felt real because I had never actually experienced it.. until my grandmother passed away when I was 40 years old.