Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Princess who was married to her Prince Charming. The Kingdom adored the enchanting Princess but her wicked mother-in-law, the Queen, was insanely jealous. The popular Princess overshadowed her awkward Prince too, and he was far from charming to his bride. The Prince’s parents encouraged his dalliance with a former lover and lent the forlorn Princess little support.

The Princess won hearts and minds with her grace and compassion for her subjects, but she was broken-hearted, because she did not have the love of her husband. After she bore him a son, the selfish Prince had no more use for his spouse and wished to be with his long-term mistress. He divorced his estranged Princess, but she kept her dignity and continued to serve good causes which gained her a reputation as a peace emissary

Nothing could have angered the Monarch more, because it turned a glaring spotlight on her own lack of humanity and pro-war ancestry. The evil Queen sought her husband’s council and together they hatched a foolproof plot to be rid of this irksome ‘rose’ who was a thorn in their Royal side. While on a public engagement, the fateful Princess was involved in an accident, her carriage collided with a bridge and she was fatally injured.

The Kingdom was in shock and rumours persisted that her death was not accidental A spontaneous outpouring of grief and anger threatened civil unrest. The Queen appeased the throng with a flowery speech and elaborate state funeral and in time, all memories of the fairytale Princess were erased from the history books. It was decreed throughout the land that evidence pertaining to the incident would remain secret for one hundred years.

The Prince soon remarried and his hated concubine was groomed as a Duchess, but the glass slipper did not fit. The specter of the dead Princess and mother of the future heir, hung over the newly weds in every castle and on every official occasion. The usurper could not compare to the true ‘Queen of Hearts’ and even a smear campaign by palace insiders could not taint the Princess’s image in the thoughts of those who loved her…

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The future King and Queen are making a whirlwind tour of New Orleans and Ground Zero in New York.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4393636.stm