Synopsis
Set in post-republican Tasmania and the United Kingdom, A Question of Sovereignty is a story about Love. It is the quest of a contemporary English prince who, while recognising that his destiny as heir to the most important throne in Europe is something of an anachronism in the 21st century, grapples to claim his own personal sovereignty.
The story begins when Prince William meets a young Australian woman, Isobel, with whom he falls in love. After two years of constant struggle against the attitudes of the Palace, the press and the Establishment, they prove to themselves, at least, the strength of that love. Despite the opposition, William asks for her hand in marriage. This serves to bring unspoken tensions to the surface and Isobel finally refuses to compromise her integrity to suit the 'job description' that such a marriage would seem to require. The relationship no longer belongs to them, and she leaves.
The separation is unbearably painful for both, but while Isobel returns to the peace of her native Tasmania, William chooses to do the one thing his family desires, he finds a more suitable girlfriend and braves it out. However, other events intervene and a reunion takes place. After intense soul searching, and, despite the predicted reaction from the Palace, they decide to follow their hearts. Isobel finally returns to England... reluctantly, but prepared to face her antagonists and join William as his consort.
The story follows William's constant reappraisal of his position... his right to make his own personal choices despite the wishes of the Palace. Isobel, being a nonconformist and an advocate of personal sovereignty, helps him find the answers to his internal questions. Central to the story are the unresolved feelings about his parent's marriage, its eventual failure, his mother's untimely death, and her profound influence upon him particularly in resolving the conundrum between 'love' and 'duty'.
This is a story about fears and vulnerabilities... about two young people from vastly different backgrounds learning about who they truly are. It is about taking risks and turning an impossible love into reality. It is a story about freedom... a quest of courage to follow one's heart.
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Extracts
The Queen's Decision: (p 79)
She leaned back and studied the two young people before her... and gradually it dawned on her. History was staring her in the face. She'd successfully steered the Monarchy through the turbulent second half of the 20th century, only to see its future standing before her in the form of Diana's son and his Australian girlfriend. Suddenly Diana's relevance in the scheme of things took on a new dimension and Elizabeth felt the powerlessness of being a pawn in her own game. There was no choice to make... She must support this union, otherwise it will have all been for nothing.
"We must throw it all to the winds..." she whispered more to herself, realising that the attempt to maintain control was futile, and stated with a sigh, "It's in God's hands then..."
So, I've been banished, have I? she thought, deeply saddened. Allowing the 'prince' full rein wasn't going to work this time. He'd released her from that particular rule. She breathed, felt a growing rage, and opened her mouth.
"Forget the Queen," she snarled. "I'm not sure that I want to marry you if this is how you behave when things get a little tough. You can't just banish me when I've said the wrong thing or you've simply had enough! What exactly is it you fear, William? My opinions or my lack of breeding?"
"I don't want to talk about this," he said, quietly and dangerously.
"Well, I'm sorry about that," she said, ignoring the implied threat, and strode to the opposite end of the room, breathing deeply and gathering her thoughts. She returned to him, glaring. "I don't care who you are... How dare you tell me how to behave! What to say... who to talk to... As far as I'm concerned, your title doesn't give you unlimited licence to treat me like one of your minions!" She seethed. "When are you going to get it? You're just another human being living in just another degree of pain and fear... You have no authority over me!"
William watched her fury burn itself out without speaking ... he lifted his head up higher, trying to assuage the sense of smallness which assailed him, with false pride.
Isobel strode towards him, close enough to be looking down at him as he sat in the chair, and spoke very quietly. "I think we've been ignoring reality," she said. "We've been in a fantasy world... and it's time we woke up."
In odd moments of rational thought, he shuddered to think how low he had sunk. He knew it was up to him to contact her, but he simply couldn't make himself do it. He picked up the phone once, calculated the time in Australia and punched in all but the last digit... then stopped and cursed himself for his cowardice. Why? he asked himself. Why can't I do it? The answers slid from his mind. She doesn't want me... I can't change who I am... But everyday the arguments sounded more hollow... rapidly losing their power. Finally, the only reason left was that if he contacted her, at the very least, he'd have to offer to abdicate and an unknown future frightened him more than he cared to admit. 'Duty' and 'honour' was still more important, in his mind, than love, despite knowing in his heart that no one else could ever ease the burden of separation from Isobel. Life without a quest seemed empty and meaningless... but if he truly cast her from his heart and mind, his life would have no meaning anyway, so he held on tenaciously to the memory. It was a dilemma which refused to be reconciled.
"You speak of freedom as I've never known it." He was silent a moment, staring ahead. Then he turned towards her. "My allegiance is the same as yours... to God Truth, Power and Love."
Isobel watched him closely.
He stretched his legs and spoke quietly, earnestly. "You've taught me that if I don't 'receive' those things into myself first, I can't 'give' them. I can't be a king if I've turned Love away. A king is a conduit... a channel to the Divine." He stopped, a little surprised, and chuckled. "Doesn't that reek of the 'Divine Right of Kings'?"
"It does rather. What do you mean?"
He was thoughtful. "I mean, that on some level beyond our normal understanding... on an archetypal level of consciousness, it exists like that. It always has and it always will. It's beyond time... and beyond logic. People want to see a political king so they feel they've somehow glimpsed God. But it's not my responsibility to be a king for the world! ... If I accept the Crown, I will be an example... a symbol of what the people already are. And if I don't, I must do so in a way which will show people that they can 'touch God' without a king, otherwise it will be destructive."
William was aware that at the same moment that the words flowed through him unimpeded, the understanding came. There was no doubt whatsoever, just absolute clarity. The answer he'd wanted for so long, now seemed so simple. Why had he not seen it before?
"Yes! Yes... I have to be that... I have to be true unto myself and accept and allow the Divine to work through me. Yes."
... For the first time she could see its true value... how it had strengthened and formed him. "That's why you've never quite known who anyone was relating to... You or 'the prince'."
He nodded slightly. "Exactly. It's more difficult for me than my father because both his parents were royal. He didn't know there was any other option. I've always had an awareness of 'being normal' as well. My mother always made sure of that."
"So in a way she sowed the seeds of your discontent."
"Maybe... but it's also meant I've needed to be more conscious of the totality of who I am."
"So, how exactly do I fit into this?" she asked.
"How can I be an effective king without you beside me?"
The story reminded Isobel of a Shakespearian tragedy. It was about power and truth... yet this was the 21st century. It was about the human condition, as old as time itself. "Wills, isn't this conflict the same as you've always had?" she asked softly, when he calmed a little. "It's an age-old conflict... It's about personal sovereignty... not just the sovereign."
He was silent, considering for some time, then he turned, wiping his eyes and looked at her from under his eyebrows. "Yes, I know..." He considered some more, breathing slowly and trying not to feel the uneasy swelling of energy within his body. What always caused the most struggle for him was trying to find harmony between love and duty... between Spencer and Windsor... between mother and father. And now, between Isobel and his birthright. His burden suddenly seemed to crush him.
"No," Sir David interrupted in some distress, and glanced at the King, who nodded for him to continue. "We do not want to be reminded of her opinions, sir. The Monarchy has been damaged sufficiently by her in the past. If we allow this sort of disclosure..."
"Of real feelings..." William stated with disgust.
The secretary ignored him. "...the public doesn't need to be reminded of such casual attitudes as she demonstrated. They want a royal family that is... noble and refined."
"'Removed', you mean. And, what's more, you're incorrect!" The Prince sighed. "Might I remind you that we are not discussing her suitability, Sir David. She is my wife!" he stated and added, scathingly, "And she did not invent republicanism!"
Sir David was silenced.
Copyright 2000 Selenna
Author's Note
A few short weeks after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and three years before the Sydney Olympic Games, where Tasmanian woman, Mary Donaldson, met the prince she was later to marry, I was on a retreat, alone for eight days. On the fifth day, I received the bare bones of this story as a 'gift', it seemed, and for the next three days I was constantly inspired with new scenes and could not stop scribbling on what little paper I had with me. By the time I rejoined my family, my excitement was almost overwhelming. I knew I had a story which would be welcomed as a way of better understanding and offering a positive legacy from Diana's death, which had clearly shattered the hopes and dreams of so many people. She represented such a potential of unconditional love rarely seen at that echelon of society, and it was simply impossible to imagine that that grace had been quenched by something so limiting as physical death. I didn't need to write it, I had to.
Since her death, Diana's message has been discouraged. To remain untouched by love is so much easier for any institution, especially a monarchy, which would find it difficult to exist without duty and hierarchical authority holding such a structure together. The gift Princess Diana gave to her sons, and to the world that watched, was simply to be open to love. For what it's worth, I believe that much of what I write conveys what she represented to millions. Her energy can never be forgotten, regardless of how logic dictates that it should. In the scheme of things, she was not here for long and to some she may have been a 'tiresome girl', but her integral beauty persists, a permanent place in history. We can not deny that. Nor can we deny her influence upon her sons or their right to love and be proud of her. It is not the future of Prince William about which I write, but a possible scenario which is already consigned to the corridors of myth where it belongs. It does not exist in the physical, apart from upon these pages, and never will. My deepest wish is that what Diana's son, William, brings to history will be of his own making.
This story is not a frivilous romance. This love story does not focus upon the meeting of souls, but on the reflection of what love is and how it changes and strengthens us as human beings. It can make us powerful beyond measure. The process of confronting one's demons and growing stronger in the knowledge of one's identity is the path of universal integrity. It is a process of reconciliation between mind and heart... between logic and intuition. It is the path that binds us as humans, regardless of title or status, and the healing allows us our freedom. Love is our equality and freedom is our sovereign birthright.
As it is a universal story of personal sovereignty which requires a backdrop of living archetypal figures, it would be meaningless to try to hide their identities or use ficticious counterparts. But the story deals with all the 'living' characters fictionally and, I believe, with dignity as well as offering a positive outcome. If I have touched a chord of truth within any of them, it is entirely coincidental.
And as far as Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark are concerned...
Selenna
May, 2000 (revisited January, 2005)
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Also by Selenna: "Nemeton", "Beyond the Veils of Time", "Yeshua Benjoseph - His Mother's Story".
