The Duke and Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Thirty-One: Mother's Day Drama

10th of March 2024 - York House

Tapping her fingers against the desk, Adeline couldn't help but feel angry as she stared at the headlines that dominated the news; a frown set upon her face as she trapped to wrap her head around what was happening.

The Associated Press, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images had withdrawn from publishing a Mother's Day photograph of Catherine and her children; the photograph was attributed to William and accompanied by a personal message from her. 

The Associated Press explained it retracted the photograph because of concerns regarding digital alteration of the image at its source with AFP and Reuters raised similar concerns. 

This was the last thing that her sister-in-law had needed, Adeline could only put down what was happening as a coordinated attack against the Wales. 

Catherine's own cancer diagnose had come only days earlier at the end of February, nothing having been announced to the public and it certainly hadn't helped with all the conspiracy theories that were flying around. 

That morning, in a message posted by Kensington Palace, Catherine apologised for any confusion created and said she had personally edited the family photograph that was shared publicly. 

It was hard being stuck at home watching the entire thing play out, watching her family be attacked and slandered for doing nothing wrong. 

From talks about plastic surgery to Catherine donating an organ to Charles, there seemed to be no end to the madness that was occurring or the growing unrest from the media that was kept in the dark. 

There was even sickening rumours that Catherine had attempted to leave William, which had resulted in him assaulting her to the point of serious injury or death depending on who was asked. 

Adeline wished that there was something that could be done, she knew who was no doubt leading this misinformation; the coordinated attacks were hard to ignore especially from the Sussex Squad. 

However, it seemed like the worst was yet to come and Adeline hadn't been prepared for the latest nonsense aimed at her own marriage; it seemed like William wasn't the only one being painted as a violent cheater these days.

According to the current website that she was reading, the reason for her own sudden disappearance from the spotlight was the fact that she had walked in on Simon with his mistress; Melissa Percy and he had attacked her when she had told him that she was leaving him and taking the kids. 

The very idea was disgusting, Adeline had found social media post after social media post about this rumour; anger filling her and she wanted nothing more than to throw her laptop across the room. 

Being trapped at home for the last ten days had been driving her crazy, even with Simon and the children doing everything in their power to cheer her up and help her out around the house. 

Yesterday had been lovely, she had been surprised by breakfast in bed, presents from the children and a bouquet of flowers from Simon; she had been pampered and it had been a lovely day in bed. 

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone and sent a text message to Catherine, knowing how upset she must be feeling about everything that was going on. 

No doubt the press were throwing their toys out of the pram as always, trying to push the limits to gain more information about the children than they were entitled to; if that was how they wanted this to go then so be it. 

This time was no doubt in a response to the fact that the Wales and Clarences opted to take their own pictures of their families and release them, rather than allowing the media into their private spaces.