Royals: Part 4

Chapter 1

'JACKIE BAKER IS PREGNANT!'

'The most eagerly awaited pregnancy was announced today by Kensington Palace on behalf of Ms. Baker and her husband Prince Harry.'

'The child will be added to the line up of heirs to the British throne, following directly behind its father.'

'The exciting news comes just shy of two months after it was revealed that Kate Middleton was expecting a baby and was hospitalized for severe morning sickness in early December. Unlike her sister in law, it is reported that Jackie Baker hasn't had any troubles in her pregnancy.'

'According to a royal source, the Duchesses are expected to deliver the new heirs to the throne around the same time, with due dates only one week apart. Jackie is said to be in her twelfth week of pregnancy, with Kate in her thirteenth.'

'The royal family is clearly thrilled with the news.'

'"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Windsor is expecting a baby," the palace said in a statement today. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and members of the entire family are delighted with the news."

'Harry, who has long been known for making privacy a priority, will now be faced with the inevitable fascination with his first child. And the scrutiny will doubtless be familiar to him.'

'From his infant trip to Spain with his parents and elder brother to his service in the Royal Air Force, Harry's life was filled with photo ops.'

'"We have a paradox here," says royal biographer, Robert Lacey, "Harry loathes the press and exposure to the publicity. On the other hand, Diana exposed both sons at an early age. They are immensely assured young men, while he may want to keep his children out the limelight, as a modern monarch he knows he has to deal with the media.'"

'While there is currently no word on when the royal baby will make its first public appearance, Prince Harry and Jackie Baker are scheduled for a 10 day long tour of Canada and the United States in April of this year, where Jackie will show off her baby bump, in what is expected to be in the end of her 5th month of pregnancy. After the tour, Jackie will most likely be taking it easy, as, like all pregnant women, she won't be able to fly in her third trimester.'

'The name guessing game has already begun.'

'"They'll stick to traditional names," Lacey predicts. "If it's a girl it's not likely to be called Diana, but you're very likely to see Diana in one of the middle names. Jackie's parents, George and Mary Baker, have both passed, so we can also expect to see them honored in the name choice as well."'

'We at the DailyMail are as thrilled as everyone else in the world to see more of the pregnant Duchess-Duo.'

---

Kate gave Jackie a hug as she finished reading the DailyMail article, reporting the announcement of her pregnancy. It was January 31st, and Kate and Jackie were going for their daily morning walk on the grounds of Kensington Palace, their dogs, Rupert and Lupo, trailing behind.

"This is so exciting," Kate gushed. "We can swap maternity clothes, and you can actually show off your stomach instead of hiding it!"

Jackie grinned, looking down at her oversized coat. She had gone to great lengths to hide her 7 pound weight gain, almost exclusively centered in her stomach. In order to avoid suspicion, Jackie had continued her busy schedule of public engagements, wearing clothes that were either loose or ruffled. She had been successful in keeping the pregnancy a secret until that morning, when she and Harry had released an official statement.

"It's going to be so much fun," Jackie agreed.

The women walked together, keeping a close eye on their dogs. Of course, the paparazzi were lurking outside the perimeter of the palace grounds, snapping a few photos as they walked by. They chatted about their expanding pregnancy wardrobes and their plans for moving.

Kate and Will had chosen to move to Anmer Hall, an impressive home on the Queen's Sandringham Estate. It needed to be renovated on the inside, and Kate was overseeing the plans, which would be completed shortly before her baby was born. Jackie and Harry had fallen in love with another home on the Sandringham Estate, called York Cottage. It was anything but a cottage: a sprawling Georgian style mansion that overlooked a large pond and wildflower gardens. It was currently being used for offices for royal staff, but a few renovations here and there would make it move-in ready by the time the baby arrived. Jackie was thrilled to be moving in near Kate again, where they would raise their children on the 20,000 acre estate where the paparazzi were banned from photographing, and send them to a local school in Norfolk.

"We should go shopping on Saturday," Kate suggested. "I need some furniture for the guest bedrooms."

"Oh, so do I. There're so many rooms in these houses, it's overwhelming."

"Tell me about it, I have to furnish 5 sitting rooms," Kate huffed.

Jackie laughed, snatching up an empty crisp bag that Rupert and Lupo were chasing. "There's so much space to fill."

"Have you picked anything for your nursery yet?" Kate asked.

Jackie nodded. "I found a great crib in the archives," she said, referring to the massive storeroom of historic royal family furniture. "I think Princess Margaret used it. I'm having one of the carpenters look at it to make sure it's safe, but it's so beautiful. It has all these carvings in really dark wood and it's massive. So I'm going to do lots of white finishings to lighten it up."

"Ooh, that sounds pretty." Kate tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "My mother bought us a crib already. She wanted to buy the linens as well, she's convinced the baby is a girl, but I told her we should wait."

"I think it's a girl, too," Jackie said. "And I think mine's a boy."

Kate smiled. "No way! I'm going to have a boy and you're going to have a girl, I just know it."

"We'll see, but I just can sense a little girl in there," Jackie said, motioning to Kate's ever-growing baby bump.

"I know you say you don't care what you have, but what do you want? You can tell me," Kate said with a mischievous grin.

"Honestly, I don't care, as long as it's healthy!" Jackie insisted. Deep down, she supposed she would be absolutely thrilled with a girl, but all that really mattered was that the baby was healthy. However, something inside her told Jackie that she was going to have a boy.

"Oh, you're no fun. I, of course, want them both to be healthy, but I would love to have a boy," Kate admitted. "Do you have any names in mind?"

Jackie shrugged. "A few. What about you?"

"Remember that night after your bachelorette party, when we promised to name our first borns after each other?" Kate asked.

Jackie laughed. "Oh, yeah. Well, then I suppose I'll either have a Catherine or a Carl."

"Well I don't expect Catherine to be a first name, but a middle name would be nice," Kate joked. "And actually, I was thinking Louis would be a nice middle name for a boy, you know, like Louisa."

"Louis's a great name," Jackie agreed. "Has the Queen talked to you about names for our future monarch?"

Kate nodded. "She had Will and I up for tea and talked to us about the importance of a proper name for a world leader. She practically gave us a list to choose from. She's pushing us towards George for a boy, like her father, and Charlotte for a girl, because it's the feminine version of Charles."

"Those are lovely. Do you like them?"

Kate nodded. "I do, actually. And I'm glad, I knew she was going to play a big part in the naming, and I was worried her choices would be horrible and I'd have to use them." Jackie laughed, then Kate said, "I just can't wait to meet both of them."

Jackie grinned. "Only 6 more months."

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Thanks for reading! Please comment any ideas you have for the plot of Royals: Part 4, as I have a few ideas, but not enough to fill a whole book! I would love to hear what you all would like to see happen. :)