My Nephew, My King

Philip Of Bavaria

Charles and Katherine's relationship blossomed quickly, and they soon knew that they were in love. They were married almost six months to the day after they'd first met, and within a couple of months, Katherine was with child.

"With all the new grandchildren we keep getting, I'd say there's virtually no chance of our line dying out any time soon," Henry, Sr. said to his wife Katherine one day. "Arthur and Anne have five now, George and Joanna have two, Henry and Jane just had their second, Edward and Anne have little Andrew, and now Katherine's expecting. No telling how many more little surprises are in store for us."

"I'm just so happy that they're all healthy, and that all the mothers survived," Katherine replied.

One day a foreign prince arrived at the English court, having traveled all the way from Bavaria. He was very handsome, with dark brown hair, clear blue eyes, and a nicely trimmed beard. He watched the girls dancing at court. Two of the dancing girls were the two youngest daughters of Henry and Katherine, Mary and Isabella.

"What a fox!" Isabella, the younger sister, whispered to Mary.

Mary looked at Philip, and her eyes widened. He was indeed the best looking young man she'd ever seen.

"You're too young for him," she whispered back to Isabella.

"I am not, either!" Isabella retorted angrily.

Mary noticed that the newcomer was walking toward her.

"Hello," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Philip."

"I'm Mary." She smiled back and extended her own hand, and he kissed it.

"Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to!"

As Isabella watched the dance, silently fuming, a plan began to form in her mind.

"It certainly is a lovely day, isn't it?" asked George.

"It certainly is!" Joanna agreed. They and their children, six-year-old Georgia and four-year-old Thomas, were having a picnic on the palace grounds. While George and Joanna spread the quilt on the ground and began to set the food out, Georgia and Thomas played hide-and-seek.

"Eight...nine...ten...ready or not, here I come!" shouted Georgia. She looked in all the obvious hiding places, but her brother wasn't in any of them. Becoming slightly worried, she began to search in more distant places, wandering so far away that she could barely hear her parents calling to her, telling her that it was time to eat.

"Mama, Papa, I can't find Tommy anywhere!" she cried as she ran to them.

"We haven't been here that long," said Joanna. "He can't have wandered that far away."

"He's just playing a trick on you," George assured his daughter. "He'll come out when he gets hungry enough."

"I think we'd better start looking for him right away," Joanna said nervously. She and George began to search frantically for their son, calling his name constantly. There was no answer.

Eventually they arrived at a stream.

"Oh dear God," Joanna groaned when she saw what was floating on top of the water.

It was one of Thomas' shoes.

"It was so lovely of your family to invite me for dinner," Philip of Bavaria said to Mary. He, Mary, Isabella, Henry, and Katherine were all seated around a table upon which sat a roasted duck surrounded by vegetables.

"We're all pleased that you could come," Katherine replied with a smile.

"Everything is just so delicious," Philip remarked, helping himself to a generous slice of roasted duck.

Conversation flowed pleasantly for several minutes, and then a look of horror suddenly crossed Mary's face. She jumped up from her seat and began to search frantically for a chamber pot. Everyone stared after her, startled, except for Isabella, who feigned concentration on slicing her meat.

It was some moments before Mary returned to the table, red-faced and looking very stressed. She took a few more bites of her meal and then excused herself and returned to her bedchambers, claiming that her stomach still felt funny.

Isabella chatted animatedly with Philip for the remainder of the meal. Afterwards he suggested paying Mary a quick visit just to make sure that she was all right before departing for his own guest chambers.

"Oh, she'll be fine," Isabella quickly assured him. "She has a very delicate stomach. This happens to her a lot."

"Oh, dear." Philip looked distressed. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

"My stomach isn't delicate at all," Isabella said quickly. "I never get sick."

"That's good," said Philip. "Well, be sure and tell your sister that I hope she's feeling better soon."

"Of course I will," Isabella assured him.