Enduring Love Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter Four
All four of the women finished dressing and met in the main entrance of the palace to greet their guests. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Baden were just arriving and stepping out of their carriage. Karolina and her mother stood behind the Princess and the Dowager Duchess as they curtsied and welcomed the royal couple while Theresia instructed the servants to take their baggage to their rooms in the palace. The Grand Duke acknowledged the Dowager Duchess and the Princess with a slight nod as he strode into the palace. The Grand Duchess meanwhile, said nothing while noticing the various stitching repairs made to the Dowager Duchess’s gown.
The 10th Duke and the Duchess of Hamilton arrived next after the Grand Duke of Baden.
The Duke of Hamilton was very influential in British government circles, having won a seat in Parliament and serving as Lord High Steward at Queen Victoria’s coronation. He looked distinguished in his formal black frock coat and riding boots with the Duchess on his arm. He was the one who persuaded his son to marry the young Princess of Baden because of his ardent admiration of Emperor Napoleon. He insisted to his peers in Parliament that the Princess was of royal lineage due to her imperial status as the granddaughter of the Emperor even though she really descended from the Emperor’s wife Joséphine.
The groom arrived next, William Hamilton, the Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale, son of the 10th Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, heir to the Highest Peerage of Scotland next to the Prince of Wales, and dressed in his most splendid traditional Scottish red military uniform with kilt and bonnet for the occasion. The Dowager Duchess told him he would not be able to spend time with his bride until after the wedding ceremony but he just laughed and strode right past them to the church in the north wing of the palace followed by his trusty valet, while the Princess blushed.
Carriages containing other noble men and women from throughout the southwest Duchies, and Principalities of the German Confederation continued to arrive and deposit their occupants. Men dressed in their finest formal evening clothes and ladies in rather expensive gowns purchased for the occasion stepped out to meet the future bride and her mother. Some of the notable guests included the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt accompanied by the Hereditary Duke and Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Princess Marie’s sister, Princess Louise Amelie arrived late, as usual, nodding quickly to her mother and sister and going directly to the rooms she shared with the Princess, without saying a word.
The pangs of jealousy were showing visible on Princess Louise’s face. She and her estranged husband, Prince Gustav, son of the deposed King of Sweden were in the middle of a divorce and her mother a French Catholic did not look too kindly on her situation. Princess Marie’s other sister Josephine was expecting a child and could not travel to attend the wedding.
The Chargé d'affaires for Her Royal Britannic Majesty Victoria arrived last, after all of the royal guests. He bowed to the Dowager Duchess and her daughter, all the while observing the condition of the palace and the palace grounds. He inquired about the names and titles of the wedding guests to include in his report to the Queen of England. After he left and no more guests arrived, the Dowager Duchess proceeded to the palace church accompanied by her daughter, Karolina, Theresia and her servants.
The wedding guests waited in the Knight’s Hall before being summoned to the palace church for the wedding ceremony. As he waited to drink a cocktail, the Grand Duke of Baden spotted the arrival of the British Chargé d'affaires and quickly steered him to a nearby corner of the great
hall.
“Remember”, he said to the chargé d'affaires, “The British Queen has a friend in Baden if any future difficulties arise with France”.
The Grand Duchy of Baden and all of the southern German Confederation territories were located squarely between France and Prussia, their larger neighbor to the north, and their royal rulers had convinced themselves that alternating their allegiance between these two countries would ensure their survival. Great Britain was known to step in as a power broker on the continent and the Grand Duke wanted to convey his support to Queen Victoria and her government.
He mentioned to the chargé d'affaires how Louis Phillipe the King of France worried him as the people living in the smaller German Duchies and Principalities were becoming restless under their current royal masters while observing the liberal reforms taking place in France including his own people.
“Citizen King”, he scoffed as he said the anecdote applied to Louis Phillipe, King of France. “The King is the ruler of all of France and its colonies and should be feared by the French People.”
“Opening the vote up to all the French taxpayers is heresy. Only the noble citizens of France should be able to vote in their elections”, he continued while fuming.
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton entered the great hall, so he lowered his voice. He proudly told the chargé d'affaires that he would be the one giving away the bride due to the death of her father.
He continued to discuss politics with chargé d'affaires and asked about the British Queen’s attitude toward the Bonapartists in France. The chargé d'affaires said nothing as he was under strict orders from Queen Victoria to only observe and
report.
The Grand Duke just shrugged and reminded him that the bride’s mother, the Dowager Duchess Stéphanie was the adopted daughter of the French Emperor. He predicted her cousin Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte would declare himself Emperor in France after he regained power. The chargé d'affaires merely nodded, bowed and took his leave of the Grand Duke to join the other guests in the great hall.
The chargé d'affaires then spied the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton in the great hall and hurried to present himself. The Duke was Premier Peer in Scotland and the British Queen expressly instructed him to assist the royal couple in any manner while he attended the wedding of their son. As he approached them, he bowed and excitedly conveyed good wishes from the Queen for the pending nuptials of their son.
The Duke nodded and reminded the chargé d'affaires to inform the British Queen of all of the members of royalty in attendance during his regular report to the Queen. He was acutely aware that she scoffed at his future daughter-in-law’s royal lineage claims, but he also reminded the chargé d'affaires of the bride’s mother’s relationship to Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew, Louis-Napoleon. The Duke turned his attention away from the chargé d'affaires with a wave of his hand and walked away with the Duchess to join the other guests.
After a short wait, all of the guests in the Knight’s Hall were informed that the wedding ceremony was ready to begin and they proceeded to the palace church.