Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred Fourteen
26th January 1980
London, England
Having tea with the Queen of England was a minefield. That was doubly so when she was offering you anything because it was seldom out of the goodness of her heart. There was always an angle that had to be considered and it was likely that it wouldn’t be clear what it was for some time, months or even years later.
“I am sure that you are used to this sort of thing by now” Elisabeth said, “The popularity of you and your family extends well beyond the borders of your country. You might recall that your younger brother was awarded the George Cross for rescuing the passengers and crew of a ferry in the North Sea.”
Kiki knew that the whole thing was all about diplomacy. Freddy had already been extended this courtesy, induction into the British Order of the Garter as Knight Stranger and now that the Statute had been changed to allow women into the Order, Kiki was being granted that appointment as well. The difference was that Kiki was also being rewarded for her efforts in the Medical Care of Soldiers from Commonwealth Nations. She remembered British and ANZACs being in Korea as part of the League of Nations Forces but couldn’t remember if she had treated any of them. Here Kiki was with Elizabeth herself saying that she apparently had.
This had come at a time when there was a lot of interest in Kiki’s actions with all the stories had been reaching the press in Europe about her adventures in Patagonia. How while her husband was involved with the Southern Observatory project, Kiki had been practicing medicine in the Neuquén General Hospital as well as in the field. It had not been her intention, but Kiki had played a role in making Patagonia exciting. People liked the adventure stories, and where once going to the Southern Cone of South America would have involved weeks on a ship it was now just an airline flight away.
The Government of Argentina was pleased as punch to facilitate this by making sure that advertisements for vacations in the Andes with regular flights to places like Rio Gallegos or Las Grutas were aired on radio and television. Kiki knew what was behind it though. Though many it would just be a few weeks of adventure, not all would leave. They would discover that because of the exchange rate between the German Mark and the Argentine Peso they were suddenly relatively wealthy or just fall in love with the place. There was also the expanding presence of the Kaiserlichmarine in Rio Gallegos, to the extent that it was jokingly referred to as Süd-Wilhelmshaven. Kiki was certain that would eventually cause trouble. In the meantime though the National Government in Buenos Aires saw increases in the population of the Santa Cruz Province or the Tierra del Fuego Province as a means to further solidify their claim on the strategically important Strait of Magellan. The Patagonian War might have ended with a cease-fire almost a decade earlier but negotiations for a final peace were still dragging on. The Chileans wanted all land occupied during the war back and the Argentines had no intention of doing that. They were prepared to give up the Aysén Region, which remained occupied by the Argentine Army and they probably wouldn’t mind getting rid of it, but the rest, fuck you very much.
Into this was Raul Martínez, President of Argentina who was running for reelection at a time when the electorate had the attitude of “What have you done for us lately?” and a relatively young candidate who was the head the of the opposition in the National Assembly. To say that the situation was tense was an understatement, God help everyone if the National Police or the Army took a side. In South America politics were not for the faint of heart. Kiki’s return to her house in Plänterwald had been a profound relief. She still had the request from Elizabeth II though and it wasn’t as if Kiki could put her off forever.
“The appointment will not be announced until Saint George’s Day” Elizabeth said, “And I already know how difficult you can be, so Kristina, no subverting this please.”
“I am not planning on subverting anything” Kiki replied, “No more than when my father urged my appointment to the Johanniter.”
Kiki saw Elizabeth smile at that and quickly added. “And that is not to give you any more ideas.”
“The Order of Saint John here is considered part of the same Chivalrous Order as the Brandenburg Bailiwick and the Grand Prior would probably be overjoyed to have you as a guest at one of the Order’s events” Elizabeth replied, “And it didn’t surprise me to learn that you had gotten that appointment several years ago when you started having that black cross embroidered on all your lab coats.”
Kiki had not asked for that, but as a Dame of Honor of good standing in the Order she was required to have that as Physician. There was talk about elevating her to be a Dame of Justice, Kiki wasn’t sure exactly what that entailed and she wasn’t in a hurry to go to Sonnenburg to find out.
“Granted” Kiki said before trying to change the subject, “Does the dark blue cloak over white tunic look better than the black cloak over the red tunic?”
“That is a matter of opinion” Elizabeth said, “I like the blue and white, though I am a bit biased here. Did you know that I extended the same invitation to your other brother, Michael, and he has yet to respond. That is a bit surprising considering that he is married to Alberta.”
Alberta Charlotte, better known as Birdie to her friends, was the Queen Consort of Bohemia, Kiki’s sister-in-law as well as Elizabeth’s oldest child. Kiki had learned long ago that she had no idea what she would be walking into when she traveled to Prague. It seemed that reality seemed to take a back seat with whatever Michael was involved in at any given moment. Birdie had proven to be a very willing accomplice to his antics over the last few years.
“I am not the first one to know anything these days” Kiki replied, “When I get a chance I will give them a call. Knowing them, Michael is probably trying his hand at herding zebras with Birdie’s help, gotten involved in the filming of a movie featuring Samurai, or something equally absurd.”
Elizabeth smiled at that mention. “Alberta seems to be leading an exciting life, I will give her that much.”
