United Kingdom (Progress, Decline and Hope)
April 29th, 2011: Prince William of Great Britain marries Miss Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey. William is created Duke of Cambridge.
July 27th, 2012: The XXX Summer Olympiad officially opens in London, United Kingdom.
February 27th, 2013: The British Parliament in concert with other Commonwealth legislatures that acknowledge Elizabeth II as their monarch, modifies royal succession laws. Adopting the principle of absolute cognatic primogeniture, first-born children will in the future inherit the throne regardless of sex.
March 3rd, 2013: The British Parliament, together with other Commonwealth legislatures, alters the 1701 Act of Settlement repealing provisions that forbid members of the Royal Family from marrying Roman Catholics. It also limits the 1772 Royal Marriages Act by requiring only the first six heirs in the royal succession be required to obtain permission from the monarch before marrying.
July 17th, 2013: A son is born to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge whom they name Edward Philip Henry George. He will be known as Prince Edward of Wales after the assumption of the title Prince of Wales by his father after the death of Queen Elizabeth on October 12th, 2014.
October 12th, 2014: Queen Elizabeth II dies after a heart failure. At 88, she was the longest-reining queen reignant in world history. Her son, Prince Charles, ascends to the throne as George VII.
October 16th, 2014: Prince Andrea of Monaco is introduced to Philippa Middleton, sister of the new Princess of Wales while in London attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
January 1st, 2015: Crown Prince Alexander (b. 1945) becomes King of Serbia.
May 7th, 2015: In the UK, a general election under the new alternate vote system, leads to a Conservative minority government. The Liberal Democrats were able to recover during the coalition, taking small credit for the economic recovery achieved between 2010 and 2015. In the Labour party, there are calls for Ed Miliband to step down, since most MPs hadn't voted for him during the leadership election in 2010.
May 8th, 2015: David Cameron forms his first fully Conservative Cabinet with George Osborne being made Foreign Secretary, Michael Gove as Home Secretary replacing the retired Theresa May and Iain Duncan Smith as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In addition, William Hague continues on as Justice Secretary, a post he assumed in 2012 with Nick Herbert continuing as Defence Secretary and Theresa Villiers as Education Secretary.
June 15th, 2015: Yvette Cooper resigns as Shadow Home Secretary and challenges Ed Miliband for the Leadership of the Labour Party, Ed Balls walks out as Shadow Chancellor in support of his wife causing a major upheaval in the Labour Party.
July 2nd, 2015: Britain's Ambassador in the US, David Miliband announces he has no interest in the matters in the Labour Party.
November 2nd, 2015: Triplets are born to the Catherine, Princess of Wales, all girls. They are named Princesses Philippa, Elizabeth, and Diana.
November 11th, 2017: Publication of Fat Mary, a biography of HRH Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck (1834-1897) by Sarah, Duchess of York which enjoys good reviews and sales. It is later made into a blockbuster movie starring Melissa McCarthy in the title role.
June 7th, 2018: David Cameron resigns as British Prime Minister and is succeeded by Home Secretary Nick Herbert who becomes Britain's first gay Prime Minister.
July 23rd, 2019: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of the late, lamented Queen Elizabeth II passes away quietly in his sleep at the ripe old age of 98.
December 25th, 2019: King George and Queen Camilla of Great Britain celebrate a traditional Christmas at Sandringham. Included for the first time in many years is the king’s brother’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
December 26th, 2019: A electrical fire breaks out at Sandringham in Norfolk while most of the royal family is in the house. All of the houseguests escape unharmed except for Prince Andrew, the Duke of York who is trapped and unable to exit the building. Thinking his demise is imminent, he phones his ex-wife to make sure she is safe and to say goodbye. In an act of heroism the Duke’s flame-haired ex-wife drives a land rover through a burning wall and rescues the badly burnt Duke. She is uninjured and over the next several years faithfully nurses her ex-husband (whom she calls “her bestest friend”) through several skin graft surgeries and rehabilitation.
April 7th, 2020: Nicholas Randall, a 24 year veteran of the security services is named as the new Director-General of MI5, following the retirement of his predecessor, Dame Jasmine Rees.
May 5th, 2020: The Conservative Government of Nick Herbert is narrowly re-elected albeit in a further minority situation. Herbert fails to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats again and goes it alone.
June 10th, 2020: Prince Harry of Great Britain (b. 15 September 1984) marries longtime girlfriend Lady Natasha Howard (b. 1987) the daughter of the 21st Earl of Suffolk. He is granted the title Duke of Sussex.
October 17th 2022: A further general election results in the first Labour government in the United Kingdom for nearly twelve years with Yvette Cooper becoming the second female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Her husband Ed Balls is made Chancellor of the Exchequer with former Party Leader Ed Miliband as Home Secretary. Former US Ambassador David Miliband who has stood for a seat in the election is made Leader of the House of Commons while Chuka Umunna is Foreign Secretary.
October 23rd, 2023: Queen Camilla, formerly known as Camilla Shand Parker-Bowles, wife of King George VII, passes away from lung cancer.
Although viewed harshly in the early years of her relationship with King George before his ascension to the throne, she later became one of the most beloved members of the royal family. Down to earth and possessing a highly developed sense of humor, Queen Camilla will be sorely missed.
March 17th, 2024: In deep mourning for his wife Camilla, King George VII gives his brother the Duke of York permission to remarry his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Although considered a hopeless mess and a loose cannon in previous years, the Duchess had lived an exemplary life for the previous decade. The couple were joined again quietly with the king in attendance in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
November 24th, 2024: Nicholas Randall abruptly resigns as Director-General and is replaced by his deputy, Spencer Vincent. Reasons for his abrupt resignation remain a mystery.
January 6th, 2025: In a leak to the Daily Telegraph, it transpires that former Director-General Nicholas Randall was a Union State mole and had been leaking secrets to the Union State, China and India. The government of Yvette Cooper announces a full investigation and an arrest warrant for the former DG.
January 7th, 2025: Following the revelations about Nicholas Randall, the Home Secretary, Richard Capp, announces his resignation and is replaced by Monica Hardwicke. The “Randall Affair” quickly becomes compared to the Profumo Affair as the greatest embarrassment for British intelligence in decades.
January 9th, 2025: Having gone missing since revelations about his double agent status, Nicholas Randall is caught and arrested attempting to flee Britain by Edinburgh. He is remanded into custody and accused of high treason.
July 4th, 2025: Nicholas Randall is sentenced to maximum life imprisonment of 39 years for high treason, it transpires that if Randall serves his full term, he will be 94 years of age upon release in 2064.
July 11th, 2025: A son is born to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and his duchess, the former Lady Natasha Howard. Until the death of his father, the prince is styled Prince Alexander, Earl of Strathclyde, one of his father’s courtesy titles.
May 5th 2026: Yvette Cooper's Labour government fails to be re-elected after controversy surrounding transport and regional reform. In it's place, the Conservative's have a majority government of 38 with Neil Fraser, the former Herbert Education Secretary as Prime Minister.
May 5th, 2026: On the day that Yvette Cooper's government loses power to Neil Fraser's Conservative Party, a further blow to the Labour Party is given when a further referendum on the AV system is rejected in favour of First Past the Post. Fraser wins a narrow majority of 38 on AV, the last under AV. Four general elections (2015, 2020, 2022 and 2026) were held under the system.
September 9th, 2026: Prince Edward of Wales, the second-in-line to the British throne and son of William, Prince of Wales and his wife Catherine, enrolls at Eton College, the prestigious British boy’s school.
December 19th, 2026: When asked in a television interview about why her government fell at the 2026 election, former Prime Minister Yvette Cooper states that the Randall Affair played a huge role in undermining confidence. Historians would later liken her political downfall to that of Harold Macmillan in 1963.
January 19th 2027: Prime Minister Fraser announces he will massively increase the energy reform project's initiated by the Cooper and Herbert governments.
September 14, 2027: H.R.H Princess Diana (b. 2 Nov 2015), youngest daughter of William, Prince of Wales attends an evening concert of jazz with her father’s cousin, Princess Eugenie of York. The adolescent girl is especially mesmerized by the artistry of Diana Krall, the British Columbia-born jazz pianist. Upon her return home, she begins pestering her mother the Princess of Wales for piano lessons. Not knowing if this is just a passing fancy, the Princess cautiously makes inquiries and arrangements are made. Unbeknownst to Princess Catherine, it is the beginning of a stellar career by one of the outstanding talents of the Twenty-First Century.
October 23rd, 2029: King George VII dies of renal failure a few days shy of his 81st birthday. Deeply depressed after the death of his beloved wife Camilla, the king dies on the sixth anniversary of her death. William, Prince of Wales ascends the British throne taking the regnal name William V.
October 31st, 2029: The State Funeral of King George VII is held at Westminster Abbey attended by Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers. The day is marred that evening at 11:45 PM when three bombs planted in the basement of the Goring Hotel explode simultaneously. Killed in the blast are King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, King Harald V and Queen Sonia of Norway and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Spanish Crown Prince Felipe is miraculously unscathed by the blast and heroicly carries his injured wife Princess Letizia to safety. She later makes a full recovery. King Fredrick X and Queen Mary of Denmark although present escape injury. Basque separatists claim responsibility.
June 11th, 2030: For his role in the Accords and the revitalised economy, Fraser's government is re-elected with an increased majority of 73.
June 30th, 2031: Edward, Prince of Wales graduates from Eton and begins a gap year.
August 7th, 2031: Edward, Prince of Wales visits an archaeological dig in Vilcabamba, Peru at the beginning of his gap year and becomes profoundly fascinated by Inca archaeology.
December 9th, 2031: Prime Minister Neil Fraser resigns in an expenses scandal being succeeded by Jonathan Crewe, the Home Secretary.
June 16th, 2032: King William V grants his uncle Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex his father’s title Duke of Edinburgh, a title promised him during the lifetime of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. The new duke’s son, James, Viscount Severn, the husband of Queen Lalla of Morocco assumes his father’s former title and becomes known as Earl of Wessex.
February 6th, 2033: A vote on the EU in the House of Commons results in the first major defeat of the 2026 government and is a major blow to Prime Minister Crewe.
November 1st, 2033: Prince Andrew, the Duke of York passes away from complications of prostate cancer.
March 18th, 2035: King William V’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain is arrested for disorderly conduct inside a seedy London nightclub. Although quickly released from jail, the paparazzi photograph the entire incident which is all over the internet by morning.
May 16th 2035: The Conservative government are booted out of office by a new Labour Party led by Robert Milligan, who becomes Britain's first black Prime Minister with a majority of 46.
July 17th, 2035: Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain discretely enters the Betty Ford Center, a residential chemical dependency recovery hospital in Rancho Mirage, California under an assumed name.
June 13th, 2037: British Prime Minister Robert Milligan signs the “EU Agriculture for Tomorrow” treaty advocating a substantial trade level on farming and energy with the EU. Leader of the Opposition Marcus Clarke supports this.
January 31st, 2038: In protest at energy savings, British power workers vote to strike.
January 12th, 2038: A deeply depressed Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain attempts suicide in her flat at Kensington Palace. Only the intervention of a quick-thinking footman trained in CPR saves her life until medical personnel arrive. While in hospital, the princess is treated by Dr. Ygnacio Bocanegra who describes his work with Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors without Borders, a humanitarian organization dedicated to providing medical care to the less fortunate around the world. Stirred out of her paralyzing apathy by the doctor's descriptions of his travels, the princess makes tentative inquiries about the nursing profession. The deeply worried King and Queen encourage their daughter to pursue this interest hoping she will decide again to live.
February 1st, 2038: A last minute deal by the Milligan government prevents a strike before it is due to go ahead.
June 12, 2038: H.R.H Princess Diana of Great Britain graduates with honors from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music with a BMus. in Piano Performance.
October 18th, 2038: Prime Minister Robert Milligan calls a snap general election over the issue of unions.
November 12th, 2038: The Labour government is re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority of 32. Conservative Leader Marcus Clarke who'd served as Chancellor in the Crewe government, elected after Crewe's resignation announces his own resignation taking the blame for the six point poll lead that the Conservative's lost in the campaign.
December 2nd, 2038: Max Rodgers, the Shadow Foreign Secretary and former Crewe Home Secretary and Fraser Defence & Culture Secretary is elected to lead the Conservative Party.
April 28, 2039: Performing under the stage name Diana Middleton, H.R.H Princess Diana of Great Britain releases her first jazz album titled Kensington Nights with her group, the Kensington Big Band. Skeptical critics are prepared to pan the offering as the work of a royal dilettante but are pleasantly surprised at the freshness of the arrangements and sheer virtuosity of the performers. Performing mid-20th Century jazz standards, the group reinterprets them using mid-21st Century sonorities and the result is eminently listenable.
March 29th, 2040: Prime Minister Robert Milligan passes the Policing, Counter Terrorism and Security Act, more commonly known as the “Safer Britain Act” which grants never seen before powers to the security services to stop terrorism. Milligan is compared to Tony Blair for his keen interest in counter-terrorism and a second “War on Terror” is rumoured with the support of President Boone.
September 2nd, 2040: Princess Philippa, eldest daughter of British King William V and Queen Catherine wins the title of World Reigning Champion at the 2040 FEI World Equestrian Games in Punchestown, Ireland with her horse Beedlebomb. After attending Marlborough College as a girl and graduating from the University of Exeter, the princess followed in the footsteps of her father’s first cousin Zara Tindall and pursued a career in horse racing.
September 16th, 2040: In an appeal hearing, former MI5 Director General Nicholas Randall, having served 15 of his 39 year sentence admits that he had been recruited by the FSB in 2002 and had served as a mole for 23 of his 28 years in MI5. He is denied release by a panel of judges and by the Milligan government.
April 12th, 2041: Following a further general election, Robert Milligan loses power as the Conservatives' gain a 60 seat majority with Max Rodgers becoming Prime Minister.
June 4th, 2042: Edward, Prince of Wales graduates from the University of Chicago with an archaeology Ph.d in pre-Columbian South American civilizations.
December 19th, 2042: British Prime Minister Max Rodgers and Chinese Premier Jian Lo sign the historic Anglo-China Strategic Platform, a landmark step in foreign policy for both nations with shared resources as both nations are in the top 5 of renewable energy markets. In an effort to prevent a new Cold War, both men are keen to stop any kind of arms race. The White House however openly condemns the Platform.
January 2nd, 2043: From London, Prime Minister Rodgers addresses the nation and pledges that the Platform will work. He openly seeks to defy his critics.
January 3rd, 2043: Despite deep reservations on the part of both sets of parents, both Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and King William V of Great Britain give their consent for their children Prince Joseph Wenzel and Princess Philippa to wed. Princess Philippa converts to Catholicism.
January 12th, 2043: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Moreland resigns from Cabinet in protest at the Platform. He is replaced by the Chief Secretary, Catherine Shepherd.
January 20th, 2043: A summit between the US, UK and China ends with an agreement that the Platform will not affect any areas of US territory on the condition that the US does not seek to arm.
May 12th, 2043: The health reform bill is revoked by the Rodgers government in favour of a watered down proposal, despite his environmental reform and community support legislation questions are arising about the Prime Minister's effectiveness especially as Denis Moreland waits on the backbenches.
May 14th, 2043: Just one month before the Chinese parliamentary election, Chinese premier Jian Lo, British prime minister Max Rodgers, Mongolian prime minister Ja. Askaa and Korean president Son Bae-sook sign the General Agreement on Rare Earth Minerals (GAREM). China and Mongolia agree to allow more exports of rare earth minerals to Korea and the United Kingdom.
June 7th, 2043: In what journalists call the Wedding of the Year, Prince Joseph Wenzel and Princess Philippa are wed in Westminster Abbey, the Catholic Bishop of London, Alan Rogers presiding.
Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain graduates from the King’s College Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery in London fully qualified as a nurse.
October 7th, 2043: Prime Minister Max Rodgers makes his infamous “Britain is Global” speech where he outlines a policy of closer relations with Asia and America. After the many economic crises of earlier decades in Europe, the Prime Minister is keen to protect his own economy and avoid being dragged down by what he calls “the tyranny of European federalism”. The Prime Minister is seen as the most Eurosceptic since Margaret Thatcher.
November 18th, 2043: Prime Minister Rodgers announces that Britain and Japan have signed a treaty to increase and co-operate on technology production. The UK government wants Britain to lead the West on technology by 2050.
January 12th, 2044: Signs show that the British economy is beginning to pick up with unemployment low, however inflation is still at record levels and housing prices are at an all time low. Rodgers' government takes a hit in public support for this.
February 2nd, 2044: In probably the most pro-American speech of his Premiership, Prime Minister Rodgers praises the platform and ideals of Vice President Kirkpatrick while not offering an endorsement. The two men are good friends and of similar age, Kirkpatrick being born in 1992 and Rodgers in 1994 and had previously worked together when Rodgers served as British Home Secretary in the Crewe government and Kirkpatrick as the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
April 30th, 2044: Princess Philippa of Great Britain gives birth to a son, Prince William Johannes James Alois who is not only a prince of the United Kingdom but heir to the throne of Liechtenstein. The small handful of Jacobites in the world of 2044 rejoice as the baby prince is third in line for the British throne not only by British law but also by Jacobite rules of descent from the House of Stuart, replaced by the House of Hanover in Great Britain in 1714.
May 6th, 2045: The Conservative government of Max Rodgers is re-elected with an increased majority of 89. The re-election is attributed due to the GAREM and Strategic Platform's influence on improvement in productivity, technology and energy levels which has had a positive effect on the economy and the success of his welfare expansion programs. However when polled, the British public feel that health and local government would be better handled by the Labour Party.
May 27th, 2045: British Prime Minister Rodgers and the new US President hold a joint summit to discuss defense, a first as meetings between Rodgers' and Boone were only at international conferences and rarely the White House.
September 2nd, 2045: Former Prime Minister Nick Herbert dies at the age of 82 from heart failure. He is buried in a private ceremony.
December 4th, 2045: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex knocks out Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein in a London nightclub brawl.
December 15th, 2045: Princess Philippa goes to court in London suing her husband Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein for divorce on grounds of adultery.
January 9th, 2046: Prime Minister Max Rodgers announces plans to launch a peace treaty between Iran, Iraq and Pakistan whom have had international tensions in their nuclear race. He is aided in his plans by Chinese Premier Jian Lo and Indian PM Raj Chouhan.
January 19, 2046: Jonathan Michael Preston II of the United Kingdom (b. 1923), the last living veteran of World War II, dies peacefully in his sleep at the ripe old age of 123. He is given a state funeral and a eulogy is delivered by British Prime Minister Max Rogers, saying “the last man of a conflict that tore our civilization apart is gone, and we can so cosign to history this tragic period of history. Never, however, must we forget the mistakes of the past, and above all we must never repeat them.”
January 28th, 2046: Former British Prime Minister Jonathan Crewe dies at the age of 75 from intestinal cancer. He is buried in a public funeral with dignitaries attending.
March 12th, 2046: Prime Minister Rodgers and President Kirkpatrick sign a new defense procurement treaty in Washington, the previous one expired in 2042 and was not renewed under the Boone Presidency.
March 28th, 2046: The Anglo-China Strategic Platform and the GAREM are replaced by the Nordic-Asia Strategic Platform (NASP) jointly signed by China, Mongolia, Britain, Korea, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
March 31st, 2046: Prime Minister Max Rodgers responds to the criticism of the Nordic-Asian alliance from the Japanese and chides that Japan has slowed technologically, questioning it's role in the future.
June 15th, 2046: Decree Absolute granted in British court for divorce of Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein and Princess Philippa of Great Britain. Custody of Prince William Johannes granted to Princess Philippa. Princess Philippa abandons Catholicism and returns to the Anglican faith of her childhood.
July 24th, 2046: On the day the treaty, named the Mumbai Accords is due to be signed at a ceremony with all UN Security Council members and Iran, Iraq and Pakistan present, Rodgers withdraws from the treaty making allegations of interference from world powers for energy and corruption from diplomatic officials in the Union State and the Middle East about what remains of oil supplies. Rodgers announces his resignation, citing a need for new diplomacy in Britain effective upon election of a new Tory leader.
July 25th, 2046: Enraged about the British PM's speech, Russian President Chyrnin launches an inquiry into the treaty as do the UN.
July 26th, 2046: Former Chancellor Denis Moreland and Foreign Secretary Peter Donovan both launch bids to succeed Rodgers in addition to the bid of Home Secretary Adam Porter
July 30th, 2046: An ballot of Tory MP's eliminates Moreland and places Porter and Donovan to the full Tory membership.
August 4th, 2046: An emergency ballot of Conservative Party members elects Peter Donovan as Leader of the Conservative Party. That afternoon, he is driven to the Palace where he accepts the invitation to form a government thus becoming the new Prime Minister to succeed Rodgers.
August 26th, 2046: Under heavy pressure from members of his family including his father, Prince Alois, Prince Joseph Wenzel gives up his place in the succession of the Principality of Liechtenstein for himself and for his son, Prince William Johannes. The young prince will be raised as a British royal with little contact with his Liechtenstein relatives. King William V deeply protests the loss of his grandson's rights to the throne of Liechtenstein.
September 14th, 2046: Alexander Rodgers is elected to succeed his resigned father in his parliamentary seat in North West Sussex. Alexander who was born in 2020 is seen as the person who can continue on his father's work.
September 21st, 2046: Future British Prime Minister Rose Daltrey is elected as Leader of the Labour Party at their annual conference in Birmingham after the resignation of Graham Barber, who failed to win the 2045 election.
October 23rd, 2046: In his first major interview since his resignation, Max Rodgers says the reason he resigned was that he had staked his foreign policy future upon the failed Mumbai Accords and knew any hope of peace in the Middle East couldn't have been achieved while “the same players were at the table.”
July 3rd, 2047: Just over a year after his resignation, former Prime Minister Max Rodgers publishes his autobiography “Daring to Dare”, outlying his life and reasoning for his actions in Downing Street.
August 16th, 2047: After finding fulfillment as a nurse and working for several years in various London hospitals, Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain meets Dr. Ygnacio Bocanegra again at a garden party at Buckingham Palace given by her father King William V. After describing his work in the Muslim refugee camps near the eastern Congolese border, the doctor invites the princess to join him in order to publicize the plight of these unfortunate people. The princess considers his request and leaves for the Congo the following week, despite the deep misgivings of her parents.
August 18th, 2047: Edward, Prince of Wales, leading his first self-financed expedition discovers the undisturbed tomb of the Inca Emperor Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (or Pachacutec), the ninth Sapa Inca (1438–1471/1472) near Machu Picchu. Filled with golden artifacts, the tomb is considered one of the premier archaeological discoveries of the 21st Century.
December 3rd, 2047: Peter Donovan's government runs into trouble after the economic boom of the Rodgers' era deflates following pressure on energy markets. The Nordic-Asian alliance has cooled with Donovan in charge which is seen as a factor in the pressure.
January 31st, 2048: After a reign of exactly 35 years, King Willem IV abdicates in favor of his eldest daughter Princess Catharina-Amalia (b. 7 December 2003). Ex-king Willem and his wife Mathilde purchase property in Sardinia and retire there.
February 9th, 2048: Christmas sales in Britain due to cold weather have seen the country not grow, if this carries on for the next two quarters, Britain will be in recession. Prime Minister Donovan sacks Chancellor Catherine Shepherd in a bitter row about interest rates, replacing her with Adam Porter.
February 11th, 2048: Exhausted and deeply disturbed by the great suffering experienced by the Muslim refugees in the camps, Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain falls off the wagon and drinks herself into unconsciousness. An alarmed Dr. Bocanegra contacts Buckingham Palace requesting direction on how to handle this disturbing turn of events. He is instructed to put her on the next airplane for London.
Several hours later, with the unconscious princess safely aboard, she and her entourage set out for London. But as they cross the heavily-jungled northeast corner of Congo, their plane is damaged mid-air by a surface-to-air missile fired by forces loyal to Andre Lumbaya of the Soldiers of Christian Zaire. Miraculously, the pilot brings the plane down in a jungle clearing where it is set upon by SCZ fighters. All the men are killed including Dr. Ygnacio Bocanegra and the women are dragged off into the bush and first gang-raped and then also killed. Princess Elizabeth, still unconscious from her drinking binge is dragged into the bush and gang-raped but is thought to be already dead so she is not killed. All the bodies are dragged back onto the plane and the whole thing is set alight. Somehow her body is forgotten under the underbrush.
When Princess Elizabeth wakes up the next day bleeding and badly bruised but otherwise alive, she stays out of sight. Deciding that perhaps anonymity might help her survive, she does not reveal her identity to the Pygmy Mbuti tribesmen who find her wandering in the jungle several days later exhausted, hungry and utterly lost
Knowing that she will be killed by the SCZ, the Mbuti hide the princess who several weeks later discovers she is pregnant. Kept in a secret cave known only to the Mbuti, the princess is well taken care of and her location deep in the jungle is not discovered. They discover that she is very knowledgeable concerning medicine and becomes a healer to the tribe. In the meantime, the burnt remains of the plane are discovered by searchers scouring the area. King William and Queen Catherine are notified their daughter has been killed and they and the nation go into deep mourning.
July 16th, 2048: The British economy is deemed to be in recession having failed to grow in the last few quarters, this is put down to deflation in energy and consumer markets. The policy of Prime Minister Donovan to invest in these new markets is believed to have back-fired and affects his own position in polls.
November 15th, 2048: Deep in a jungle cave being looked after by Mbuti pygmies, Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain gives birth to triplet boys.
November 18th, 2048: Leader of the Opposition Rose Daltrey launches her “Back on Track” campaign, she is in favour of carrying on Max Rodgers' Asian-Nordic alliance which gains her bi-partisan support from some liberal Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
March 12th, 2049: Backbench Conservative rebels led by former Chancellor Catherine Shepherd and Alexander Rodgers inform Peter Donovan that they will not vote for his Budget unless he protects the social investments in employment, welfare and veteran's affairs that were the cornerstone of the Rodgers Premiership. The Labour Party and Liberal Democrats also make this threat.
March 16th, 2049: Realizing that he is in an impossible position with right-wing Tories threatening to vote against the budget if he doesn't cut the social policy and the liberal Tories, Labour and the Lib Dem's threatening to vote against if he does cut social policy, Prime Minister Donovan calls a snap general election. It is predicted that the Labour Party would win with a narrow majority.
April 11th, 2049: The general election results in a Labour majority of 19 seats with Rose Daltrey becoming Britain's first female black Prime Minister. Peter Donovan immediately resigns as Conservative Leader. In her opening remarks, Daltrey pledges to find a way out of recession while protecting social reforms and launching new reforms for defence and international aid. Support for the new PM is high despite her small majority.
May 10th, 2049: British Prime Minister Rose Daltrey visits China, the first foreign leader to do so since the Daya Bay Disaster. Her visits to Hong Kong and Shenzhen win her hugh popularity in China.
May 12th, 2049: British Prime Minister Rose Daltrey and Chinese premier Fang Xiongwen sign the Guangzhou pact, further fostering Anglo-Chinese cooperation in the already rapid development of non-nuclear renewable resources.
June 4th, 2049: Catherine Shepherd, the former Chancellor is elected as Leader of the Conservative Party. This marks the first time in British politics that two women have been concurrently leaders of the major parties.
December 2nd, 2049: After just less than one year in office, Rose Daltrey gets a popularity boost as Britain's recession officially ends attributed to the economic boost given by moderate spending cuts and investment
H.R.H Princess Diana of Great Britain wins a Grammy Award for the title track of her fifth album, Buckingham Stomp. Music critic Lionel Daviess of the London Times states, “she stepped to the piano with all the decorum and grace of the royal that she is. But when she began to play, we were shocked to discover she’s in a league not seen since Hazel Scott, Marian McPartland and Diana Krall. This princess can swing!”
April 9th, 2050: King William V of Great Britain undergoes quadruple bypass surgery to remove severe arterial blockages to his heart. The procedure, performed by cardiac surgeons at the state-of-the-art Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Edinburgh is a complete success.
February 8th, 2051: Edward, Prince of Wales discretely approaches Dr. Alejandro de la Cruz of the Los Pinos Institute of Genetic Research about a matter of the utmost sensitivity. The British Embassy has been approached by a Quechua woman accusing the prince of fathering her child. He admits that there have been several Peruvian women with the potential to make this claim but he has never heard of this accuser.
Dr. De la Cruz agrees to see what he can do for his friend the prince. Members of his team actually steal a dirty diaper from the garbage at the home of the woman and are able to extract DNA from the contents and prove without a doubt this baby was not fathered by Edward, Prince of Wales. Dr. De la Cruz keeps the prince’s genome on file just in case of a repeat accusation.
July 23rd, 2051: Edward, Prince of Wales discovers the mummy of Túpac Inca Yupanqui the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–93 CE) in a cave near Cuzco, Peru. He dies later that day after being bitten by a poisonous spider.
September 27th, 2051: Knowing that any fighting is miles away and feeling cooped up and needing sunlight and some fresh air, Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain ventures from her cave in Eastern Congo with her nearly two-year-old triplets and allows them to play in an open area for half an hour before returning to the safety of her cave. She has no idea that during that half-hour she has been photographed by CIA spy satellites. Analysts at Langley, Virginia who stumble upon the photograph are stunned to see a European woman so deep in the jungle.
October 25, 2051: Debut of the Holyrood Symphony, a symphonic work by H.R.H Princess Diana of Great Britain by the Orchestra of St. Martin-in-the-Fields directed by Sir Elrond Perrin. Compared to other jazz performers who successfully enjoyed dual careers in classical music such as Andre Previn and Wynton Marsalis, the performance is well-received.
October 30th, 2051: A small contingent of EAF Special Forces troops led by Colonel Prince Nikolai of Denmark, attempt to locate the unknown European woman deep in the East Congolese jungle. After several weeks of searching, they find her. Prince Nikolai recognizes his distant cousin immediately and embraces her. But as she begins to express her immense gratitude for her rescue, the location is attacked by SCZ forces. The princess and her children are separated in the fighting. Although it goes against every maternal instinct, she knows that if their existence is revealed to the world, her children’s lives would be threatened.
November 2, 2051: When news of the survival of Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain is released to the press, the world is stunned. Having lost their son, Edward, Prince of Wales the previous July, the grieving King William V and Queen Catherine are astonished to hear their formerly dead daughter is not so dead after all. They have an emotional reunion at Heathrow Airport. Unknown to the rest of the world is King William’s request to the Prime Minister that a top-secret search be started for his three secret grandchildren.
May 4th, 2053: The Labour Party under Prime Minister Rose Daltrey is re-elected to a second term with a landslide majority of 103, this is due to the continuation of the Nordic-Asian pact and sweeping reforms Daltrey has initiated.
May 23, 2054: King William V gives the Castle of Mey in Northern Scotland to his daughter Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain. Princess Elizabeth, uncomfortable with life in London, moves there permanently. She obtains employment as a nurse at the hospital in the nearby town of Thurso where she quickly becomes an accepted member of the community.
June 3rd, 2055: Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Royal of the United Kingdom passes away quietly in her sleep at the age of 104 after watching her horse Mario Luigi win at the Epsom Downs Derby earlier that day.
June 2nd, 2057: The Labour government is returned to power for a third term with a reduced majority of 58 following infighting over the issue of Europe and a resurgent opposition led by newly installed Tory Leader Priya Shamal. However, this does mean that Rose Daltrey is the first Labour Leader since Tony Blair in 2005 to win three terms for Labour.
October 10, 2057: Upon his arrival in London as he returned home to Mexico from Scandinavia after receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Dr. Alejandro de la Cruz receives an unexpected invitation to tea from King William V. Planning to overnight in London anyway, the surprised geneticist nervously accepts the king‘s invitation.
Arriving at Buckingham Palace later that afternoon, the king expertly makes him feel comfortable and at ease. After congratulating the Nobel prize winner, the British Monarch mysteriously closes the door to the room where they are seated and they are alone. Thanking Dr. Cruz for his discretion, the king reveals that his son had told him the entire business about the woman in Peru who claimed the prince had fathered her child. Since the geneticist had proven himself discreet, the king asks if he could enlist his help with another matter that is not only sensitive but dangerous and demands absolute discretion.
When Dr. Cruz assures him that he would help in any way he could, King William divulges the complete story regarding his daughter’s ordeal in the Congo including the existence of his three grandsons who had been separated from their mother the princess in the fighting.
“My daughter is desperate for the return of her children,” exclaims the king. “There is barely a moment that goes by that she doesn’t think of them. I can’t bear to see her so upset all the time. And I also can’t bear the fact that I have three grandsons who are probably living in dangerous and unbelievably squalid conditions when in fact their grandfather is yours truly. Our agents have searched for them all across the Congo with no success. Of course, you understand the Congo is a war-torn mess at the moment.”
The king sipped his tea.
“I thought of you,” he continued, “when I read in the Times that your associate, Dr. Joaquim Mulémbwè of Mozambique was heading up a new DNA project. Something about the Bantu diaspora or some such? When I saw that he intended to go to the refugee camps and take thousands of samples of the kind of DNA which passes, I understand, through the female line, I instantly thought that perhaps my grandsons could be found in this manner. Since you already have my son‘s DNA on file perhaps your associate could keep an eye out for it? Something tells me there won‘t be many African refugee children with Kate Middleton‘s DNA,” he laughed.
October 14th, 2057: In an act of political craftsmanship, Shadow Chancellor Alexander Rodgers announces he will adopt the Labour policy of middle class tax relief which effectively ends Labour's advantage over taxation.
November 11th, 2057: The Labour government of Rose Daltrey votes to disestablish the Church of England. Membership in the state church of Great Britain had waned steadily since the last half of the 20th century. With the repeal of the requirement of priestly celibacy for Roman Catholic clergy in 2051, most remaining Anglicans had returned to the Roman church in droves. Pope Alexander IX allowed them to continue Anglican traditional services in English Rite congregations in full communion with Rome.
January 2nd, 2058: Anti-Roman Anglican congregations found a new organization called the Independent Church of England led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Rev. Sir Crispin Percy of Lindisfarne, Bt. Although no longer Supreme Governor of the Church of England, King William V and Queen Catherine affiliate privately with an ICOE congregation in Westminster.
March 13th, 2058: British King William V’s style of Defender of the Faith is altered by Act of Parliament to Defender of the Faiths, a change his father King George VII coveted but did not see in his lifetime.
April 16th, 2059: Prince Alexander, the Earl of Strathclyde joins Sotheby’s as an expert on Elizabethan and Jacobean furniture.
October 16th, 2059: H.R.H. Sarah, Duchess of York passes away one day after turning 100 years old with her daughters with Prince Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie at her side. Although considered unacceptably scandalous in her early years, after her remarriage had become a well-beloved member of the royal family, especially in old age.
November 30, 2059: Dr. Joaquim Mulémbwè of Mozambique discovers two of the king’s grandsons by DNA testing in a refugee camp in Kigoma near Lake Tanganyika in the East African Federation where they had lived for many years. They have no idea that less than five miles away from the camp lives Prince Nikolai of Denmark, their distant cousin, who, acting on the request of his cousin the King of Great Britain, escorts the two bewildered eleven-year-olds to their royal mother, whom they barely remember.
October 7th, 2061: After fifteen lonely years solely devoted to raising her son, Princess Philippa of Great Britain, Princess Royal and heiress presumptive to the British throne reluctantly agrees to share a meal of Chinese food with one of her father’s equerries, Walter Constantine John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 12th Duke of Buccleuch and 14th Duke of Queensberry (b. 14 January 2019). This inauspicious first date eventually develops into a deep and lasting friendship.
June 4th, 2062: The British government take office. Days before Quartermain his wife Clarissa and five children Theo Jr, Arabella, Mariella, Vinnie and Henry pose for pictures outside No.10.
June 20th, 2062: Quartermain proposes a bill as expected to reestablish the Church of England. Llewellyn, Van Der Vencker and Lindisfarne all support the bill vigorously and most of the cabinet speak in support of it. Jayden Pairs decides against opposing the bill recognising the fact that the last government made an error. Most of his party follow suit with only Daltrey and a few hardcore back benchers opposing it.
July 10th, 2062: In Britain, Quartermain Outlines his plan for a more decisive British contribution to the Congo conflict. Britain will withdraw troops from Kikongo and the Congo and Angola whilst increasing troop numbers in the FCC. This plan is criticised as being too late in the day and also as neo-imperialistic however news footage of Jenny Knoxton announcing the plan in parliament is warmly received by the British public who are pleased that Britain is finally taking a stance on the Congo Crises.
August 31st, 2062: Quartermain, Knoxton, Wei and Akwimbe meet with other heads of government and ministers from the NAP member states and all the nations agree to work together more closely on defense and energy initiatives. Their is even talk of a unified currency and army and Newspapers in Norway, Denmark, Britain and Finland all seem to have sources in their respective governments telling them the pact will become tighter.
September 15th, 2062: The government announce a second longer Pact conference scheduled for February in Oslo. Speculation begins to mount.
September 28th, 2062: Quartermain and King William both visit Ireland. The visit is a success as the Irish people adore the Royals and Quartermain's witty banter goes down well in Dublin. Quartermain makes a speech criticising the economic recession Ireland finds itself in and seems to hint at a genuine belief that the FES is bad for Ireland. The Irish Taoiseach John Keville enjoys a mutually beneficial meeting with Quartermain and the Anglo-Irish minister for Trade Peter Donovon also undertakes productive negotiations with his Irish counterpart. Cultural and Trade links with Ireland are significantly strengthened.
November 23rd, 2062: The Dublin Agreement is formally enacted between Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The agreement is seen as Ireland beginning to move away from the FES and coming towards Britain. Bilateral trade between the countries is increased and the FES acts with indifference as its relationship with Ireland has often been tumultuous.
December 19th, 2062: A Christmas concert is held in London for returning troops from the Congo and is seen as hugely successful for the government. Public Morale heightens significantly.
January 20th, 2063: The British Government launches a new improved scheme for the National Trust that heightens Britain's commitment to Stewardship and environmental protection. Harvey Lonsdale, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, receives universal support for the bill that includes provisions to reintroduce long extinct animals back to the British isles such as wolves, beavers and golden eagles.
February 12th, 2063: As the Green Paper for re-establishment is published amongst a busy legislative program for the government, a poll shows 50% in favour of “re-establishing the Church of England” and a slight plurality against re-establishment when the question is framed in terms of protecting of secularism in the UK. A significant portion of those polled, 30%, are unsure either way. The National Secular Society and other groups opposed to re-establishment begin to seize on this, while the government remains committed to the process.
March 21st, 2063: Two British troops accidentally die in the Congo. Pairs and Quartermain both come together to express their sympathy to the families.
March 28th, 2063: Lionel Akwimbe the Minister for the Pact announces a meeting of pact foreign ministers in London in two months time.
April 21st, 2063: In a televised debate on a current affairs/ethical issues program, the minister responsible for seeing the legislation through Parliament pulls what is accepted on all sides as a completely disastrous performance. Flustered, and quickly riled by his opponents, the minister completely fails to keep his arguments coherent. Instead, he resorts to making the case on the basis of cultural heritage and what is mocked as a hatred/dislike of non Christian religions. The Government communications machine is forced to support the minister in question at the risk of losing face spectacularly. This has the effect of forcing them into the corner of using the same arguments use by the Minister, limiting the case to arguments which are inherently weak. Opposition to the plans grow.
June 2nd, 2063: The Church Establishment Bill has become known as Quartermain's NHS reforms, after the fiasco surrounding the health care reforms pushed by the Coalition Government of David Cameron. By this point, a well organised campaign has kept pushing the public against the measures. Meanwhile, libertarian Tory backbenchers are wavering in their support on the issue, and the public begin questioning the priority that should be placed on re-establishment given intense debates going on about the Pact, healthcare, education, and the economy. Realising they're not making the case effectively, and with continuing heavy competition for Parliamentary time, the Government quietly postpones the planned introduction of the Bill for first reading. The Labour front bench is now considering coming out against the Bill in light of the lack of public support and spying an opposition to cause substantial embarrassment to the Government.
June 17th, 2063: In what is described as the death knell of the Bill, the head of the Independent Church formally comes out against re-establishment after much internal debate by church leadership and lay members. “In a multi-faith Britain, it would be wrong for the Church to seek to attain a legal position of supremacy over other faiths in our nation, whether formally or practically, or to seek to spread our sermon in any way other than through our own work in communities up and down the nation in the spirit of God and the Church. Our work, spiritual, ethical, mental, charitable, is done better when it is ours and ours alone, and is not seen to be in any way linked to the works of any Government of the day.”
The church leadership in general fears losing its ability to engage in policy debates if the formal link to the state is re-established, and that they're greatly expanded social work will be damaged as a result. They also don't want to risk coming out on the wrong side of public opinion at a time when they're numbers are already severely depleted and looks to be in a position to expand. Labour formally comes out against the Bill in response.
July 30th, 2063: The British Government lowers troop numbers in the Congo preparing for an eventual pull out in a years time. Quartermain and Donovan meet with officials form various charitable organisations and discuss the formation of several charitable projects to build schools and sanitation facilities in the Congo and Kikongo over the next decade, the idea being build lasting links with the new states particularly Kikongo which may well be left isolated after the war.
November 4th, 2063: Quartermain, seeing the Establishment Bill as a matter of crucial personal importance, refuses to let the Bill die, and insists on continuing to push through. In a Second Reading debate that seems the Commons completely full and opponents, from all sides of the chamber, landing blows against the Government. A coalition of opposition parties, libertarian members of the Conservative Party and Christian MPs wishing to respect the Church's wishes defeat the bill in spite of a strong three line whip. The Government is humiliated, and though there won't be any serious long term repercussions, the incident and the mockery that comes with it sticks with the Prime Minister, and makes the Government wary of touching any religious issues for a long time to come.
December 31st, 2066: HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh dies from complications of leukemia at the age 102. The last surviving child of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, he is survived by his widow Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and a son, the Earl of Wessex. A daughter, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor preceded him in death.
March 22nd, 2067: After obtaining the permission of King William V, Walter Constantine John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 12th Duke of Buccleuch and 14th Duke of Queensberry asks Princess Philippa for her hand in marriage to which she agrees.
June 15th, 2067: In a quiet ceremony in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, Princess Philippa marries Walter Constantine John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 12th Duke of Buccleuch and 14th Duke of Queensberry with only the royal family and a small selection of friends and relatives in attendance. The Earl of Strathclyde, a close friend of the duke’s, serves as best man.
November 15, 2068: Publication of Humbled Woman, Proud Healer by H.R.H Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain. In the best-selling book, the princess fearlessly describes her ordeal in the Congo and rescue. She also details her re-acquaintance with her eleven-year-old sons and their adjustment to life living with her in a castle near a small town in Northern Scotland. The public is especially touched by the unconditional love shown by the princesses’ parents, Queen Catherine and King William during the boys‘ rocky first few years in Britain. The book is soon made into a major motion picture starring the academy-award winning actress, Alessandra Singleton as the princess. All profits from the book and the movie go to Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors without Borders and to relief for Congolese refugees.
December 1st, 2069: Death of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex of lung cancer at the age of 85. One of the most beloved members of the British Royal Family, Prince Harry was known for his sense of humor and common touch.
May 5, 2070: Balmoral Dawn: A Tone Poem composed by H.R.H. Princess Diana of Great Britain is debuted by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra directed by Zdenek von Schwarzenburg with the composer present. The princess and the eminent conductor hit it off and marry the next year.
December 12, 2070: Twenty-two year old University of California/Berkeley pre-med student Josiah Washington is accidentally shot in the abdomen during a drive-by shooting in an Oakland, California convenience store by members of the ICP gang. His liver is determined to be damaged beyond repair but the surgeons think it can be replaced with a cloned organ using techniques developed by Dr. Alejandro de la Cruz and his team at the Los Pinos Institute for Genetic Research. The DNA of the Cal/Berkeley pre-med student is tested in order to begin the cloning process, but unbeknownst to the hospital staff, an automatic alert email is sent to Dr. Cruz by the decoding software developed at his genetic research organization and used worldwide. Dr. Cruz immediately flies to California.
Although honored by the famous geneticist’s interest, the hospital staff are puzzled by the Nobel Laureate’s sudden interest in their patient. They are not told that their patient carries mitochondrial DNA identical to several members of the British Royal Family. Interestingly, he does not carry the same Y-DNA as Princess Elizabeth’s other sons. After interviewing him, Dr. Cruz discovers that Josiah Washington was adopted as a small boy from a Kinshasa orphanage by a childless interracial couple in San Diego, California. The boy’s obvious biracial physical phenotype interested the couple and he was brought to the United States. His childhood was uneventful as he grew up the son of a successful San Diego dentist. His parents didn’t try to hide his adoption but they knew nothing of his blood parentage.
The young man is stunned to hear he is likely to be the long-lost son of Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain, who had revealed the details of her jungle ordeal in the best-selling book entitled Humbled Woman, Proud Healer.
January 10, 2071: Josiah Washington undergoes a successful liver transplant and makes a rapid recovery.
June 12, 2071: Josiah Washington and his adoptive parents fly to London where they meet his birth mother Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain as well as his grandparents King William V and Queen Catherine. He also meets his half-brothers, Eddie and Ziggy Windsor. (Officially, they are Mr. Edward Henry William James Mountbatten-Windsor and Mr. Alexander Ignacio Philip Charles Mountbatten-Windsor.)
A warm relationship is established between the young medical student and his birth mother and grandparents. The king and his grandson enjoy a brief but enjoyable closeness before the king’s death on December 31, 2072. Josiah Washington changes his name to Josiah Washington-Windsor and carries his grandfather‘s coffin as a pallbearer with his half-brothers and cousin, H.R.H. Prince William Johannes James Alois of Great Britain and Liechtenstein (b. April 30th, 2044). Josiah Washington-Windsor finishes medical school and becomes a General Practitioner in his hometown of San Diego, California.
January 1, 2073: In his last New Year’s Honours List prepared days before his death, in appreciation for services rendered to the Crown, King William V of Great Britain makes Dr. Alejandro de la Cruz of the Los Pinos Institute for Genetic Research an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
June 2, 2074: Coronation of Queen Philippa of Great Britain. Premiere performance of St. Edward’s Crown, new coronation music by H.R.H Princess Diana of Great Britain. Asked why she composed it, she replied, “I was totally sick of the standard Sir William Walton and Benjamin Britten stuff.”
August 7th, 2072: Several bombs are detonated at the G-13 summit at Nairobi, EAF. The building is devastated, 200 are believed to be dead and 341 more are injured. Among the casualties are such prominent world leaders as American President Norse Cavalier, UK Prime Minister Theodore Quartermain, FES Commissioner Kyriakos Amanatidis, President of the EAF Vincent Oliech, and President of the Union State Andrey Brezhnev. Chinese Premier Shao Chianglei barely survives. Suspicion immediately descends upon the remnants of the SCZ, in cooperation with other Christian Fundamentalists.
December 31st, 2072: King William V of Great Britain dies at Buckingham Palace as a result of complications of a stroke at the age of 90. The death of the wildly popular king was deeply felt by the British people who expressed their grief with an intensity unseen seen the death of the king’s mother, Princess Diana 73 years before. He is succeeded by his eldest daughter, Philippa (b. 2 November 2015).
January 11th, 2073: State funeral of King William V.
December 31, 2075: Debut of the King William Requiem by H.R.H. Princess Diana of Great Britain on the third anniversary of her father‘s death. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer’s husband, Zdenek von Schwarzenburg, the inspirational melody from the fourth movement later becomes an unofficial British national anthem.