Society had been warned. Not formally, of course. Queen Charlotte did not warn. She simply informed those closest to her that her niece — or nephew, depending on which cousin was doing the speaking that week — would be arriving from abroad. And that they were… spirited. This word, as it turned out, was doing tremendous labour. The day their carriage rolled into Mayfair, London found itself unprepared.

The doors to Buckingham House opened with ceremonial grandeur. And then chaos stepped through them.

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