In a slightly alternate timeline, where the Wars of the Roses never ended in England, the enmity between the Houses of York and Lancaster is still present. Lady Amelia Brockett, only daughter of the Earl of Kirkham, born and raised proudly in Yorkshire is not having the best Christmas. Dumped by her boyfriend of two years and rejected by the graduate school she was hoping for, her mother especially seems to see her as the disappointment of the family. Her life takes a surprising and dramatic turn when her eldest brother takes her for a post-Christmas trip to the races, where she meets the long-widowed Prince of Wales, a former school friend of her brother’s.
Having lost his wife in a skiing accident more than a decade ago, Prince Arthur’s closest heir is his sister and her two daughters, neither of whom are interested in ever taking the throne. His eldest niece, George, insists that it is time he look for a new wife, and it just so happens that there aren’t a whole lot of suitable young ladies of noble birth on the short list. Amelia is offered the chance of being the first Queen from the North in centuries, uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster in a royal marriage. Since becoming a widower, Prince Arthur has developed quite the reputation as a playboy, and he’s nearly twice Amelia’s age, but he’s undoubtedly still fit and very handsome and by marrying him, Amelia would have a unique chance to improve the position of Northern England, a region that has long been neglected and overlooked.
She wants time to get to know the heir to the throne better, but as soon as the press gets wind of their possible romance, she finds herself constantly besieged and followed by paparazzi and the newspapers are full of stories digging into her past. While she’s always been raised to behave in a certain way, wanting to be a good representative of her region, the etiquette involved in dating the Prince of Wales is on a whole new level, and potentially becoming a princess means having to memorise binders full of information. Luckily, Amelia has support from her loyal best friend/room mate, her sister-in-law and a very friendly receptionist at Buckingham Palace, who refers to himself as her “royalty customer service representative”. While she’s honestly not sure what the enigmatic Princess George, Arthur’s niece, really thinks of her, the other members of the Royal family seem welcoming enough. Not everyone in England is enthusiastic at the thought of the potential match and there could be serious political ramifications from the match. Is Amelia ready for all this?
Full review on my blog.
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