Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

The televised address ended quickly, and the camera switched back to the studio.

Silence fell over the living room.

After an unknown amount of time, Philip slowly spoke.

"He resigned," he said calmly, but anyone could tell that his tone was quite complex.

After all, it was a Damocles' sword hanging over our heads for decades, and then suddenly it was gone. It's impossible not to find it complicated.

Charles nodded: "Father, it's all... over."

Henry: ...

No, Father?

Do I think I've heard that before?

Do you want my grandfather to say to you, "Royalty is not eternal, my son"?

Another silence followed.

Elizabeth picked up the tea beside her and took a small sip.

"In 1932," she said softly, "when my father first delivered his Christmas message on the radio, they had been together for ten years. Back then, no one could have imagined that just sixty years later..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.

Sixty years is a long time for a person's life, but for a country, it is just a blink of an eye.

Philip picked up the sherry and drank it all in one gulp.

"That drunkard Boris," he said, "is now gloating."

Charles shook his head: "He inherited a mess—economic, political, ethnic relations…none of them are easy to clean up."

"That's his problem," Philip said. "Our problem is what the world will become next."

He paused, looking at the television screen—which was already showing other news, some preliminary reports on the international community's reaction.

"The Cold War is over," Philip said. "We won."

This statement was made very simply, without any sense of pride or boasting; it was simply stating an ordinary fact.

Diana asked softly, "Did you win?"

Everyone looked at her.

Diana leaned back on the sofa, watching the television screen, and asked softly, "I mean... what happens after we win?"

No one answered, because no one knew the answer.

A little while later, William and Harry were brought down by the nanny to say goodnight.

The two little ones were clearly unaware of the momentous historical event that had just occurred; all they knew was that today was Christmas and there would be even more presents to open tomorrow.

They kissed each of the adults one by one, and then were taken upstairs to sleep.

As William reached the top of the stairs, he suddenly turned around and looked at Henry.

"Henry," he asked, "why was that guy on TV so unhappy?"

Henry paused for a moment.

"Because..." he thought for a moment and said, "because he lost his home."

William blinked and nodded, seemingly understanding. Then he yawned and was led upstairs by the nanny.

Elizabeth suddenly spoke up: "Henry, do you think they're right?"

Henry looked at his grandmother.

Which part?

"Both the BBC and ABC are saying we won."

Elizabeth glanced at the television; the red flag was slowly lowering as "The Unbreakable Union" played for the last time.

She paused for a moment, then turned her gaze from the Westerners celebrating on television back to Henry.

"And what about you? What's your opinion?"

Henry paused for a moment, then thought of the increasingly close connection between the US and Europe according to the original timeline, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

“No, Grandma,” he said, “I don’t think we’ve ever been the victors in this war without gunfire, but just the survivors.”

……

December 26th is Boxing Day.

They weren't in a hurry to go home; according to tradition, they would stay at Sandringham House until the New Year.

When I went downstairs, there were already people in the restaurant.

Charles sat by the window with a stack of newspapers spread out in front of him—The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and a copy of the International Herald Tribune, which had clearly been delivered overnight.

He frowned slightly, as he read something.

It's alright, I didn't read the third page of The Sun.

Diana sat next to him, wearing a cream-colored cashmere sweater that made her look several years younger.

Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Father.

"Good morning, Henry." Diana turned around and smiled at him. "Did you sleep well?"

"fine."

Henry sat down next to his mother and glanced at the newspaper beside his father.

The front page headlines were undoubtedly dominated by the disintegration of a certain major country, and the headlines of various newspapers also had their own unique features.

Charles noticed his gaze and pushed The Times a little closer.

"Want to see?"

Henry took the newspaper, glanced at the long report, and put it down after a cursory look.

After breakfast, William and Harry arrived on time.

The two little ones had clearly regained their energy, and nearly knocked over a servant carrying a tray as they rushed down the stairs.

They ran up to Henry and grabbed his sleeves from both sides.

"Henry! What are we playing today?"

Henry received an urgent gift from the twins in the morning—gifts from his classmates were left at Kensington Palace and he hadn't had time to go back and open them, but the twins seemed to be in a hurry to send him something.

When I opened it, there were several small bottles labeled "Portable Swamp".

I've got nothing to do today, so I'll play this.

Henry looked out the window—the snow had stopped, the sun was shining, and although it was still a bit chilly, it was perfect for going out for a stroll.

"Wear something warm," he said. "Let's go to the garden."

Ten minutes later, three figures, all bundled up tightly, appeared in the garden.

William and Harry, each carrying a portable swamp potion, ran around in the snow, creating mini swamps everywhere. William conjured one in the middle of the lawn, got half his leg stuck, and when he pulled it out, his pants were covered in that translucent, gelatinous mud.

Harry laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, and then he stepped in himself.

Henry stood aside, watching his two younger brothers roll around in the snow.

In the distance, William and Harry started a snowball fight. Snowballs flew everywhere, and occasionally one would miss and land on Henry, who would not dodge but simply brush it off lightly.

Suddenly, a snowball hit him squarely on the back of the head.

Henry turned around.

Andrew stood not far away, holding a snowball in his hand.

"Henry," he said, "why didn't you invite me when you came out to play?"

Henry felt a little uncomfortable looking at his second uncle.

Speaking of Andrew, Henry never really liked his second uncle—not because the good grandson and his second uncle were inherently at odds, but because he knew that his second uncle was very wicked.

Of course, he always thought that he was the only one in the family who disliked his second uncle. Later, he discovered that his grandfather, his father, and his mother all disliked this guy.

He remembered that whenever his second uncle approached him when he was a child, his mother would immediately appear and roughly carry him away in a very impolite manner.

Later, when he got a little older, his mother stopped holding him, but would quietly pull him aside and whisper, "Stay away from him."

They were blunt, saying he was "not human."

(This is not made up; Princess Diana did indeed dislike Andrew.)