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Ruby Lou Dewitt Claypoole was born on April 13 in 1916

Ruby Lou (also spelled "Rubylou") was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, without causing her mother much "undue suffering." She was a quiet baby, and the nurses were baffled when she didn't cry but only stared up at them "as if being born was no great feat". Her mother later wrote, "she is peaceful [ . . .] despite the times of which she was born." It was 1916, just under two years after the start of World War One.

Ruby was the seventh of eight children born to Wall Street stockbroker and lawyer Isadore "Issy" Collins Claypoole and suffergest socialite Gladys Cecile Dewitt, of Ohio cornfield wealth. The name Ruby was from her fortune-hunting paternal grandfather, Ruben Cohen, the son of a Polish immigrant who'd struck gold on the New York stock exchange. Ruben's marriage to multi-millionaire heiress Eliza Stamp Claypoole caused a social stir in the 1870s. The Claypool family were as "new as money could get", and while everyone in New York society knew who they were, few could say what they were. "They were New Yorkers who preferred New Haven over Manhattan. They owned land but didn't shoot. And they were, in part, Jews, but they hid it well." Ruby's siblings were Gordon, Constance, Adela, Joseph, Francis, Isadore Jr., and Hyacinth.

The United States entered the war just weeks before Ruby's first birthday. Under the Selective Service Act of 1917, Gordon, Joseph, and Francis were all conscripted, to the great dismay of their father, who strongly opposed American involvement in a European war. While Gordon and Joseph both returned home, Francis was killed during the Somme. In his grief, Isadore Sr. relied on his two youngest daughters, Ruby and Hyacinth. Ruby especially charmed her father, who described her in his memoirs as "that bright, clever daughter who was the sunshine of my life."

Ruby's relationship with her mother was more strained. Gladys was a dominant woman of staggering girth. A budding suffragette at the time of her marriage, years of hot-blooded political activism had turned Gladys into a dragon, the fire-breathing monster that occupied Ruby's nightmares. "Wicked, wicked, wicked," Ruby would later describe her mother. "And she never knew what she wanted. She hated Catholics until it was time to cook fish on Fridays." Although, Ruby's opinion of her mother in later years, "Without my mother I would have never learned to stand up for myself, or say the things I really ought to."

Gladys Dewitt Claypoole was obsessed with the education of her daughters. She wanted them to be "well-read, well-bred, and well-bed" representatives of the modern, twentieth-century woman. Gladys fixated on Ruby, who wilted under pressure and wouldn't grow past five foot one. Ruby was educated with her sisters at Spence School, a private school that focused on sympathy and human connection more than science and mathematics. Her former headmistress labled Ruby a star. "I am certain she would have landed at Princeton if she were a boy."

By 1935, Ruby Lou was well-bred and well-read, but she had yet to be bedded. Her father since died after a spiral of alcoholism brought on by the Wall Street crash of 1929, but Ruby's mother remained an ever-dominant figure, insistent that Ruby marry well. When Ruby first met the Prince, she was a student at the all-girls Barnard College. At the time, she was a top student eyeing an internship in Washington, D.C.

Before I met John, I wanted to be First Lady. I thought that would shut my mother up. But also, I'd felt I'd earned it. Even at 19. But then I met John and I forgot all about it.

Johnnie (properly George, the Prince of Danforth) was the eldest son of Sunderland's George II and Queen Anne. He was in New York City, avoiding his family and moping, still not over the death of his close friend, Evelyn, who had toppled from a highrise balcony the previous year. The romance started as a petty rebellion and ended as a loving but ultimately doomed marriage. They married in 1938, after Ruby graduated, at Chester Palace's private chapel, a small wedding in light of the economic downturn. Queen Anne bowed her head to the bride, signaling a "changing of the times."

I wanted him from the moment I saw him. I didn't register it at love, not at first. I remember him being this tall, blond, cute-as-heck guy. All the ladies would flock to him, you know, and I wanted him. He was the Prince, and I would be Briar Rose. If only for one night. At the time I wasn't sold on the whole monarchy thing. There were things I still wanted to do and say. Plus, I was horrified that people wouldn't like me. [ . . .] A pack of schoolboys swarmed us while we were on a drive. One of the fellows yelled out, "Are you an American or are you a Jew?" and I leaned out the car window and shouted, "I'm a Sunderlandian." I remember this massive cheer going up. It was wonderful. [ . . .] On the balcony, after [the wedding], my mother, as smart as she was, said, "Oh, Ruby Lou, I hope this wasn't all for me." That was the victory; that was vindication. It was the first time I'd ever told her no. And I remembered telling myself "O.K., steady on, Rue, no more dwelling on childhood or if this was the right thing. Now: the future."

Just as German troops annexed Poland, journalists in Sunderland noticed that Princess Ruby had gained weight. The public braced for news of a confinment, but the announcement never came. Ruby's three pregnancies had all ended in miscarriage, and when her husband was assassinated in 1943, George II's second son, Prince James, became heir apparent. Ruby spoke openly about her husband's death and the "pure chaos" in 1996:

I lost our three children, and around the time we were coming to the terms that we'd never have children. I justified it by telling myself that, no matter what happened, I'd still have Johnnie, so when he was taken from me, too . . . It was angoy. Pure chaos. But when I came out of it, I found that I still had the capacity to be kind. I still had my wits. I still had people who loved me. Life is beautiful like that.

Ruby struck up a friendship with her sister-in-law, Katherine, who had replaced her as Princess of Danforth in 1951. Katherine was ill-tempered and moody whereas Ruby was jolly, tall whereas Ruby was short, rail-thin whereas Ruby was increasingly pudgy (ironically resembling her now deceased mother), but it turned out to be the "perfect little duo." Both women had lost brothers to World Wars, and both had trouble navigating their married lives. The pair became confidantes and "best buddies". Ruby was heavily involved in the upbringing of Princes Louis and Clarence. She fascinated the two children with stories of her travels and escapades. Ruby and Katherine remained close companions until the prior's death in 2006.

Shelby Elizabeth Sykes was born OTD in 1985

On a rainy April afternoon, a little girl was born to a sales executive and his wife, who taught grade ten biology. The baby was named Shelby after her great-grandfather, a mechanic from King City, Missoria. Elizabeth was in honour of an aunt who'd died in a car accident four years prior. Shelby had a brother, Eric, who was five years older. As the youngest, Shelby was known as "Baby Bee", a nickname she would grow to resent.

The little girl grew up in a three-bedroom farmhouse nestled in the Sunderlandian pariries. Her hometown was described as "so flat you could see the horizon bend on a clear day." Fort Stone had a population of just under 3,000, the majority of them descendants of the Polish and Dutch immigrants that had made their way west in the early 20th century. The Sykeses were one of few WASP families in town and proud of it; the family shunned Fort Stone's Catholic chapel and drove every Sunday to an Episcopal church 20 kilometres south.

As Shelby grew, she outgrew Fort Stone. Schooling had consisted of a handful of co-ed prep schools—schools way nicer than the ones her mother taught at—and a neighbour girl who came over to tutor the Sykes children every Friday evening. In 2003, Shelby moved to Sunderland's largest city, Warwick, to pursue a career in communications. Her subsequent job in public relations careers took her around the world, from Austria to New Zealand, but by 2014, she had returned to Warwick. "She'd wanted to escape Fort Stone—not the whole country."

In 2016, Shelby was comfortable in her career at a mid-level public relations firm. Her red hair, still slightly fried from being bleached throughout her twenties, was long, and she made just enough money to afford a wardrobe inspired by Alexa Chung, who she described as "everything goals". She owned a condo with a balcony that overlooked Sunderland's King Street financial district. She Skyped her parents every weekend, and her brother was just thirty minutes away if she ever grew lonely, although she rarely did—Shelby also had a boyfriend. She had met Prince Henry, the youngest son of Louis V, in June 2013. Shelby's firm had been managing the promotion of one of Henry's non-profit events, and the pair got to talking during cocktail hour.

Henry was different from his two older brothers. He wore glasses. He had infamously flunked out of military school in September 2001. His degree was in musical theory, and he had no plans to return to the service, a fact that put him at loggerheads with his father. He worked, as best as any royal could, for the crown but was often overshadowed by his siblings. Even as a relatively handsome, thirty-something-year-old bachelor, Henry kept a low profile. Off-duty, he wore jeans and collared shirts underneath chunky wool sweaters made in Scotland. His mother called him Baby, a nickname he adored. When Henry finally brought Shelby home, the Prince of Danforth remarked, "even beside a redhead he disappers."

Rumours of marriage hounded the couple throughout the late 2010s. When news of an engagement broke in early 2019, Shelby generated significant interest. Louis V's biographer described her as the first "truly middle class" woman to marry into the family. In the runup to the wedding, the Daily Charlaten published several articles about "Shelby the all-Sunderlandian girl". The wedding was the first large royal gathering since the funerals of James, the Prince of Danforth, and Queen Katherine. The couple were created Duke and Duchess of Sherbourne after the ceremony.

Princess Alexandra Anne of Westminster was born OTD in 1887

The only child of the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, Princess Alexandra Anne Martha Georgina Dagmar Gloriana Marie Astrid was born at Rockcliffe Palace, Warwick, in the exact bed where King George I had been born almost half a century earlier. The child was visited by Queen Alexandra who wrote, "Marie's dear baby looks older than a newborn. She is so large and alert with a mop of white hair." The little princess was known by friends and family as "Nan", based on a childhood misspelling of her name.

Nan of Westminster grew up under the eye of her grandmother, Martha, Dowager Duchess of Westminster, dividing time between Rockcliffe Palace and Ivory Cottage, a hunting lodge turned royal residence. Trips to visit Anne's maternal relations in Germany were frequent. Anne later described her childhood as "merry but with much to be desired". Plagued by financial grievances, the Duke and Duchess were unhappy in their marriage and had no other children. Despite the Duke's infidelities, the pair were forbidden to divorce by George I "for the sake of the young daughter". The marital strain impressed itself on Anne, who became insecure, worrying she was unloved by her parents. In 1894 Dowager Duchess Martha consoled her granddaughter, "Darling one, you mustn't go about thinking you are unwanted. How could such an idea enter your pretty little head? Shake it out this instant!"

Throughout adolescence Anne was acutely aware of her flaws. Her figure was often gauche, her haircut awkward and fizzy, her face round and heavy-jawed. "I suppose I am too Hanoverian to pass as beautiful," Nan remarked, referencing her mother's side of the family, the thickset descendants of King George III of the United Kingdom. By the time she was seriously considered as a bride for Prince George of Danforth, second in line to the throne, Anne was staring down the gunbarrel of spinsterhood. Her previous engagement to Prince George's younger brother, Louis Alexander, ended in tragedy when the wayward prince toppled from his bedroom window in a typhoid-fueled delirium. On their wedding day, George wrote, "It is so tedious to learn to love each other. I am so angry with myself! For when I am with you, I lose all speech to express my love for you, my darling. Now, I write what I cannot say . . ."

"They were two awkward, timid souls. Soft spoken, consistently cringing, nearly terrified of each other. Yet they were shoehorned into a perfect love match by chance—and tragedy."

With George, Anne had five children, nine grandchildren, and twenty-three great-grandchildren. Anne is today remembered charitably by historians, largely as a stabilizing force that shepherded the family through two world wars and numerous family tragedies. She lived to see five kings rule, connecting George I to Louis V. She gave birth to the majority of her children during the First World War. Although overly formal and aloof as a mother, she loved her children passionately. When her eldest son was assassinated in 1942, Anne defended her daughter-in-law from the gunman with her flower bouquet. She married the Duke of Woodbine in 1913 and died in 1973. For her sixty years of service, combined with her serene public image, she was eulogized as Diamond Anne.

Prince George David of Danforth was born OTD in 1884

When the Prince and Princess of Danforth welcomed their first child on March 24, 1884, they had been married for just under a year. The child, a boy, was small, having been born a few months premature, but was doted on by his parents. The baby was christened George David Alexander Nicholas, named after his father, grandfather and deceased great-grandfather. Throughout his childhood, the young prince was known as Nicky. Even after the birth of his younger brother 13 months later, Prince Nicky remained the favoured child within the family. King George I praised his grandson as "so bright, so clever! Nothing at all like his father."

Nicky and his closest brother Louis, called Lutz, were raised essentially as twins. The two young princes shared toys, clothes, and a room at Wren House. When Nicky was sent away to New Westminster for military training, the first royal prince to do so, it was decided that Lutz would tag along. The boys' tutor believed that Lutz, who showed "no spark", would benefit from his older brother's influence. After lengthy debate between the King, the Prince of Danforth, and the Prime Minister, the plan was approved. Scarborough Military College was a hard place far from home, sandwiched between the Cascades and Sunderland's Pacific coastline. Still, the Prince of Danforth believed that military experience was necessary for his sons to become "strong, upright young men". At Scarborough, the brothers were addressed as soldiers rather than princes, they ate in the mess hall and slept in the barracks with their fellow cadets. While Lutz thrived in the military, Nicky struggled with bullying and loneliness. "my intelligence did me no favours at The 'Borough. As far as the others boys were concerned I was too sensitive, too shy, too . . . me to be worth anything." Nicky was relived to leave Scarborough behind to attend the University of Westminster—even if it meant leaving Lutz behind as well. Studying at Westminster gave Nicky a bit of reprieve from his parents and grandfather. Despite this, the prince remained laser-focused on his education, as if his grandfather was still there "perpetually looking over his shoulder". The prince showed little interest in university social events or women, despite both being readily available in abundance. His free time was spent cramming and rehearsing the drill maneuvers he'd learned at Scarborough. Nicky's only friend was his dog, a Russell terrier called Shaggy. "The boy is a complete straight arrow," Nicky's tutor-turned-companion lamented. "It's ludicrous."

Back at home, George I set to work finding a bride for his grandson. In 1909, George I suggested one of his favourite granddaughters, Princess Katharina of Prussia, the second daughter of Nicky's late aunt Princess Grace. "How sweet it would be to see Dear Aunt Grace's daughter become Queen," the King wrote to his grandson. "Katharina has all of her mother's beauty & amiable nature. She is half Sunderlandian & has a great love of this country, something you will never find in the princesses of Europe." While Nicky agreed to the match, Katharina rejected him, stating she loved him only "as a Cousin". Another first cousin, this time Princess Hélène Bonaparte, was suggested the following year. This match was again unsuccessful, due to Hélène's Catholicism and her refusal to convert to Lutheranism. In 1911, Nicky expressed a passing interest in another Catholic princess, this time Princess Maria Adelaide of Bourbon-Parma, but he was too shy to openly pursue her.

In the end, Nicky's long-awaited bride came in the form of Princess Alexandra Anne of Westminster. Anne was the daughter of George I's first cousin and was once a childhood playmate of the Danforth children. Anne was originally meant to marry Nicky's beloved brother Lutz, who had since fallen into a scandal-ridden and frivolous lifestyle. When Lutz died of typhus just months before the wedding, Anne and Nicky grieved together.

So profound is my own grief, but I still feel deeply for poor Nan. To be so close & to have her happy future snatched, it is too awful for words!

In 1912, Nicky "bewildered everyone" by proposing to Anne. More shocking was George I's approval of the match. It was rumoured that the King caved to appease Anne's father, who caused controversy by publically demanding his daughter "have her Tsesarevich", referring to Queen Alexandra's sister-in-law, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who had been engaged to Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich at the time of his death. Maria subsequently married Nicholas's brother, the future Tsar Alexander III. The comments saddened Queen Alexandra, who still mourned the loss of her favourite brother.

Despite the rumours it seems George I supported the match on his own. Having known her since childhood, the King found Anne "pretty, agreeable and charming" . However, George warned his grandson, Anne could "be fierce and strong-willed". The pair married in April 1913. Their early marital bliss was interrupted by World War One and Nicky's subsequent return to the military, but the pair still managed to have three children during the war, and two more afterwards.

The marriage proved to be a happy one. Nicky and Nan became King George II and Queen Anne in 1930, after the death of Nicky's father. George II's reign saw the rise of fascism, culminating in the outbreak of World War II. Throughout this period George II relied on Anne, who had become "his rock". Although an ocean away from the bloodshed, the royal family did not escape the war unscathed. George II's eldest son was assassinated, and several relatives sided with the Nazis. By the War's end, George II had weakened and he died the following decade.

The Honourable Tatiana Grace Farnsworth was born on April 19, 1977

On April 19, 1977, the Burgrave and Burgravine of Weyward welcomed their fourth and youngest child. The baby, a girl, was met with a lukewarm reaction from her parents, who were hoping for a second son, a spare for one of the oldest aristocratic families in the country. The families of John Spencer Farnsworth (1940 - 2008) and his wife, Lady Grace (née Burke; 1952 - ), had been closely allied with the Sunderlandian Royal Family for the past century. Their mothers, Ellinor Farnsworth, Countess Farnsworth and Sylvia Burke, Duchess of Lewisham, were ladies-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. Sylvia’s grandmother was the Russian-born Princess Anna Felixovna Obolensky, a confidante and lady-in-waiting to Queen Alexandra. The newest addition to this historic brood was named Tatiana Grace, after her mother and a maternal great-great-aunt who was once considered as a bride for George Nicholas, Prince of Danforth. Her family called her “Tush” because, according to her mother, she was “a sore bottom.”

Tatiana joined three older siblings: Peter “The Great” (1968 - ), Elena (1970 - ), and Anya (1974 -). The children were brought up on the Wolferton Estate, just a stone’s throw from the main house. King Louis V, or “Uncle Loo” as the Farnsworth children called him, was not a stranger to the family, nor was the rest of the royal family. Lady Grace was a close friend of Queen Irene—“too close,” Louis V once grated. Despite the king’s ambivalence, it was Grace who convinced Irene not to divorce Louis in 1982. Little Tatiana played with Princess Jacqueline and Prince James, who was just two months older.

“It was a wonderful childhood, really,” Tatiana would later state. “But so lonely.” By the time Tatiana was a toddler, her older siblings had been sent off to boarding school, and she was raised as an only child. Tush was placed in the care of a governess and confided to the nursery, where visits from her parents were infrequent. By 1978, the cracks in the Weywards’ marriage had turned to canyons, deepened by a twelve-year age difference. To distract Tatiana from the marital strife, her father provided her with an abundance of household pets, including rabbits, hamsters, a cockatoo, a tabby cat called Marzipan, and a pair of Shetland ponies. Although Spencer rarely set foot in the nursery, which resembled a zoo, Tatiana was extremely loyal to her father.

When she was seven, Tatiana’s mother “ran off” with Charles Foy, heir to a drapery fortune. Although Grace later returned home “heartbroken and humiliated”, Tatiana never forgave her mother and grew to resent her. At Chester Palace, Queen Irene worried that Grace’s flight was a “cry for help” but didn’t dare to pry. Louis V’s third child, Prince Phillip, later claimed his parents were disturbed by the Burgrave’s tendency to treat his wife like “the disposable lid of a microwave dinner.” Although rumours of abuse and extramarital affairs persisted, the couple remained married until Spencer’s death.

“We were the laughing stock for that whole summer. I don’t think my father ever got over it.” - Lady Anya Villeneuve as cited in "Meet the in-laws: Who are the Farnsworths of Weyward?", SBN News (December 1, 1998)

When she was nine, Tatiana joined her sisters at Abbey Wood, an all-girls prep school. Classmates described Tatiana as a walking cliche. “She was shy but not boring; she just needed to come out of her shell. She had these stunning green eyes. She never wore tons of makeup, just mascara. You know. She was beautiful, but she didn’t know it.” Tatiana was not academically gifted, failing math twice and having to take summer school a handful of times. One term studying at a Swiss finishing school did not improve her grades. “She was intellectually dormant,” her mother claimed. “She didn’t want to study or learn. All she wanted to do was dance.”

The year before Abbey Wood, Tatiana’s brother gifted her a book of ballerina paper dolls at Christmas. The gift, a thoughtless stocking stuffer gifted by a teenager, had a profound impact. From that moment on, Tatiana became obsessed with classical ballet. After months of tears and begging, Spencer enrolled Tatiana in tap and ballet classes. Soon, ballet became Tatiana’s whole world, consuming every inch of her free time and occupying her dreams, both day and night. She idolized Natalia Makarova just as much as she did Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul. By thorteen, Tatiana was en pointe and the winner of several national ballet titles. Royal biographer Agnes Stuart wrote in 2007 that ballet was the only thing Tatiana was “truly, exceptionally, good at.”

“She wasn’t particularly intelligent or charismatic. Her mother had few positive words to say about her. She got that validation from dance. And she clung to it.” - Agnes Stuart "Royal Brides and Bodies", The New Yorker (April 2005) “I told her: you can’t make a career out of that. I had read a magazine. All these gymnast and ballerina girls were miserable and anorexic. It’s not what people want nowadays. They wanted ladies in the office. Secretaries or typists or whatever.” - Countess Farsworth as cited in "Meet the in-laws: Who are the Farnsworths of Weyward?", SBN News (December 1, 1998)

Parallel to ballet ran another obsession, just as passionate but far more consequential for Tatiana’s life. Tatiana began dating her childhood friend, James, the Prince of Danforth, in 1992. The relationship was on and off again, but started ramping up once the couple completed secondary school. Until that point, James and Tatiana had been separated, Tatiana confined to the rural Wolferton Estate and James living in the city. As adults, the pair were granted independence from their parents and a closer proximity. James was at Warwick Met, studying a mix of history and philosophy, and Tatiana was at the National Ballet School. The two campuses were just five blocks away. By 1996, Tatiana and James were attached at the hip; a fact that wasn’t missed by their families—or Sunderland’s press.

In 1997, Tatiana, who had since become Lady Tatiana Farnsworth following the death of her paternal grandfather, was invited to Collingwood Castle, the royals’ summer home. From there, she joined the royal family aboard the HMSY Sunderlania for a weekend cruise to the Canadian/American Thousand Islands. Tatiana was received well by the King and Queen, as well as by James’s grandmother, Queen Katherine. However, Tatiana’s family had mixed feelings about marriage, especially her brother and mother. The Great rejected the idea that Tatiana loved James, telling his little sister, “he gives you attention. And you love attention, Tush.”

Marrying James would also mean giving up her ballet career. Throughout the late 1990s, Tatiana was fielding several professional offers from ballet companies in Warwick, London, and Los Angeles. Her early career part of NBS’s Corps de ballet was marked by acclaimed performances in Giselle, Don Quixote, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty. The New York Times described Lady Tatiana as “buoyant and refined [. . .] Perhaps one out of 25 wunderkind in North American ballet.” In January 1998, NBS’s principal choreographer a Natasha Allred, gave Tatiana frank advice. Marrying James meant sacrificing a career as a soloist. “You’ll be turning your back on NBS. On Broadway.”

“I think you will regret it, is all I’m saying.”

James proposed to Lady Tatiana at Rockcliffe Palace in June 1998, and the pair were married that December. The wedding ceremony took place at the colossal St. Andrew’s Cathedral, which offered majestic views to nearly 600,000 spectators. Eyebrows were raised when Tatiana vowed “to obey”, a line that was not included in the 1997 wedding ceremony of Princess Jacqueline and Earl Belmont.

As Princess of Danforth, Tatiana’s life revolved around public appearances and childrearing. Her first child, Prince Nicholas, was born in April 2000, followed by Prince Alex in July 2002. In May 2001, Tatiana attended her first Opening of Parliament. Her inaugural international visit was to New York City in March 2002 to commemorate victims of the September 11th attacks. In 2003, Tatiana accompanied James, Nicholas, and a ten-month-old Alex to Western Sunderland. In August 2004, Tatiana was made patron of NBS, her former school, and twenty-five other institutions across the country. 2006 was dominated by international visits to Thailand, France, Canada, and an extensive tour of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, where Tatiana highlighted women’s development in the region. In 2003, Tatiana confided to Second Lady Lynne Cheney that she “didn’t expect” her life as Princess of Danforth to be “so exhausting.” The late 2000s were characterized by a string of publicized family tragedies, among them a stillborn baby girl and her brother’s salacious divorce and remarriage. In 2008, the tragedies crescendoed when Tatiana’s father died following a stroke. Her mother married a Spanish aristocrat the following year. Tatiana resented her new stepfather, refused to meet him, and threw a “temper tantrum” upon hearing that photos of the wedding ceremony had been sold to PEOPLE for a rumoured $70,000. Tatiana was “glad” when the couple divorced in 2011, although by then it was reported that the damage to Tatiana and Grace’s relationship “had been done.”

Throughout the 2010s, several news articles about the princess’s behaviour hit the mainstream press. Allegations that she was unkind to teachers, nannies, and female journalists were frequent, as well as unfounded rumours that she was unkind to her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Woodbine. “She was, and still is, inflamed by all female attention. She viewed them as a threat to James and their boys,” Stuart claimed. “James was the true object of her affections. Her beloved. Her One. So, when he died . . .”

James’s death in 2017 was a major turning point in Tatiana’s life. “To say she was devastated would be a profound understatement.” When Peter visited his sister in early 2018, he was alarmed by her “zombielike” state and accused the palace of neglecting her and Princes Nicholas and Alex. In contrast to Princess Ruby, Tatiana's similarly widowed predecessor, Tatiana rejected the title Princess Dowager. Later in the year, Chester Palace clarified Tatiana’s role: “Her Royal Highness remains a valued member of the family and will continue to carry out duties as the mother of a future sovereign.” Louis V’s private secretary later summarized: “Poor lady.”

In the decade since James’s death, Tatiana has been inconsistent, flighty, and increasingly protective of her two boys. In a 2025 television interview, the Dowager Countess Farnsworth spoke candidly about her daughter’s future. “I believe Tatiana needs to find purpose and security from within. This will be most challenging for her, as she struggles with her self-esteem. James was the bandage for a chronic situation [ . . .] some of that is on me, I guess.”

Prince Nicholas of Danforth was born OTD in 2000

At approximately 06:43 CST, a 41-gun salute disrupted an early Sunday morning. The volleys erupted over Lake Michigan just as the rising sun illuminated the placid waves, coating the coastline in thick smoke and sending flocks of startled seagulls into the sky. On a regular morning, the noise would have been unwelcome, but this day was far from ordinary. It seemed no one in the City of Warwick had gotten much sleep; people had been out in throngs since two in the morning: honking car horns, climbing up streetlamps, dancing and cavorting to a chant that, ironically, took the tune of The Stars and Stripes Forever: "it's a boy, it's a boy, it's a boy!"

The baby boy was the first child of James, the Prince of Danforth, and his wife Tatiana. He was also the first grandson of King Louis V, the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Danforth since Prince Clarence's birth fifty years prior, and the first member of the Sunderlandian Royal Family to be born in the 21st century. The baby was christened Nicholas William Louis George on May 23, the 80th birthday of his great-grandmother, Queen Katherine. Popular press speculated that the prince was named after his great-great-grandfather, George II, who was known as "Nicky" within the royal family. From an early age, Prince Nicholas enjoyed an unprecedented amount of celebrity. His first overseas trip to the United States in January 2001 drew international media attention.

Nicholas's only sibling, Prince Alex, was born in July 2002. The two brothers were raised at Rockcliffe Palace in Warwick and Orchardlea, a courty house situated on a range of rolling hills and buffs in northwestern Great Lakes. The "Cotswolds of the Mississippi". Royal biographer Richard Clancy asserts that Nicholas was a "spoilt" albeit "introspective" child who from an early age "understood he would be king". When asked about her children, Princess Tatiana described Nick as a "little old man"

He's very wise, which is strange for a toddler. He hates commotion and noise. When we bring him to other children, he prefers to watch them. [Alex] is more of an animal, a different breed.

Nicholas "came out of his shell" when he reached school age. Education consisted of hallowed halls and a "work hard, play hard" mentality. Prince James took both academics and extracurriculars seriously and urged his son to become a "jack-of-all-trades". Nicholas was signed up for hockey, soccer, swimming, and lacrosse, although he lacked athletic talent and, by his own admission, "wouldn't get drafted any time soon". Academics were Nicholas's comfort zone, and he was reported to be a top student as early as 2009. As a teenager, Nicholas received private lectures from academics and constitutional theorists. On the weekends, he met with his grandfather to discuss state matters and the role of the monarch, a tradition that continued into adulthood. By graduation day, Nicholas was one of the most "thoroughly educated" members of his family.

In the early hours of September 1, 2017, Nicholas's father passed away from complications of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Nicholas, then 17, became first in line to the throne and was created Prince of Danforth later that week. He also inherited huge amounts of property, wealth, and material possessions from his father's estate. By February, reports swirled that the prince was "begging" Chester Palace for support in his new role, as well as help for his mother, who remained grief-stricken. In response to increasing press pressure for updates on the prince, David Schuyler, his privates secretary, stated:

The Prince of Danforth isn't a landlord or a crown counillor or a governor-general. He is a boy. Perhaps a boy of more extraordinary circumstances, but a boy nonetheless. For the foreseeable future, his priority will be growing into a young man, a task he will do without the guidance and support of his father, who he adored and confided in.

The Royal Year (3/∞)

↬ The Anniversary of HRH James, Prince of Danforth's Birth

The Royal Year (2/∞)

↬ HRH Princess Imogen of Sherbourne's birthday