Page 42 of The Unlikely Heir

“He is proving to be naturally comedic,” Rosalia says, and once again, I have an irrational urge to defend Callum.

“Conservatives are still muttering about a referendum on the monarchy,” Toby says, looking directly at me.

“What are the numbers showing?”

“Only forty percent support a referendum, but the numbers are rising. Up from thirty-eight last week.”

“We’ll keep monitoring it,” I say. “Right now, I think it’s more important to move on to our next item.” I look at my health secretary. “Can you give us an update on NHS staffing?”

And so we start to debate increasing funding to allow more training spaces to boost domestic workforce numbers versus international recruitment initiatives.

It’s only later that evening, as I head into my study, that my reaction to the discussion about Callum slides back into my head.

Is that the problem with our friendship? It makes it difficult for me to see the situation with the monarchy objectively when I know the people involved.

But I know Queen Katharine as well. Part of my role as prime minister is to develop a relationship with the royal family.

That decided, I pick up my personal phone, my pulse speeding up in anticipation of communicating with Callum.

If I’m being completely honest, this is my favorite part of my day.

It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to talk to at the end of a long day, even if it is just by messaging. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it.

Messaging Callum is fun. He brings so much lightness to my day. Not just by him sharing all his amusing anecdotes about the trials and tribulations of royal engagements, but just his way of looking at the world.

I’ve always been so focused on achieving, never thinking about pursuing knowledge simply for knowledge’s sake. I’ve always filtered everything I could learn through the lens ofhow is knowing this going to help me?

But Callum’s making me fall in love with learning. He looks at the world with such bright, open eyes, wanting to know the meaning behind everything.

There’s already a message from Callum waiting for me, and I ignore the way my heart leaps at that discovery.

You would not believe what I did today.

I do a quick check of Google, but there doesn’t seem to be any new headlines about him.

Not seeing anything in the news, so it can’t have been that bad.

Oh, trust me, it’s bad.

What happened?

I asked someone what material their pants were made out of.

You did what???

I was at the wearable art awards, and this person had pants made out of what looked like recycled rubber from tires. So, I asked them what their pants were made of.

Pants means underwear here.

Yes, I’m aware of that NOW. And I did actually know that, I just forgot briefly. I can’t wait for the tabloids to get hold of that story. The press office has already prepared a statement in case they decide to take the “Is Prince Callum a Sexual Predator” angle. Raymond says he’s going to quiz me on all the differences between the languages so I don’t make another mistake.

Language gaffes are common with politicians. If you need to feel better, check this out.

I send him a link to when Jimmy Carter gave a speech in Poland and expressed that he wanted to learn the Poles’ “desires for the future,” but his interpreter somehow translated it to be “I desire the Poles carnally.”

Okay, reading that makes me feel slightly better. But you’ve got to admit some of your English words are just plain weird.

Um…we invented the English language, remember? It’s the Americans that invented weird words that don’t make any sense.