KEO.PLUS

Arthur looked at Princess Louise in surprise, only to see her face full of smiles. She happily said, “Queen Mother Emma and I get along very well. We both agree that you and Queen Wilhelmina have very similar experiences, Arthur. This is how marriages among nobles work. I think the Kingdom of the Netherlands could be a great help to you and the marriage with Queen Wilhelmina is quite good.”

As she spoke, Princess Louise worried that Arthur would find it difficult to accept for a moment, and added, “Although I wish to achieve this marriage, the final choice is still up to you, Arthur. I support your final decision and hope that you can make a choice that follows your heart, no matter what the outcome.”

Indeed, as Princess Louise said, marriages among Western nobility are mostly political alliances.

Many nobles haven’t even met their spouses before the wedding, but simply come together because of the approval of their parents and elders.

Arthur’s situation is relatively better. With the death of Duke Arthur and Queen Victoria, Princess Louise is the only one left to influence Arthur’s marriage.

At least in part, Arthur can follow his own ideas, without facing the awkward situation of getting engaged without ever seeing his fiancee.

So what does Arthur think?

Always busy with state affairs, Arthur really hasn’t thought about this question. Even when Queen Mother Emma visited, he always thought it was just a normal diplomatic visit from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Suddenly faced with the matter of his own marriage, Arthur was at a loss for a moment, showing for the first time the immaturity and confusion of his age.

“Mother, there’s no need for it to be so early! Australia is currently experiencing a golden age of development. I think my marriage can be postponed for three or four years,” Arthur said awkwardly.

“In theory, there’s no hurry, Arthur. But as time goes on, it will not be easy to find a suitable marriage partner like Queen Wilhelmina, Arthur. After all, Australia is still too far away from Europe. In the future, surely you can’t pick a native commoner, Arthur,” Princess Louise advised earnestly.

Although Arthur was descended from the prestigious British royal family, he was a duke of a remote duchy.

While it is not difficult to find a match among the European nobility, there are few marriage partners like Queen Wilhelmina, who have a legitimate claim to the title of queen and control a second-tier European country.

More importantly, if Arthur can actually get engaged to Queen Wilhelmina, then the Kingdom of the Netherlands will become an allied country with the Australian Principality.

Arthur would become a prince of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Queen Wilhelmina would become a duchess of the Australian Principality.

Such marriages between the highest sovereigns often lead to the birth of united thrones and federal unions.

The first descendant of Arthur and Queen Wilhelmina will become the legitimate heir to both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Australian Principality.

Of course, there is another factor that would allow for a faster arrival of the federal union and united throne. If Queen Wilhelmina is willing to co-rule the Netherlands with Arthur, he has the opportunity to be granted the title of king by the Dutch Parliament.

Only then did Arthur understand why Minister Herbert had shown such humility during negotiations and such respect when facing him.

All of this made sense, as everyone knew that Queen Mother Emma and Princess Louise were discussing the marriage between Queen Wilhelmina and Arthur. Once the matter was settled, Arthur would become a prince of the Netherlands at the very least. It’s no wonder that Minister Herbert could show such respect to a foreign sovereign like Arthur.

After some thought, an alliance with the Netherlands was indeed a good choice. Through this marriage alliance, Australia could wield a certain influence in Europe, and the deployment of certain actions in Europe would become smoother.

At the same time, the Dutch East Indies would become allies. The resources and manpower of the Dutch East Indies could easily be mobilized, not only facilitating the development of Australia, but also giving Australia and the Dutch East Indies a considerable influence in Southeast Asia.

Even after carefully considering, this alliance would have no disadvantages for Australia, apart from restricting Arthur’s freedom to marry.

Another advantage is that it would allow for the pursuit of a higher title. Europe is highly concerned with the concept of legality, and for Arthur, who comes from the British royal family, it would be difficult to be promoted to king under normal circumstances.

Only by thoroughly integrating Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand, and developing Australia into a country not inferior to Italy and Spain, can one be qualified to be promoted to the rank of a kingdom.

Of course, this does not mean that the title would be indisputable. Such kings would not be recognized by most powers unless they possess power that can be acknowledged by the powers; otherwise, they would remain as illegitimate kings forever.

Arthur felt a headache coming on. In theory, an alliance with the Netherlands is indeed more advantageous than disadvantageous.

However, the problem is that Arthur has never met Queen Wilhelmina nor knows much about this legendary queen.

Under such circumstances, it is difficult to agree to an engagement with Queen Wilhelmina right away.

Arthur could only give an ambiguous answer, “Let me think about it, mother. I have not met Queen Wilhelmina, and making a hasty decision now would be rash. Let’s wait until Australia and the Netherlands establish normal diplomatic relations.”

Princess Louise nodded, accepting Arthur’s evasive answer as an embarrassed response.

Many European nobles do the same, giving such ambiguous answers until they know their fiance-in-question.

Neither refusing nor agreeing. Marriages among nobles must be carefully considered, especially when both parties are sovereigns of a country.

Seeing that Princess Louise was no longer urging, Arthur finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After chatting happily with his two sisters for a while, Arthur returned to his room.

He thought the engagement was temporarily settled, but only a few minutes later, Princess Louise sent several photos and portraits of Queen Wilhelmina, along with her achievements and a brief introduction.

Looking at the black and white photos taken by a simple camera, Arthur unexpectedly found the person in the photos to be quite attractive.

Shaking his head, Arthur brushed aside other thoughts in his mind and read the introduction to Queen Wilhelmina, recalling the legendary events of her life in history.