her royal highness the princess of wales

but please, just call her poppy

[heavydirtyscul]

Bel Powley by celiaburtonmakeup ❤️

[poppyofwales]

location: clarence house featuring: @hxxll-o​ ( bo )

the smile on her face as bo was led into the parlor for tea was genuine, though her eyes were still shuttered and permeated by the weight of everything that had happened already. “thank you for coming to me,” she murmured as she stood to greet him with a perfunctory kiss on the cheek and a loose embrace. “it’s difficult enough to be seen in public as it is right now.”

she waited until she was seated to ask the next question, her lips curving slightly. “how was astrid’s show?” poppy expected to see it in the coming days, though she would be attending in the evening when there was no worry of running into hugo.

[poppyofwales]

h u g o

“i’m so excited for you to see it, i can hardly wait.” he hummed quietly as he cast an eye over the menu. as long as poppy liked it, and astrid liked it, he’d feel more than accomplished. “sure - i’ll grab my phone.” more often than not, hugo enjoyed lightly teasing poppy for the harmless things she had never done before, but in all honesty, he found it quite sweet that there were certain things she just steered away from. 

hugo was half distracted typing the number of the restaurant into his phone, but her words made him slow, and eventually look up from what he was doing. an affectionate grin spread across his features as he met her eyes. “i’m so desperately in love with you too - dream or not.” he said, discarding his phone in his back pocket and focusing all his attention on her. maybe it was smug, but he had been of the understanding that they loved each other for a while now, but those specific words had never left her lips. they didn’t need to, really. hugo brushed aside a lock of her dark hair and pressed a kiss to her lips that still curved up into the smile he couldn’t shake. 

“everything you make is special.” he emphasized his point with another kiss. “to me, at least.” 

her returning smile was open and honest, lips curving as her eyes widened. “i’m looking forward to it,” she responded, her voice soft, even though it was only the two of them – and rothko – alone in his home. she knew that he’d been working quite a long while on this exhibition of astrid’s work and, truth be told, she wasn’t even that familiar with the young artist’s style. it would be a learning experience for her. “thanks, baby,” she remarked, pleased that he didn’t tease her this time – one day she might become more comfortable doing something so simple, she supposed.

though poppy had not been nervous about the words that left her lips, there was still a slight bit of relief to hear that her emotions, her feelings, were reciprocated by the one who had quickly come to matter more than nearly anything in her life. her head tilted up to accept his kiss, fingers pressing into his side as she exhaled only as they parted. “there’s something rather nice about hearing those words,” she admitted with a breathy laugh, a sound that only was heard by hugo. “that i did not entirely expect.”

she hummed softly, the sound emanating from the back of her throat. “how did i ever get so lucky to meet you?” she inquired, all thoughts of food thrown from her mind as she focused on hugo and the feel of his lips against her own.

[poppyofwales]

h u g o

“it was, in it’s way. i’m so excited for astrid’s show, it feels like what i’ve been waiting my whole career to do, you know?” he was proud of the work he was doing, and it felt so nice to have someone to come home and share it with. the knowledge that this was all going to come to an end at some point was in the back of his head, but it wasn’t worth marring this bliss with. “small mercies.” he flashed her a grin, and considered her question for a moment. “i could go for thai? maybe italian?”

he smiled at the thought of poppy walking his dog despite the risk. “i bet he loved that. hyde park is his favourite.” rothko’s tail wagging was proof enough of that. “one of these days my alarm is going to go off and i’m going to wake up to this all having been an amazing dream.” hugo grinned. “am i allowed to peek in the kitchen? or is it a surprise?”

poppy nodded, understanding that for hugo astrid’s show was very similar to her being named as princess of wales. “i get it, baby,” she murmured softly as she looked through the menus once more. “i’m glad you’re able to do what you love.” eyes met hugo’s once more before she considered his words. “we haven’t done thai in awhile. how about that?” after perusing the menu, poppy handed it to him. “do you mind calling it in? that’s actually one thing i’ve never done. i’d like the green curry with chicken, please.”

“i think he enjoyed it,” she agreed, though her brow furrowed at his next comment. “that’s impossible, baby,” poppy said, her eyes wide as she looked up at hugo. “because even if it was a dream, i’d wake up from the same one, completely and utterly in love with you.”  her cheeks pinked after she spoke, poppy realizing that she’d allowed the words that had grown inside of her heart to slip out.

“you can look if you want. it’s nothing incredibly special. but i love having the time to make something.”

[poppyofwales]

h u g o

life seemed like a dream - he could barely function at normal capacity knowing that poppy was waiting at home for him every day. there was nothing to be done about the huge grin that spread across his features to see poppy reading in the comfiest chair in the place with rothko curled up in his favourite person’s orbit. that wasn’t even taking into account the sight of her in his sweater with her hair spilling over her shoulders. it was the most relaxed he’d seen her, not counting the cotswolds, and it brought him happiness to know that she could escape the pressure of her life here, even if it was just temporary. 

“it was great - no warhol, lots of mucking around on the phone with astrid.” he said, taking his shoes off at the door and putting the papers he’d brought home with him down on the table by the door in order to meet her halfway to greet her with a kiss. “missed you though.” he pressed his forehead against hers. “you’re so full of great ideas. there are some menus in that drawer that i collected when this was a bachelor pad and not yours and rothko’s house that i just visit.” he laughed, going over to retrieve the collection. “how was your day? happy, i hope.”

“that sounds like it was very productive,” poppy remarked, though the thoughts left her mind as he approached. while she knew that things would go back to normal at the beginning of september, and that she would not be able to spend every single night wrapped in the warmth of hugo’s arms, poppy could not bear to think about it, could not become nearly as pragmatic as she was used to being. her lips curved up higher at the sight of him and she exhaled softly as he pressed his forehead against her own. “missed you more,” she teased, her eyes meeting hugo’s with a twinkle in them.

“you’re definitely a visitor i’d enjoy every day,” poppy mused, one hand moving back down to delve into rothko’s fur before she looked at the menus that he found. “what are you in the mood for?” she inquired. “my day was relaxing. i put on sunglasses and took rothko for a walk in hyde park. i don’t even think i was recognized, which was nice.” lips twitched once more. “i also baked today; something fun for dessert.”

[poppyofwales]

24, 30, 34, 35

24. Lorelei Vanderbilt: What is your muse’s coffee order?

answered here!

30. Orion Van Renesslaer: Does your muse have tattoos? What do they have? Or what would they get if they were to?

poppy doesn’t have any tattoos and given that she will one day be queen of great britain and the commonwealth, she’ll probably never get a tattoo. it’s nothing that’s ever really occurred to her, though i do think she’d be that person who would get an outline of a poppy either on her wrist or behind her ear if given the opportunity.

34. Roselyn Emery: What is your muse’s favourite flower?

poppy’s favorite flowers are, ironically, poppies.

35. Royce Ward: What is your muse’s home like?

poppy lives in clarence house. though it’s an official royal residence and the public parts of the building cannot be altered too much, her own apartments are light and airy, with plenty of windows and natural light as well as a large kitchen that she spends a great deal of time in.

[poppyofwales]

24, 28

24. Lorelei Vanderbilt: What is your muse’s coffee order?

poppy prefers tea, but when she has coffee she either orders a cappuccino or an americano with no additional flavor. she prefers the taste of the coffee beans to anything appended on and only rarely will she add cream or sugar.

28. Milo Baptiste: What is your muse’s favourite photo of themselves?

[poppyofwales]

location: hugo’s place; notting hill featuring: @ofchryseum​ ( hugo )

since her return from scotland, poppy had been staying with hugo. originally it was only for a week, but after their friends had come to visit, she’d thought to stay a bit longer, hoping they’d have a bit more time to themselves. it was strange, at times, for the princess of wales to feel so normal and yet in hugo’s home, with the dog curled up at her feet, she felt little else. there was an informality that she rarely allowed herself and even today she wore a sweater of hugo’s and a pair of yoga pants, her hair loose. currently she sat in an armchair, book in her lap as she thumbed through the pages. a hand paused to pet rothko on the head and she looked up at the clock, realizing that he’d be home from work soon.

turning back to her book, poppy became lost in the words and was only pulled out of them by the sound of the key in the lock and by the time she looked up, hair spilling over her shoulder, he was coming inside. “how was work?” she inquired, placing a bookmark between pages before rising to greet him. “i thought maybe we could order in tonight?”

[poppyofwales]

e d w a r d

It had been many months since Edward had spent quality time with his family. They had their occasional family night that was always made a priority due to all their schedules, but a whole month off was allowing them to reconnect. He had spent the last week bonding with them as well as losing to each game thrown at him. Even at golf with papa had been a lost game. He had intentions of coming back when Elise’s visit was over, but was heading their a few days early before to see if there was anything at the palace needing maintaining. After August, he had plans to be forthcoming with charities and organizations and see the differences in the change. For now, he was looking forward to seeing Elise and had talked to her the night before, always willing to stay up to talk to her if needed. 

Edward usually had no trouble with sleeping during transportation whether it was on the car or the plane. There was little else to do and he needed the rest to catch up on lost hours of sleep. “Did I?” he asked, sitting up straighter and leaning away from the window he had been pressed against. There was still a few hours left but he was glad he had escaped the dull ride by resting. “Three in the morning is certainly reasonable as I’m on vacation,” Edward explained, not amused by Poppy’s obvious judgments. “Something to plan for? That’s quite ominous of you. If it’s some sort of egg hunt, the answer is no.”

their time in scotland had been nice, poppy enjoying the last vestiges of her family vacation before her life would forever change. in a way, it already had, but she’d be out of the public eye until september, which allowed her time to come to terms with everything personally, especially her relationship with eddie. it was nice to spend time with him while the two of them got along and she knew that her parents had also enjoyed the idyllic time together. now, however, poppy was ready to spend time with her boyfriend, and was looking forward to returning to london more than she might have been at a different time. “indeed; we’re nearly halfway to home by now.”

her brow lifted. “yes, well, clearly I don’t take the same view on vacation as you do. i wouldn’t want to get into bad sleeping habits.” her voice was prim, though she tempered the tone with a smile that was genuine, albeit small. “why would i ever organize an egg hunt of all things for you?” she inquired, her expression much more bewildered than it was only moments before. “i’ve booked you a trip to africa,” she said. “for a week. i thought it might be nice for you to get away for a time after this.”

[poppyofwales]

e d w a r d

closed: @poppyofwales location: car ride from edinburgh to london

The night had been exceptionally long as he had talked to Elise on the phone until he fell asleep. After she had said she was going out with another guy, he felt an uncomfortable twist in his stomach and bitter thoughts to the guy he didn’t even know. This wasn’t something he had felt stir at him when she had gone out before or even had been with others before now. When she had told him her plans had changed however, he was strangely relieved. It had been a while since he had seen her face though they talk on the phone almost weekly now. Last night had been an adequate time for her to stay up and drink while talking to him, but he had passed out due to time difference and extending his schedule for her. 

It was Sunday and he and Poppy were meant to be going back to London. He had told his parents he would be back in two week’s time after his time with Elise in London and a few other matters. As soon as he was in the car, he closed his eyes and rested against the pillow he brought with him. It wasn’t until almost an hour later that he stirred awake and glanced outside to see they were driving through the country now and not in Edinburgh. He glanced down at his phone before acknowledging Poppy. “How much longer do we have?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep. It wasn’t the first time they had taken the car to Scotland and back and knew the expected rate of arrival would be long. “How are you not tired?”

poppy sat in the back of the car, her fingers typing away on her phone. there were several things to plan and so even though she was technically on holiday, poppy would be spending time responding to emails and taking some meetings now and again. her investiture as princess of wales would take place in october, it seemed, and she was already looking forward to the changes it would bring. while she’d had fun in scotland with her parents, in truth, she was quite excited to return to london. poppy would be spending the next week with hugo and his dog and she found that she was looking forward to taking care of things on her own instead of having staff around as she often did at clarence house.

as edward stirred, poppy turned to look at him. “you slept quite a long while,” she said, her voice carefully precise as it often was. “and i’m not tired, because i went to bed at a reasonable hour. just how late were you up, eddie?” she pressed her lips together briefly. “i’d like to give you your birthday gift on our way back to london as well, since it’s something you’ll need to plan for at least a little.”

[poppyofwales]

PHILIPPA ALEXANDRINA BEATRICE CLEMENTINE

social media [2/?]

[poppyofwales]

e d w a r d

It was his fault that any of this was happening. It wasn’t his secret he exposed about himself but he wasn’t as discrete as he thought he was being. Having his family be disappointed in him was inevitable and this might be the lowest he had felt. Immediately after Thailand, Edward escaped on a yacht with friends to cleanse himself of the defeat he felt as well as the therapist appointment that had been scheduled for him. The fact that Poppy was willing to help him after being as furious as she was meant something to him. 

At the end of the day, she was still his older sister and blindly followed her lead on most things. This was something she seemed to have meticulously planned out and he was willing to listen to everything she had to say. “I know…he will listen to you though before listening to me.”

Edward couldn’t ignore the reason they were in this predicament in the first place. Perhaps if Rosie hadn’t done anything, he would still be having secret meetings with the Prime Minister. He had met with Rosie at her shared apartment with Wes and it was hard not to be irritated by her feigned innocence after what happened. “I thought it was Floraigh. Thought she told Teddy or someone close to her…I know she had other secrets-she knew my bedroom habits and embarrassing facts. She did it for her own gain clearly.”

she wanted to help both of them, though perhaps she also wanted to ensure that the crown would continue on, that the sovereignty of their forebearers would endure. and yet there was part of poppy that hoped she would bring some sort of comfort to edward, even if she’d never really been the comforting type.

there was no use arguing with edward when both of them knew he was right: their father was more apt to listen to poppy about something so serious than he would be if edward had presented it. “probably,” she agreed. “but it will benefit the both of us in a way that i’m rather looking forward to. and even still we may have to get mother’s help. papa can be stubborn about traditional things such as this.”

poppy tilted her head to the side as she considered what edward had said. “the prime minister wouldn’t have shared something like that,” she decided, though the words seemed flimsy after what floraigh had already done. there was a large part of poppy that felt the prime minister had taken advantage of her brother, had manipulated him for her own gain, and yet she knew that she would be benefitting from it regardless. it made it incredibly hard to come to any sort of judgment and poppy merely hummed as they discussed rosie. “but that’s the point of an event like that,” she said softly. “i’m not saying rosie shouldn’t have kept some things to herself, because from your point of view she obviously should have. but she also lost something that weekend as well.”

[poppyofwales]

m i l o

“American football is all about the party atmosphere and eating buffalo dip! That’s how I enjoyed football when I was in America; I didn’t understand a single thing but the men were all big and strong and everyone got way overly excited and it was a fun time,” Milo insisted, thinking back to his high school years with a faint smile, “Hey, you can explain sports and I can explain American football! Or– what ever little bit of it I understand at least! I just know that they have to run the ball to lines and then they switch. I didn’t know you liked rowing! I guess I’m always into the flashy ones; is rowing easy to follow? Maybe I should go with you one day and see for myself– if you don’t mind me tagging along of course!”

poppy’s nose wrinkled at the thought of buffalo dip. it was something she’d had approximately one time while visiting the states and even now the smell of it threatened to overturn her stomach. “i think i’ll be passing on the buffalo dip,” she told him with a half-smile, lifting her glass to her lips. “i imagine it was a nice time,” poppy agreed. “my best friend used to play in secondary school, i think. but even he hasn’t gotten me to attend a game.” at milo’s questions, poppy found herself giving him a genuine smile in return. he loved to learn, that much was clear. “you’re more than welcome to attend with me one day,” she told him easily. “rowing is quite easy to follow, though not everyone understands the different positions in the boat itself. i’d be happy to explain it to you more thoroughly.”

[poppyofwales]

h u g o

“it certainly makes a lot more sense. i’m excited for you too, baby.” he gave her hands another squeeze and tried to memorise the way she looked now for the future. somewhere between tearful and excited, she was the loveliest thing he had ever seen in all his life surrounded by masterpieces. 

“i signed up to date you. that included your title then, so i don’t see why that has to change now.” he gave her a reassuring smile and tried to weather the shock that she wasn’t immediately dumping him on the spot. “if u have to go get engaged to some sickly european prince or english aristocrat i get it but i’m pretty sure that’s not how things work anymore.” he joked, although it did worry him a little that there were obligations that came with regency. his only real knowledge of the monarchy game from art history lectures and the saxe-coburg and gotha wikipedia page, after all. “but i like you so much, i’m willing for this to take whatever form it needs to for it to work.” he paused for a moment to think, running his thumb gently over poppy’s hand. “i can’t speak for the future, i don’t fully understand what it holds. but you’re poppy to me before you’re a princess, or a future queen. i want to be with you, no matter the circumstance; duties and all.”

the smile on poppy’s face was genuine and she held his hand tightly, her eyes wide with pleasure. there was something to be said, she thought, to have a boyfriend who was just as excited for her as she was regarding the whole thing, even if it would end up making his life more difficult in the future. she worried about that, more than she was ready to admit, for she knew well what changes hugo would need to make if they decided to truly make a go of things.

but not was not the time for that and as she listened to him speak, she wondered if he was worried he would one day be passed over for someone deemed more practical or appropriate. the smile on her face grew softer. his words came out like a joke, but there seemed to be something behind them, that made her wonder if he was genuinely concerned. “that’s definitely not how things work anymore,” she murmured. “my parents have been quite clear with both of us; they married for love and they wish for edward and myself to do the same.” poppy nodded as she leaned in to press a kiss to hugo’s lips. “i want to be with you, too,” she assured him, the words flowing from her mouth easily. “there’s a lot you might need to know eventually, but for now let’s just take it one step at a time, okay?” 

[poppyofwales]

m i l o

His own eyes flickered down at his bag as he sheepishly stuck another cherry (or was it strawberry? It was red, anyway) jelly belly into his mouth and turned back to the show like he had missed something vital. “Oh, gosh not at all! I’m not a sports person, but I have dated a swimmer and an American football player before,” he chirped, “So unfortunately my understanding of sports, period, is pretty small. I hope to learn more though! They’ve slaved away to train to make it this far and I’m pretty embarrassed to not know what’s going on; doesn’t seem fair to them, does it?”  Now racked with a tiny bit of guilt, he turned his attention fully to Poppy and beamed, “I think I’m gonna check out gymnastics! I think what they do is so pretty and plus, there’s always a few gymnastics nerds nearby who are gossiping about what’s happening so I can sort of understand it! Are you obligated to go to ALL the ones that have British athletes? I feel like there’s a lot of them!” 

she nodded as milo spoke, finding his chatter somewhat endearing. poppy was so used to people worrying about what they said in front of her, worrying about what they said to her, that it was refreshing to hear the words flowing from milo’s lips with little trepidation. “american football is one sport i truly will never understand,” she said flatly, her lips quirking at the corners. “rugby i can understand, passably so at any rate. i used to watch the games in uni.” she found milo’s eagerness to learn more about sports endearing and she smiled. “why don’t i explain some of it to you?” she inquired.

she nodded as he mentioned gymnastics and poppy offered milo a small smile. “that sounds lovely. i enjoy watching gymnastics, too.” though she often watched that at night from the comfort of her hotel suite. “oh, no. to the finals, generally, we’ll go. but it’s impossible to go to all events that have a british athlete. but the more prominent events, absolutely. tennis, rugby, football, the rowing of course.”

[poppyofwales]

r o r y

“it was an extracurricular at exeter,” rory grinned. “i was on the team, for college apps. so was bo morgan, for my first two years actually, and now i’m working with him.” theirs was a small world, but rory often forgot just how small it was. “i really don’t think he remembers me back then, though.” she took poppy grabbing a drink to mean it was appropriate for her to do the same. “currently, a piece for the new yorker about the cultural and economic impact that the olympics are having on melbourne!” rory chirped agreeably. she was always willing to chatter about nearly anything, but work was one of her favorite topics. “most people are so focused on the athletes and the games, and they forget that this is home to millions. it’s fun, i get to chat with athletes and local businesses.” 

she nodded. “did you enjoy it, at least?” poppy’s brows rose at the mention of bo, but she said little. she had little positive to say about bocephus morgan; though she’d told him she accepted his apology, the fact remained that it wasn’t much of one at all. but he was her boyfriend’s oldest friend and poppy knew at some point, if things became more serious with hugo, he would be a part of her life. “he’s a very prickly sort of individual, i’ve found. i hope you enjoy working for him,” she finally said as she took another sip of her drink, her head tilting to the side as she listened to rory chatter on. “and what are you finding about it?” she inquired, curious as to the specifics. “certainly there’s quite a large impact?” she pushed some hair behind one ear and leaned back in her chair. “i’m enjoying melbourne more than i expected to, though.”

[poppyofwales]

r o s e l y n

rosie had always been the type to desire closure, especially when events involved the family still considered britain’s most powerful despite its actual powerlessness. and she expected poppy was the type to not let things go with any sort of ease. she listened to the princess’s words carefully and politely, fiddling with her engagement ring.

“that sounds extremely sensible,” rosie said, finding herself slipping into a tone of voice she thought had been left behind when she and edward broke up, “and i appreciate that my actions have probably made this harder for everyone than it should have been. i can’t apologise enough; i intend to pass my apologies on to eddie, too.”

life, poppy often thought, was much too short to hold grudges. oh, she supposed she held some occasionally, but given that she was to be the next queen of the united kingdom, it was better for her to focus her efforts for good. she nodded. “it has been rather difficult,” poppy agreed, her tone and words stiff even as she tempered them with a quick upturn of her lips.

she knew that edward deserved the apology more than she did, especially given the news that was to be announced once they returned home from australia, but poppy said little, instead merely nodding as she lifted a glass to her lips. “i’m certain he would appreciate that,” she remarked, her head tilted to the side. “he was not incredibly pleased when he realized who had to have sold him out in such a manner.” her lips pressed together, the only indication that she was not entirely pleased.