After her A levels, Daphne stayed true to the idea in her family that life is a competition. They were the pinnacle of greatness, they always had to be winning. Getting a degree, like Anthony and Benedict had done, wouldn’t be enough. She enrolled in the military academy and became an airforce pilot. The military was expected of her brothers, but only ever optional for her and her sisters. She had to be the best, she had to show that she could do as much as her brothers, and she had to set an example for her sisters—not that any of them followed it. After her year at the academy, Daphne decided to spend two years in Wales volunteering as an emergency search and rescue pilot. It was the mental and physical challenge she needed, as well as the distance from her family she wanted. (Boarding school wasn’t enough).
In 2016, Daphne had an investiture and formally became The Princess Royal. She became a part time working Royal, balancing her duty with her career (then based in Norfolk) for a year, before transitioning to full time Royal duties in 2017.
Daphne and Simon met initially at Kate and Anthony’s wedding in the spring of 2018. It was at a time when Daphne was still trying to solidify her identity as a working royal, and Simon didn’t feel like he had an identity since leaving the military due to a debilitating shoulder injury after nearly a decade of service. Simon and Anthony had been close at uni, and drifted to casual friends in the eight years since, but got a little closer after Simon went to Anthony and Kate’s wedding. Daphne and Simon both feel like they properly met and got to know each other at a routine Buckingham palace garden party a few weeks later.
Simon was attending as a newly minted Duke, from his father’s recent death. Daphne had been titled as The Princess Royal for two years. Daphne was 22, almost 23, and Simon was 29. They hit it off and went on a few casual dates without giving anything much thought, and Anthony returned from his honeymoon to find them happily in a relationship. Anthony was unexplainably livid, but Kate told him to care less—and Violet said they were in love and Simon was a very good match.
A few months went by, the relationship unconfirmed publicly and mostly hidden from the media, and Daphne was pregnant in autumn. Violet carefully informed them that her first grandchild should not be without a title, and marriage should be “strongly considered.” Daphne and Simon didn’t oppose marriage, even if they felt rushed, and Violet insisted it wasn’t her fault and she wasn’t pressuring them—it was the “unfortunate rules of the circumstances.”
The engagement was announced nearly immediately. They had a shot gun wedding, a micro wedding at the Sandringham estate in the middle of winter, and Anthony was angry at Simon the whole time. He had Kate to keep him in line though, so he was resigned to accept it. Unfortunately for Anthony, he had to be the one to teach Simon about royal procedures and events. Daphne and Simon moved into Clarence House just after the wedding, Daphne previously living in an apartment at St James’ Palace with Colin.
There were rumours quietly swirling in some media about why the wedding was so rushed, but the family stuck to the royal mantra ‘never complain, never explain’. They delayed announcing the pregnancy as long as possible, which immediately fueled rumours again, and when Amelia was born perfectly healthy in August the rumours only got louder.
Daphne didn’t take much time off, back into full time work and engagements by Christmas. She loves being a mother, but she’s also hardworking and determined because she still sees everything as a responsibility and a competition.
Simon is a very engaged father, determined to break the cycle of emotional abuse perpetrated by his own father. He makes every effort for him and Daphne to not be working the same days, and he and Anthony bonded immensely as new fathers when Edmund was born six months after Amelia. Kate and Daphne just sit back and let their usually bickering husbands stress and dote over the babies.
Belinda was born a little over two years after Amelia, in late 2021. The inheritance laws changed mid 2024, allowing Amelia to inherit the Hastings title and hold a courtesy title in the meantime. Daphne had recently become pregnant with the baby that would be Caroline, and honest conversations between them about the kind of parents they wanted to be made them decide to stop at three. They also made the decision to revisit Clyvedon, the Hastings estate in the countryside not far from Windsor—a place they usually avoided because of the negative associations with Simon’s father.
They began visiting the countryside more, letting the girls run around outside the city as they got older, and welcomed Caroline Sarah Bassett in early 2025—Sarah having been Simon’s mother’s name.
They continue to live primarily at Clarence House in central London, both Simon and Daphne maintaining full time royal duties, but regularly escape to the countryside to enjoy Clyvedon on weekends and half term break.
Typical date night: driving and talking for hours, maybe packing a picnic to eat on the side of the road, either looking at the scenery if it’s countryside or people watching if it’s in the city
Dream date night: dinner at a fancy restaurant, then going to a show of some kind (concert, theatre, sports game, opera etc)
Favourite place to holiday as a couple: Anywhere in the snow, because it feels like time stops
Favourite place to holiday with the kids: Alps in winter, Malta in summer
If they had to live in any other commonwealth country: Canada
Names of their kids if born the opposite sex: Amelia Louise = August Peter, Belinda Alice = Benjamin Arthur, Caroline Sarah = Charles David
Crazy migraine so no ao3 post today but this has been in the drafts for almost a year so time to post. I love Saphne. I hope y’all enjoyed this little insight into our strong willed Princess Royal, and the origins of the here by choice group. Not to mention Anthony being a scooch more reasonable about saphne just bc Kate got to him first. To think how much less Daphne would’ve suffered in canon.
The Kanthony one shot is finished and the benophie is nearly done, but! If there’s any other things you can think of to go in the dot points at the end then lemme know and I shall add. I’m obsessed with these characters. (I also finished editing obligated for ao3, so that is imminent).
Last thing, I’ve decided Kanthony have a whoopsie baby down the line. Vote in the name poll.
Lots of love and appreciation always 🩷
