HER GRACE, WIEBKE WITTELSBACH
leather , crystal glasses , forgotten coffee cups , private meetings , dark wood , sharp cut blazers , diamond earrings , mirrors , long dark hair , air of elitism , four - hundred - year - old oil paintings , closed doors , marble floors , black roses , untouched food , burnt paper , scratched out photographs , knowing looks
&&. announcing her grace, ( WIEBKE JUDITH WITTELSBACH ), the ( 37 ) year old ( GRAND DUCHESS ) of ( GREATER BAVARIA ). she is often confused with ( ANGELA SARAFYAN ). some say that she is ( RECLUSIVE & DISTRUSTFUL ), but she is actually ( CALM & CONFIDENT ).
Munich is Wiebke’s home. It was where she was born, where she grew up, where she became a grand duchess, and from where she rules her grand duchy. Schloss Nymphenburg is her home, the Versailles of Germany. Munich is the one place on earth where people aren’t afraid of approaching Wiebke... and Wiebke lets them approach her. Her identity as a Münchnerin is quite strong and it’s very much her weak spot. Munich is the reason for cracks in her facade.
Wiebke believes in certain kind of transparency: you choose the people you’re loyal to and you stay loyal. You don’t pretend to be friends with someone whom you do not like. You do not take advantage of people’s naivety. You do not play games with people. You speak the truth and nothing else, if you cannot speak the truth, you do not speak at all... and if you absolutely have to lie, there better be a good reason.
Wiebke doesn’t expect the same level of straightforwardness from others; she’s a cynic. People are evil and selfish. Cut-throat and greedy. She can only be pleasantly surprised by people. Whenever people let her down she just becomes a tad more apathetic. People will always find a way to disappoint you. It’s better she doesn’t give too many people the opportunity.
Needless to say, she keeps to herself. She’s perfectly fine with it. She keeps a very small inner circle, the people in it can be counted with the fingers of her two hands: her father; the duke of bavaria; the duchess of baden-württemberg; her assistant; the marquis of munich; lord and lady of Ingolstadt who are her mouthpieces, and her godfather. Eight people, no more, no less. They are the people she speaks rather freely to, they are the people who are allowed to sit around her oval table made of ebony.
To say she trusts them... would be incorrect. She trusts them to do their work well but she doesn’t trust them. She keeps them separated, she doesn’t want smaller packs inside her circle, she makes them keep an eye on each other: as long as they aren’t able to conspire together, she can rest well. She’s the only thing that unites the group of people and she wishes to keep it that way.
She wasn’t always so paranoid. Oh no, Wiebke grew up smiling. laughing and without a single worry. Her childhood was so perfect that there isn’t really much to say about it.
tw: cancer, tw: death
Then she began her abitur year. All the plans: partying, studying, more partying, taking part in a fest... they all fell away when her mother’s health deteriorated. The diagnosis had come two years earlier: thyroid cancer. It hadn’t seemed too bad, the prognosis had been great! If you were to get a cancer, thyroid cancer was the best option, really. So Wiebke concentrated on school and friends, her mother would be fine, there was no need to worry. Wiebke was mistaken, of course. The treatment wouldn’t take and soon there were metastases everywhere. The funeral was held in March when the trees had just gotten their leaves. It felt ironic how nature around her was so beautiful and she was wearing a black dress.
She didn’t do well in her exams. She didn’t care about her grades. She passed, still, she had always been a decent student, there was no way she would have failed. But the diploma she received should have made her worried. People didn’t get into their dream universities with papers like that. At nineteen, Wiebke had hit what she thought was her rock bottom.
The summer after graduation was interesting to say at least: she formally accepted her title as a grand duchess, she watched her friends stress about university results, and wondered what she should do. Her father sat her down eventually, asked her what her plan was. He didn’t expect any sort of answer. He wasn’t about to pressure his daughter. She was just nineteen, she had time to figure things out. Her answer though surprised both her father and herself: be a great grand duchess.
She didn’t like it but she used her title to get her enrolled in the University of Munich. It gave her something to do. It was a good decision, Wiebke performed better when she had a clear goal. From 2002 to 2007 she did nothing but study. Attended every even slightly interesting and educational seminar, and made sure her grades stayed up.
Her work as a grand duchess began the day she finished her bachelour’s degree. Around that time she began to realize that the only thing she knew was that she didn’t know anything. What did all those sly smiles her lords and ladies exchanged mean? Were they up to something? Would someone blindside her? Would someone try to take her place? The more fears she had, the more she worked. Her fears drained her of comfort but kept her fire burning.
In 2009 things got so out of hand that her father sent her to a therapist. Her deep rooted distrust of people is nowhere gone but it is not as constricting as it were in her early 20s. Maturity has also helped her to read people, make calculations, and plan ahead. She’s ready if people abandon her, fail her, or betray her. To her it’s common sense. It’s part of her normal day to analyse a situation and think about the way everything can go to shit.
Her distrust of people extends to her personal relationships. She still has friends. She likes having a few selected people in her life — but she will remind everyone that she would survive without anyone in her life. Wiebke doesn’t realize it but her loved ones keep her stable, they are the only reason her paranoia doesn’t get overwhelming.
