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, (Â WIEBKE JUDITH WITTELSBACHÂ ), the (Â 37Â ) year old (Â GRAND DUCHESSÂ ) of (Â GREATER BAVARIAÂ ). she is often confused with (Â ANGELA SARAFYANÂ ). some say that she is (Â RECLUSIVE & DISTRUSTFULÂ ), but she is actually ( CALM & CONFIDENT ).
Munich is Wiebkeâs 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 arenât afraid of approaching Wiebke... and Wiebke lets them approach her. Her identity as a MĂźnchnerin is quite strong and itâs very much her weak spot. Munich is the reason for cracks in her facade.Â
   Wiebke believes in certain kind of transparency: you choose the people youâre loyal to and you stay loyal. You donât pretend to be friends with someone whom you do not like. You do not take advantage of peopleâs 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.Â
    Wiebke doesnât expect the same level of straightforwardness from others; sheâs 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. Itâs better she doesnât give too many people the opportunity.Â
     Needless to say, she keeps to herself. Sheâs 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-wĂźrttemberg; 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.Â
     To say she trusts them... would be incorrect. She trusts them to do their work well but she doesnât trust them. She keeps them separated, she doesnât want smaller packs inside her circle, she makes them keep an eye on each other: as long as they arenât able to conspire together, she can rest well. Sheâs the only thing that unites the group of people and she wishes to keep it that way.
     She wasnât always so paranoid. Oh no, Wiebke grew up smiling. laughing and without a single worry. Her childhood was so perfect that there isnât really much to say about it.Â
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 motherâs health deteriorated. The diagnosis had come two years earlier: thyroid cancer. It hadnât 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 wouldnât 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 didnât do well in her exams. She didnât 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 didnât get into their dream universities with papers like that. At nineteen, Wiebke had hit what she thought was her rock bottom.Â
       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 didnât expect any sort of answer. He wasnât 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.Â
       She didnât 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.Â
       Her work as a grand duchess began the day she finished her bachelourâs degree. Around that time she began to realize that the only thing she knew was that she didnât 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. Sheâs ready if people abandon her, fail her, or betray her. To her itâs common sense. Itâs part of her normal day to analyse a situation and think about the way everything can go to shit.Â
       Her distrust of people extends to her personal relationships. She still has friends. She likes having a few selected people in her life â but she will remind everyone that she would survive without anyone in her life. Wiebke doesnât realize it but her loved ones keep her stable, they are the only reason her paranoia doesnât get overwhelming.Â


















