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Journal Entry 18
20. Juli 2020 I know Fräulein Heng meant well, but by putting two of Dorstenland’s most notorious tabloid newspapers on my desk this morning, she inadvertently started my day off on the wrong foot. One of the tabloids insinuated that I played a role in the disappearance of my wife and children. The other tabloid’s front page had a target symbol superimposed over a picture of the royal family, with a headline that read “Are They Next?” During times like these, I question humanity. Our domestic intelligence service, Dorstenland Geheimdienste (DG9), continues to receive reports from all over the country with sightings of Karina, Otto, and Emma. The reports range…
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Journal Entry 17
18. Juli 2020 The light sounds of knocking on my bedroom door woke me from a well-needed deep sleep. After requesting a few moments to get dressed, I got out of bed and realized I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. I honestly do not even remember going to bed last night. When I opened my bedroom door, I thought I was dreaming. Standing in the hallway was a dark-haired, petite woman holding two suitcases. As soon as we made eye contact, the woman dropped her bags, ran towards me, and gave me the most comforting hug that I have ever felt. With her eyes full of tears, she quietly said,…
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Journal Entry 16
17. Juli 2020 It is tough for me to write this journal entry. The king said it would be therapeutic to write down my thoughts and feelings to keep myself focused. My hand is trembling as I write down these words. I am numb. I am scared. I am furious. I am exhausted. I am deeply depressed. I cannot eat. I am lost without knowing the whereabouts of my family. I blame myself every day for not being home when my family needed me the most. Thirteen days have passed since the abduction. Thirteen days of pure torture in my heart. Thirteen days of not hearing one word on the…
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Journal Entry 15
3. Juli 2020 I am still trying to grasp this week’s events, from the apparent “suicide” of the man who attempted to assassinate the king, to the parliamentary bills presented by the prime minister’s party, which sparked widespread demonstrations throughout Dorstenland. Add the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix; I feel I am living in an alternative reality. After Prime Minister Northcott’s morning press conference, the prime minister and I once again got into a private and fiery exchange regarding King Jonas’s public opinions. Northcott indirectly threatened to challenge the legitimacy of King Jonas and the entire House of Dietrich should Jonas continue to undermine Northcott’s agenda. I immediately rebuked the…
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Journal Entry 14
30. Juni 2020 Today’s press conference by the prime minister in which he announced the death of the man who tried to assassinate the king was chilling. The explanation Prime Minister Northcott provided for the prisoner’s “suicide” seemed a bit contrived. At least to me, his demeanor appeared to harden the more questions that were asked by the press. As with most of the prime minister’s press conferences, I stood at the rear of the press hall as a representative of King Jonas. What sent chills through my bones was that every time the prime minister said the word “suicide,” he looked directly at me. I know that his eye…
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Journal Entry 13
29. Juni 2020 Around 04:00 this morning, I met Jonas inside the large car park at the palace. The king and I got into one of his most prized possessions, a Jaguar, and drove south to the royal yacht at the marina in Feldkirch. Against my better judgment, we left without Jonas’s security detail in tow. However, once we boarded the ship, I was pleasantly relieved to find Damien Fernsby, the head of the king’s security detail, standing at attention when we entered the cockpit. As always, Jonas was one step ahead of me. I should have realized that the king would have security in place. The North Sea was…
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Journal Entry 12
27. Juni 2020 The past week has been rather busy for the palace. King Jonas made his first in-person appearance since isolating due to the epidemic. Queen Claudia ventured out into the public as well; however, her highness remained very distant from most people except for Princess Emily and their security detail. On Tuesday, Jonas visited the abandoned hotel that was the location of the attempted assassination upon his life in early February. Thankfully, the king has made a full recovery. The assassin remains locked up in our country’s highest-security prison, and he still refuses to divulge his identity or his motive. Facial recognition searches by Dorstenland Bundesnachrichtendienst (DBND), INTERPOL,…
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Journal Entry 11
21. Juni 2020 Years from now, when I pick up this journal for reference, I want to remember how old my children and the king’s children were during this unpredictable year of 2020. Otto (16) and Emma (13) King Jonas’s children: Princess Emily (16), Prince Boris (14), Princess Sophie (12) and Princess Tatiana (12) It is hard to believe at this time next year, all of our children will be teenagers. It seems like it was only yesterday that it was the king and me who were the teenagers. Times are different now. The world seems more complicated, more demanding than it had 25 years ago. I suppose our parents…
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Journal Entry Ten
19. Juni 2020 There has not been much to journal about over the past couple of months. The virus that has affected the world is still ruling our daily lives. The daily protests in Ludwigplatz, Eberbach’s City Centre, have let up for the most part. Although with our stressed economy, I fear there will be a resurgence of protesters in the not-so-distant future. Prime Minister Northcott and his party, the NCD (Neu Christlich Demokratische Partei Dorstenlands), continue to make headlines throughout the country. Northcott appears to have taken a nationalistic approach to our economy as Dorstenland attempts to reopen from the COVID-19 closures. The way he pushes for the reopening…
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Journal Entry Nine
9. April 2020 It has been over three weeks since we have been in isolation at the palace. My fear of COVID-19 is finally starting to subside. The initial terror that I felt seems to fade by the day. Health experts here in Europe and the United States continue to report many of the virus-related deaths had underlying health conditions. Thankfully, I remain very healthy at 41 years of age. King Jonas and I have been working non-stop from our offices in the castle. I find myself working more hours now than I had before the virus struck. I am not sure why that is; perhaps it is because I…
