A few days after the gathering at Luton Hoo, the news was finally announced to the public.
Prince Albert Victor was officially engaged to Mary of Teck.
The announcement quickly spread across England.
Many newspapers received it with great enthusiasm. For the public, the engagement of an heir to the throne was always major news.
Within the royal family itself, the news was met with relief.
Especially by Queen Victoria.
The elderly queen had long considered Mary to be the right choice. In several of her private letters, she even described Mary as a young woman with "strong character and a high sense of duty."
At Sandringham House, the family gathered to celebrate the engagement in a simple, intimate way.
Alexandra of Denmark appeared very happy to see her eldest son finally find a future wife.
Mary herself, however, was still adjusting to the new reality of her life.
Just a few weeks earlier, she had been simply Lady Mary of the Teck family.
Now she was the future wife of the heir to the British throne.
One afternoon in a sitting room at Sandringham, several members of the family gathered near the fireplace.
The winter weather made everyone prefer to remain indoors.
In one of the chairs near the window sat a young man who looked slightly pale, though far healthier than he had been a few weeks earlier.
George .
He was still recovering from a severe case of typhoid fever.
The doctors had instructed him not to move too much—something he found rather uncomfortable.
George had always been accustomed to an active life at sea.
Sitting quietly inside the house felt like a small punishment to him.
But his mother did not give him much choice.
"You must still rest," Alexandra of Denmark would say gently each time he tried to stand for too long.
George simply nodded.
Across the room, Eddy was speaking with Mary.
He seemed far more relaxed than usual. Occasionally, their laughter could be heard among the quiet conversations of the family.
George watched them for a moment before turning his gaze back toward the window.
He did not think much about the engagement. To George, his brother had always been destined for happiness—as the heir to the throne.
And George's own life remained closely tied to the sea.
He planned to return to his duties as soon as his health fully recovered.
Inside the room, the atmosphere felt warm and calm. Nothing seemed out of place. There was no sign that anything troubling was approaching.
Yet beyond the walls of Sandringham, winter continued its quiet advance, carrying with it unseen news.
In several towns across England, an illness had begun to spread.
At first, it was thought to be nothing more than ordinary influenza.
No one paid much attention.
No one yet realized that the illness would soon reach the palace.
And when it did, the happiness that had only just begun would turn into something far more painful.