25.

My first birthday as a wife and a royal.

But above all, it was my last birthday before I was officially a Mom.

Archie and I didn't do anything in particular that was 'wild' but we went to Paris for three days just to relax. It was always nice just to explore the streets of such a beautiful city.

I looked in the mirror as Archie laid in bed, "I can't wait to start showing but at the same time I can. I just like that the baby is our little secret right now."

So far my pregnancy was pregnancy.

I had terrible morning sickness, I always had a sweet tooth, some smells made my stomach do backflips, but I was happy to have a little bundle of joy on the way

"Everyone is going to be so shocked at Christmas." Archie spoke as I climbed into bed, "I wonder if anyone noticed that you didn't have your glass of wine at Thanksgiving."

"Probably but I was also recovering from a concussion." I reminded him

I turned to him, "What do you think it is?"

He shrugged, "I don't know and you know I hate guessing wrong."

I smiled and nodded, "I know. What do you want?"

"The cliché answer would be 'I just want them to be healthy' and that is true. But to be truthful, I want a girl." Archie looked me in the eyes with a soft smile on his face

"Why?" I asked out of curiosity

He began to stroke my thigh, "I mean there hasn't been a lot of Queens in history and I feel like the country changed more for the better with my grandmother than with my dad or at a quicker pace I should say. Plus in a way, I feel like it would be having a piece of my Mom. It's just one of those things."

"That's cute." I gave him a light kiss, "The t-shirts came in with everyone's titles on it, we just have to make sure they open them at the same time. Or maybe one person opens it so it doesn't look too obvious."

"I like the second idea more, it's less suspicious." Archie agreed with me

I had a huge grin on my face, "I can't wait to tell them."

For Christmas, my family ended up flying into London. It was our first Christmas as a married couple and it was nice to spend it with both of our families.

We decided to all celebrate together on Christmas Eve at Buckingham Palace that had over ten Christmas trees up. But we were all gathered in the White Drawing Room with Christmas music playing and ripping open presents.

Archie and I kept eyeing to see who would open the box with silver metallic wrapping paper.

"I love these shoes, Archie! You have an amazing taste." my Mom held up her new flame red Christian Louboutins

He put down his cup of tea, "I figured you'd like them."

I touched his arm as I noticed Alexandra began to open the box.

She opened the box that had 'See you in July' written on the inside and a mug that read 'Aunt Alexandra'.

I watched her jaw drop and then she shrieked.

Her eyes went over to Archie and I, "Are you guys serious?"

Everyone else looked confused and began to frantically scramble to the same box they all had. We watched as everyone read their cups that ranged from Grandpa Winston/Simon, Grandma Ruth, and more.

"Surprise!" Archie exclaimed as he popped the confetti he had hidden in the couch. Everyone began to try to figure out the color of the confetti, "Oh, no, we don't know yet. It's just silver."

Ruth came over to me and I stood up and gave her a hug.

"Congratulations!" she rubbed my back, "How far along are you?"

"Twelve weeks yesterday." I informed her

Archie's sisters and my sister gave me hugs and squealed over the fact that there would be a new royal in town. The princesses didn't seem all too sad about their line to the throne going down. My brother gave me a hug and congratulated Archie and me.

I gave my Dad a look, "You don't seem too surprised."

"Mom." I looked at her

She shrugged, "It accidentally came out. It was late and I was on a wine high."

"Mom! You knew?' My brother and sister asked her at the same time

"She only found out because she was in Alena's hospital room after the accident." Archie calmed them down

I nodded, "She wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

"Doesn't matter!" Winston spoke up, "A new child is a blessing. Will we be singing 'God Save the Queen' or 'God Save the King'?"

"That's a good idea for a gender reveal party." Matilda threw out there

I laughed, "I don't know if one of those will be necessary."

Christmas day was spent how the royals have spent it for the past hundred years - at church. It was always nice to be able to greet people after, I just felt so self-conscious about the tiny bump that was beginning to form even though I was wearing a very flowy dress and a coat.

A day after Christmas, Archie and I were summoned to Buckingham Palace for what they called 'Royal Baby Briefing'.

It was with some of the board in one of the meeting rooms.

Archie assured me that it was nothing and always happened when someone married into the family and became pregnant. But it was just a much bigger deal since my baby would be second in line to the throne after their Dad.

They introduced me to my mid-wives, told me that the birth team would be vowed to secrecy, I was informed that I had to debut my baby right after birth, my baby had to wear some traditional Christening gown, I would have a maternity leave, and so. much. more.

"So the news of your pregnancy will be announced next week due to you being out of the first trimester." a woman with glasses looked up from her binder

"Royals also typically give boys three middle names and girls two, so that's something to keep in mind." another person spoke

I nodded, "The baby will have American citizenship as well, correct?"

"Yes, that can be arranged." they assured me, "Any more questions or concerns?"

"She doesn't do any more appearances or tours after eight months." Archie ordered, "No flying or long tours, none of that. That's how my Mother almost lost Alexandra because of the insane schedule."

The woman with the glasses looked at him, "We shall see."

"That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order." Archie spoke sternly

I ran my hand over his as a way to tell him to calm down.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." she agreed with him

And that was the end of it.

The day after the new year, word of our pregnancy hit the news.

There wasn't anyone who wasn't reporting on it.

It was the number one thing trending worldwide on twitter.

Gosh, this baby was a big deal, which I expected, just not like this.

Some were happy and excited, others weren't so happy, but I quickly realized that I needed to do everything possible to protect my child.

Archie walked in wearing his usual suit as I cooked dinner.

I looked up at him, "Hey, babe."

"Oh shit, look at you!" Archie said after giving me a kiss

Yeah, I totally looked like hot shit in my tank top and sweatpants.

"Everything looks so good and look at that little bump starting to pop out." Archie put his hand on my stomach

I looked down and smiled, "I know. I can't wait for next week."

Next week we were going to find out if we were having a little boy or girl then we were flying to Australia for a work trip.

"Seventeen weeks already." Archie realized as he looked at our calendar, "Time flies."

I put the chicken, cauliflower, and a roll onto plates, "Soon it the weeks will turn into years."

"Oh no, I don't even want to think about that." Archie pushed the thought to the side, "Are you ready to find out?"

I nodded, "I can't wait to decorate the nursery or buy cute little boy or girl clothes. I wanna get things with their named personalized on it. I'm very excited."

Archie and I sat down at our breakfast room table.

"So I know we said we weren't gonna talk about names until we knew but what kind of names do you like? Something unique, royal, traditional?" I asked Archie

"For our little one definitely something never heard of before in the royal family. I don't want it to be Charles the 453rd or Mary the 189th, you know?" he answered my question, "Do you have any that you like so far?"

I ate a piece of chicken, "Of course I do. Boy names are harder though."

"For a girl, I like Gemma, Simone, but none of them feel exactly right." I told him some of my favorites

"Do you like Kyla?" Arch asked me

It took me off guard because of how nice it sounded.

I nodded, "I love it. Definitely going on a list. What about for a boy?"

"That's a whole different ballgame. Probably like Ezra, Jack, and other names." he responded

"We have a pretty good thing going, let's just think on it more when we know." I decided as Archie agreed with me

For the rest of dinner, Archie and I talked about our days and he asked me how I was feeling. He ran a warm bubble bath for me that wasn't too wark for the sake of the baby.

Even though Archie always cared for me he cared for me a lot differently now that I was pregnant. It was so sweet, I couldn't wait to see what he was like when our baby was here.

"I love touching your belly." Archie spoke into my ear as spooned me

"I can't until we can feel them kick." I put my hand on top of Archie's, "Are you excited for Australia and the islands?"

He kissed me neck, "Yeah, but I hope you know that I wanna take care of you and be your advocate. Please tell me if there's anything during the trip that makes you uncomfortable or if you don't feel well. You and the baby are the most important thing in my life."

This is why I love him.