Free Queen Of Four Kingdoms, The by HRH Princess Michael of Kent

warm, with enough scent for the deerhounds, and the hunt ends at sunset with two stags at bay killed by their huntsmen. On the second day they ride out with a falcon each on their left arm to bring down game birds. They start early, their horses fresh and frisky, and it gives Yolande great pleasure to see how well Valentina rides.
    ‘I like your mounts, dear cousin,’ Valentina calls. ‘The Andalusian bay gelding was superb, and now this clever little Arabian stallion.’
    ‘I could see how well you rode and so I dared to put you on him. He is called Ismail and comes from the Barbary Coast. He is the king’s wedding gift to me and I have never allowed anyone else to ride him,’ Yolande says with pride, before they take off after the huntsmen, who have sighted their prey.
    The two Louis are competitive and never stop their games, whether on horseback or in front of the fire: silly guessing games, or chess, or cards, or mimes to entertain their ladies when they are alone after dinner and the guests and musicians have left.
    It is a shared sadness when Louis and Valentina leave, as they must but with firm friendships formed between them.
    To their delight, Louis’ uncle, Jean of Berry, also comes to stay and accompanies Yolande when she follows her husband going about his official duties within Anjou. She walks some paces behind Louis as she should, and notes his people’s devotion to him. ‘Our good and generous duke,’ she hears from all sides with genuine appreciation. Louis is not an actor like other lords she has observed; he is sincere, and the people can see it in his eyes. Yolande finds herself admiring him more each day.
    ‘Uncle Jean, it makes me so proud to watch Louis in action as Anjou’s ruling duke. Since he was just a boy when his father died, was it you who taught him?’
    ‘Dear child – forgive me, you look very young to my old eyes – Louis’ mother, our dear Marie de Blois, was astonishing in the way she coped with both her sons, but yes, I did come to Angers and often went around his estates with him, giving him my advice on how to judge and choose people to work for him. I think I opened his eyes a little, although he quickly found his own style of governing.’
    ‘I have noticed how cleverly he deals with his subjects,’ she ventures, hoping to hear more.
    ‘The thing about my nephew that I have always admired,’ says Uncle Jean, ‘is his common touch. He knows how to speak to every level of person and make each one feel comfortable, whether the simplest peasant or the grandest duke,’ and he points to himself and laughs. ‘You see, my dear, he has always been curious. His mother taught him that. A curious child will learn, and he had a lot to learn and quickly, particularly to avoid knaves taking advantage. His father, my older brother, was shrewd, but too kind for his own good. I am sure that is why he lost the throne of Naples – and his life,’ he adds with sadness.
    Yolande sees his eyes welling with tears. ‘I can see you loved your brother very much,’ she says softly.
    ‘Oh yes, I worshipped him. He was the eldest of the brothers after the king, and such a heroic figure, very like your Louis – tall and blonde. And kind, very kind to me, the youngest of his siblings. The rest you know – his elder son, your Louis, set out to conquer that mirage of a kingdom when still very young. Dear Marie will surely have told you the story?’
    ‘Yes, indeed she has,’ answers Yolande, but her thoughts stray once again to that faraway kingdom.
What a challenge I shall face to win my husband away from this powerful intoxication called Naples,
she thinks to herself.
    Ambassadors are frequent visitors, and Louis shows his exquisite manners by descending from his tall chair on a dais to make their obeisance unnecessary. He is well briefed by his staff to remember details about each person’s life, but he makes it appear so natural, as if he himself remembers. His visitors melt under