The Three Crowns

THE THREE CROWNS

Twenty-seven years before Charles decided to marry his nephew to his niece, William of Orange was born into a house of mourning. Eight days before his birth his father had died suddenly and his mother had ordered that her lying-in chamber should be hung with black crêpe; and even the cradle was black.

“A dismal welcome for a child,” mused the midwife, and she shook her head for she believed it to be an evil omen.

If the child were a boy, he would be the Prince of Orange; his father was lamentably dead, it was true; but she believed that the entry of a child into the world should be a matter for rejoicing.

The Princess of Orange was English. She was considered one of the most fortunate members of the unlucky Stuart family in those days of exile which had followed the execution of Charles I. She had helped her brothers, Charles and James, by giving them refuge in Holland; she had been devoted to them both and one of her most cherished hopes was to see Charles restored to the throne of England.

And now she had to face her own tragedy. The death of her William, Stadtholder of Holland, only a short time before she hoped to give him a son.

The child must be a son, she was thinking, as she lay in her darkened room. The child must be strong; he would be born ruler of his country. Never, it seemed to Mary of Orange, had a birth been so important; never would one take place in more tragic circumstances.

Mrs. Tanner, the midwife, bustled about the chamber giving orders. The Princess of Orange lay on her bed waiting.

In the anteroom Mrs. Tanner found several of the Princess’s women, and paused, for she could never resist a gossip.

“The mourning should be taken away,” she said. “It is not good. A little one coming into the world to black crêpe! What a welcome!”

“But he has no father, Mrs. Tanner,” said one of the women.

“Well, there’s no need to greet the baby with that knowledge. ’Tis something the little mite should come to know in time. And don’t call the child ‘he’ before you know the sex. That’s another bad omen.”

“The Princess is praying for a boy.”

“That’s tempting fate. Show as you’ll be pleased with what you get, and like as not you’ll get what you want.”

The women looked with respect at Mrs. Tanner, for she had attended so many births that they felt she knew what she was talking about.

“Then ’tis to be hoped the Princess gets what she wants—for if this little one’s a boy he’ll be the Stadtholder. They’ll call him William after his father and …”

“Hush I say. Hush. The air is full of omens tonight. I sense them.”

The women looked at each other in awe; and Mrs. Tanner left them. “For,” she said, “the child will be with us soon. I know it.”

She was right. Almost immediately the Princess’s pains had begun.

The welcome cry of a child! How often was that waited for in the palaces of kings? The words: “It is a boy.” How welcome and how rarely they came! It seemed that boys could be born in humble cottages but royal palaces were less favored. This was one of those occasions when wishes were granted.

William Henry, Prince of Orange, was born.

Mrs. Tanner, gossiping afterward to the women, assured them that it was no ordinary birth. Her little William—he was already hers—was destined for a great future. This day was one which was going to be remembered in the history of Orange.

“She was crying out in her anguish, our poor sad Princess; and I knew that the birth was near. Poor soul, she had forgotten the tragedy of her loss; there was nothing for her but the pain and the agony. And then … there he was … the blessed boy. And at that moment all the candles went out. So he came into a world of darkness. Poor blessed royal mite! He yelled; and I took him in my arms and shouted for light. I said: ‘This is a boy.’ And they all took up the cry and I had to remind them that I must have light. And then … while I was waiting for the lights to be brought … I saw it clearly. The darkness helped; and afterward I asked myself did the lights go out that I could see the symbol?”

“What symbol, Mrs. Tanner?”

Mrs. Tanner’s eyes were narrowed. “Three haloes of light … right about the baby’s head.”

“Does it mean he is going to be a monk and holy man, Mrs. Tanner?”

“Monk and holy man indeed! They were crowns. He’ll have three crowns, that blessed infant. I saw, I tell you.”

For a few days everyone talked about Mrs. Tanner’s vision. Then it was forgotten. After all, Mrs. Tanner was a romancer, several of them believed, for all that she posed as being such a wise woman. And of course this was an important little boy. He was the heir of Holland; more than that, the tragic death of his father made his birth the more joyous event. The Princess of Orange had a reason for living. The people of Holland had their new Stadtholder.