Royal Visit of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

TRH The Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall.

I'm fifth from right behind the barricades.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a royalist and I have been since I was a very small boy. As an author, I like to feature royals in my stories such as The Littlest Emperor, A Day with the Duchess, and A Royal Adventure, and I've got even more stories about princes and princesses that haven't even been published yet, such as The Great Big Spooky Forest, The Magical Red Prince, and Princess Penelope Primrose. And now, after the recent royal visit,  I'm inspired to write another royal story.

In early October it was announced that TRH would be visiting Singapore as part of the SE Asian Tour. Yes, I started planning where I would try to meet them. When I was a small boy, my late Uncle Philip had the opportunity to play Polo with the Prince here in Singapore and the whole family was invited to watch. 

At the end of the match, I was within feet of the Prince, 
and I had two burning questions that I was dying to ask:1) Who picked up his polo pony's poo? and 2.) What was it like to fall off the said pony? Knowing what 
was on the tip of my tongue, my mother held me back, but my big sister and older cousin were allowed to meet him! What the...? I know, right...? Totally unfair!

I was just as unlucky when it came to meeting the Duchess. A couple of years ago, I wrote to HRH and sent her a couple of my children's books for her grandchildren. I was down in the dumps about my writing career and I knew she was an advocate for children's literacy and I wrote saying I admired her efforts promoting literacy and that I knew that the Prince had written a children's book that I, unfortunately, had never read.

A few weeks later, a large package arrived via registered royal post. I ripped open the envelope and The Old Man of Lochnagar dropped out along with a small white envelope. The Duchess had personally written back, thanking me for my books and enclosing The Old Man of Lochnagar because I had never been able to get a copy for myself. It's needless to I was thrilled speechless. It was incredibly kind of her and just goes to show how very thoughtful she is.

The book and letter I received from the Duchess.
I have photoshopped out the letter's content
as it's private and confidential.

A couple of months later, I attended the London Book Fair and I found out that HRH was scheduled to make an official visit to the fair. But sadly I missed seeing her. I was at wrong place at the wrong time.

I did not see or meet HRH at the 2014 London Book Fair. But these
lucky ladies did.

I wrote the Duchess another letter and once again she personally replied! So when I found out that TRH's were coming to town, I was determined to meet them. My publisher contacted the British Council to see if it would be possible to present TRH with my Books, and the Council agreed, but they would present the books to the Royal Couple themselves. Dash! No, invite to the High Commission to meet them!

Thankfully it was announced that The Prince and The Duchess would be paying their respects at the Cenotaph.  The High Commission did not announce when they would be there for security purposes, so I had to make an educated guess as to when they would be there. Fortunately, by the time I arrived at the Cenotaph, there was a small crowd, waiting for the Prince and Duchess to arrive. I, luckily, managed to find a prime spot at the front of the barricades.

Spectators holding up their cell phones in anticipation of the royal arrival were firmly advised not to ask the couple for selfies. I brought along two cameras with me just in case one of them malfunctioned.  

Then as noon approached, the Royal motorcade pulled up. Cell phones shot up into the air, as the Prince and The Duchess stepped out and were greeted by officials before they took their places for the ceremony. 

I might be mistaken about the order of events, but I think the 

Prince laid the wreath, and there was a moment of silence before the couple was ushered to a receiving line of armed services personnel. As they slowly made their way down the line, I alternated shooting on both cameras until one of the cameras malfunctioned!

I was not expecting the couple to do a walkabout and was pleasantly surprised when they came over to the barricades. The royal couple joked with the school children who, in all probably had skipped class, to meet them, and TRH also took their time chatting with the rest of us there. 

I shook hands with the Duchess and reminded her that she sent me a copy of The Old Man of Lochnagar. She told me she still reads my books to her grandkids! It was such an OMG: Oh my Gosh moment for me! I told her that I really enjoyed The Old Man of Lochnagar and she motioned towards the Prince, asking me to tell him.

I was going to tell the Prince how much I enjoyed it but, instead, I blurted out how he had once played polo with my late Uncle Philip and how disappointed I was that I hadn't been allowed to meet him. He shook my hand and smiled: "You didn't miss a thing!" LOL.

It was a pleasure and an honor to finally have met the Prince and The Duchess.  They are warm, incredibly down-to-earth, and self-deprecating. Their Royal Highnesses do not get the credit that they deserve, but perhaps that will all change.  Judging by the reaction of the people who turned up at their engagements, I'm betting that it will.

I  was hoping to meet them again at their visit to the Orchid Garden, but something cropped up and I was unable to do so. I do hope that they did get the books that the British Council promised to present to them. I might just write to HRH to ask if she did, but I don't want to be a bother, especially since she probably gets a ton of correspondence. 

The Making of 'A Day with the Duchess'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's itinerary for the tour to New Zealand and Australia has just been released  and my new book A Day with the Duchess is scheduled to be published this  month! At long last! It's almost been two years in the making. 

When it was announced that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were set to visit Singapore, I wanted to do something that would commemorate their visit and the idea of a book began to percolate in my mind.

But I had trouble formulating a storyline. It was tough to say the least. I wanted something engaging and something that
was not too predictable. But one thing was for sure, I had to meet the Duke and Duchess! So I headed down to Gardens by the Bay with my mum, niece and family friend Chantal to meet them. We weren't able to meet the Duke but we were thrilled when the Duchess walked over to us.  She was so charming and down to earth. She's a really lovely, lovely lady. And even more stunning in person than her photographs.

While waiting for the Duke and Duchess, we met Vicky Adeney, mum of royal fans Alice and Mikey. As we had two bouquets of flowers, my mum gave one to Alice, and when the Duchess saw little Alice, she came right over to speak to her. By the way, A Day with the Duchess is dedicated to Alice and Mikey, who were the inspiration for the story.

The Duchess and my thumb

So at the end of 2012, I came up with  a story and then  planned on self publishing the book in time for the 2013 London Book Fair.  

Now the thing with picture books is that the illustrations have to be spot on. They are what attract the readers and they've got to be just right. So I asked my illustrator to start drafting concept sketches.  We experimented with several styles and we both agreed that none of them were as appealing as they could be. We had never had an issue with coming up with concept sketches before, so this was a baffling experience for us. The process took far longer than we would have liked, and truth be told, it got slightly frustrating. I guess we were both under a lot of pressure.

 

Early concept sketches

A Disney Duchess?

I don't know who this is supposed to be!! lol

An early concept

Then just before the London Book Fair last year - when we were just about to give up -we managed to come up with a cover image that we were relatively satisfied with. We didn't have any other illustrations  other than the cover art, but it would have to do.

Concept cover of the book that might have been...

We showed the cover art to some publishers and distributors, and there were nibbles but they wanted to see the whole mock-up,  not just the cover.  

When I returned home, I decided to submit the story to my editor, Sheri, and after an editorial meeting with the team, they offered me a publishing contract with the caveat that it become part of my Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di series, which was already underway. Since Sam really did meet the Duchess at the Gardens by the Bay, I had no problem editing the story slightly. Sadly that meant parting ways with my longtime collaborator, the talented Enrico.

But when I saw Soefara's concept sketches for the story, I was thrilled! Not only were the sketches beautiful, but she captured the essence of the story. She's a brilliant illustrator and it's hard to believe this is her first series of books.

Soefara's Concept Art

A Day with the Duchess is the fourth book in the series. Now my brilliant illustrator Soefara is putting the finishing touches on the final arwork and I'm beside myself with anticipation. I'm really excited about this book. Hopefully it will be hot off the press in time for the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the London Book Fair.

The London and Bologna Book Fair Catalogue

A Big Thank You to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall

I would just like to say a Big Huge Thank You to HRH Duchess of Cornwall. She just made my day, my week, my month, my year.  Have I whet your appetite? Stay tuned for more details.... Coming soon...:)