The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 721 - 543: The King’s Journey

October 1920, Sydney Palace.

As the time approached for the summer in Australasia, the climate also became suitable for travel.

It had been a long time since Arthur had taken a trip with his family, so he decided to take everyone on a trip on a whim.

As for the destination of the trip, there was no exact address yet, so it was regarded as an inspection within the country.

Arthur’s mother, Princess Louise, refused Arthur’s invitation. However, this was normal, as Princess Louise was already in her sixties and could not withstand long hours of bumping on the road; it was better for her to stay in the Royal Palace and enjoy her old age.

As a result, the only people left for the trip were Arthur, Queen Mary, William, Anna, Peter, and George.

Among Arthur’s four children, William and Anna were born in September 1909 and were now 11 years old.

Peter was born in 1915 and was only five years old, a mischievous age.

And little George was just over a year old. Although he no longer needed to be breastfed, he still had a wet nurse to look after him to prevent any accidents.

It’s worth mentioning that Arthur’s two younger sisters had been married many years ago. However, they still communicated through letters from time to time, as their respective countries were also reluctant to give up their matrimonial ties with Australasia.

Since this trip was with family, safety and comfort were of the utmost importance, while the time spent was a minor factor.

Arthur underestimated the curiosity of the little ones for airplanes. When he asked the children what mode of transportation they wanted to use for the trip, the answer was undoubtedly airplanes.

Clearly, the current airplanes were not worth risking for Arthur himself, so naturally, he would not allow these little ones to ride on them.

Compared to airplanes, the current trains were quite reliable. Although the train power in Australasia had gone through multiple rounds of improvement, the speed was still far from that of modern trains.

While the speed was slow, safety would be greatly improved.

It wasn’t like the traffic environment of cars, where slow speed posed the risk of rear-end collisions. Trains traveled on a rail, so there was no need to change direction, only to increase or decrease power as needed.

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After Butler Kent’s refusal, Arthur didn’t say more.

In truth, for many years, Butler Kent was no longer an ordinary butler in Arthur’s heart.

Not to mention that Butler Kent had been serving Arthur’s family since the days of Duke Old Arthur, but in the twenty years since Arthur arrived in Australia, Butler Kent’s dedication had been enough for Arthur to regard him as a family member.

Of course, Arthur’s attention to Butler Kent was definitely not just lip service.

Butler Kent and his two sons held high positions in Australasia. His eldest son was Prime Minister Kent, while his second son Hunter was the Royal Affairs Minister of Australasia, both of whom were important members of the cabinet.

Moreover, Butler Kent held the title of Sir, Prime Minister Kent was a Baron, and even Hunter, who temporarily had no title, was on the list of the next wave of knights that Arthur planned to confer.

And if nothing went wrong, after Prime Minister Kent’s retirement, Hunter was expected to succeed him and continue to serve as the Royal Palace’s butler.

Do not underestimate the position of the Royal Palace’s butler. Although his status was only that of a servant of the royal family, he was the most trusted person in the entire royal family.

It was not an exaggeration to say that becoming a Royal Palace butler was far more difficult than becoming a Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

Prime Ministers of Australasia were selected every four years. As long as they were loyal to the royal family and possessed a certain level of ability, Arthur would not interfere too much.

However, the Royal Palace’s butler was different. As the representative of the Royal Palace’s external contact, the butler symbolized Arthur and the entire royal family to the outside world, so the choice of candidate was of great importance.

In this regard, Australasia was no different from other European Monarchies.

In other words, the position of the Royal Palace’s butler was hereditary, to some extent.

Each generation of butlers was basically cultivated from a young age, and most of them were descendants of the previous generation of butlers.

It was precisely because the descendants of butlers and monarchs were raised together from a young age that they could develop deep feelings and rapport, which was the real reason for the mutual trust between monarch and butler.

Unless the Royal Palace’s butler committed an act considered taboo by the monarch, the choice of butler would generally not be changed easily.

This tradition had been followed by European royal families in the past; the butler’s family served the royal family generation after generation, while the monarch’s family remained the ruling one.