Key 3,
Crowning Glory The results of the referendum had not helped.
This had never happened before.
After three painstaking recounts,
The answer came back the same way.
The populace were equally divided as to whether their Queen should stay as the Sovereign,
Or their country should be declared a Republic.
The Queen knew that the decision was going to be thrown back at her.
Her councillors would be of no use,
As it was in their self-interest for her to stay,
So they could retain their cushy positions.
Her Prime Minister was the one who she had acquiesced to in the first place to allow the referendum to be held.
He had aspirations above his station.
She had lain awake for three nights now,
Considering other outlandish options.
She could get a secret police to assassinate the head of state in a neighbouring land and start a war.
Everyone needed a monarch when waging war.
She had wondered if abdication might work and acted as a delaying tactic.
With her son in place as a King,
The referendum could be called again,
And perhaps would lead to a different outcome.
The thought of him being in charge uproared her.
When in doubt,
She knew that walking near water would help.
In the palace grounds,
She wandered through her favourite glade of cypress trees and sat on a rock on the bank of the slow-moving stream.
She wondered if her reflection would know the answer and bent over to peer into the water.
As she did so,
Her crown dislodged and fell into the stream.
Her mind was made up.
On returning to the palace,
She summoned the Prime Minister and asked him to draw up plans to make the country into a republic.
The smile was wiped off his face when she also announced that she would be running for office against him at the next election.
