The Crown Prince's Gift

In reality, it wasn't just the British Empire; Queen Victoria was a benchmark for monarchies across most European royal families.

Queen Victoria, known as the "Grandmother of Europe," earned her title for good reason. Many European royal families shared close blood ties with her, and even Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire, one of the great powers, was her grandson.

In the original history, when Queen Victoria passed away on the Isle of Wight, she was surrounded by many of her descendants, including Crown Prince Edward and Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Given Kaiser Wilhelm II's status, the fact that he could be by Queen Victoria's side at any time demonstrated how highly she was regarded by the major European royal houses.

Queen Victoria's wishes were met with opposition from the vast majority. No one wanted the over-80-year-old Queen Victoria to undertake the arduous journey of over ten thousand kilometers to the Isle of Wight.

Even though many understood Queen Victoria's longing for her deceased loved ones, neither the British Empire nor the European royal families could afford the blow of losing her.

However, once Queen Victoria made up her mind, no one could stop her, not even Prime Minister Robert or Crown Prince Edward.

The only fortunate thing was that Queen Victoria decided not to depart immediately. Instead, she would wait until Arthur had settled all his affairs and then travel to Australia with him.

Although the Duke of Essex was assassinated at a young age, he left Arthur with a substantial fortune and assets.

Putting aside the two duchies and one earldom that had already been converted to Australian holdings, the castles, two munitions factories, one steel mill, and one shipyard that Arthur had managed were worth at least hundreds of millions of pounds Sterling.

Duke Arthur also left shares in numerous industrial and other types of factories and companies, valued at a minimum of tens of millions of pounds Sterling.

Since Arthur was now heading to Australia, most of these assets would need to be relocated or liquidated to be of maximum use.

For Arthur, the shares he held were all to be liquidated. Although these shares might appreciate in the future, Arthur, who was about to depart for Australia, clearly didn't have much time to wait for them to grow in value.

It would be better to convert them all into pounds Sterling and contribute to Australia's development.

As for the shipyards, steel mills, and munitions factories, it would be preferable to relocate them all to Australia if possible.

These factories were desperately needed in Australia. They could not only fill the long-standing industrial void but also accelerate Australia's industrial and technological development.

Regarding the castles left by Duke Arthur, it was unlikely he would return to the British Empire, so there was no need to keep them.

These castles were all centuries old, occupied vast areas of land, and were equipped with comprehensive infrastructure, including gardens, multiple dining rooms, and numerous precious artworks.

The value of these ancient castles alone could exceed sixty million pounds Sterling, a quarter of the British Empire's annual fiscal revenue.

The good news was that Butler Hunter had previously been solely responsible for managing Duke Arthur's assets and was very familiar with all of them.

Upon learning that Arthur intended to sell all his assets and move to Australia, Butler Hunter did not object. He simply helped Arthur sell the properties he had managed.

Perhaps due to the current prosperity and booming economy of the British Empire, which had created many wealthy individuals, the sale of Duke Arthur's assets went relatively smoothly. It took only a month to sell most of the stocks and castles.

The castles, in particular, were highly sought after by nobles. Not only were they all sold, but they also brought Arthur a total income of seventy million pounds Sterling.

Combined with the proceeds from selling his shares, Arthur's current cash holdings reached a staggering eighty-seven million pounds Sterling.

March 3rd, Buckingham Palace.

This was Arthur's last day in the British Empire, and also the day before Queen Victoria's planned departure.

The British government was exceptionally busy that day, not only handling daily affairs but also reconfirming the preparations for Queen Victoria's journey the next day.

As the Queen of the British Empire, Queen Victoria's travel arrangements would be of the highest caliber.

For this journey, Queen Victoria would be accompanied by a royal guard of two thousand men, and a fleet including two battleships and five cruisers for escort.

Accompanying her were members of the Royal Family, including Princess Beatrice, Arthur, Princess Louise, Marguerite, and Patricia, as well as the royal chamberlain Harvey and Deputy Prime Minister Jon.

To facilitate Queen Victoria's daily needs, twelve servants, three maids, five chefs, and two pastry chefs were also brought along.

After completing all final preparations, Queen Victoria began her farewells to government officials and Crown Prince Edward.

Crown Prince Edward's farewell to Queen Victoria was stiff, perhaps because both had their own concerns.

However, having finally achieved her wish, Crown Prince Edward appeared relaxed and cheerful. He smiled and instructed Arthur, who was beside Queen Victoria, "Arthur, when you go to your territory, remember not to act recklessly. Your people are the foundation of your domain. A popular ruler can govern a country for a long time. Learn from your grandmother and strive to be a qualified ruler."

"Yes, Uncle." Although Arthur didn't understand why Crown Prince Edward seemed so energetic, he simply took it as his uncle's advice before his departure.

"Edward, Arthur is leaving. Don't you have anything to give him as an uncle?" Queen Victoria, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke, her gaze fixed meaningfully on Edward.

"Oh, damn it, how could I forget something so important?" Crown Prince Edward broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said, "Arthur, I promised you a gift when you left your territory, and now it's time to fulfill it. I heard you were selling all your assets recently, and there's not much I can do to help you. How about this: I'll give you twenty million pounds Sterling from my private funds, and then I'll have the Bank of London grant you a thirty-million-pound Sterling interest-free loan. Consider this a belated birthday gift. Due to special circumstances, I couldn't give you a happy birthday, but I still wish you a happy seventeenth birthday."

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