Chapter 222: Chapter 208: The Focus of the Party _2

Listening to Arthur describe the various uses of Sydney Palace’s construction, and fantasizing about her own statue being erected next to Arthur’s, Grand Duchess Mary had to admit she was very moved.

Women, when intrigued, can’t help but imagine all manner of ideal scenarios for the future. This was particularly true when it came to her wedding ceremony – Grand Duchess Mary had plenty of dream scenarios in mind.

With a wave of his grand hand, Arthur encouraged Grand Duchess Mary to bring her visions to life and to take an active role in planning the wedding.

For Arthur, a monarch, the only major practical concern was the potential financial cost. But since he was reaping huge profits from the Benz Car Factory everyday, such costs seemed trivial.

After earning a surge of goodwill from Grand Duchess Mary, Arthur turned his attention to the forthcoming banquet.

At eight in the evening, the banquet started in Banquet Hall One of Sydney Palace.

This was Sydney Palace’s largest banquet hall, specifically designed by Arthur for grand events.

The banquet hall could accommodate up to six hundred guests, and was staffed by dedicated servants and maids.

It was not yet eight o’clock, but many foreign guests and officials from Australasia had already arrived and were conversing in small groups over Australasian red wine.

The wines were largely sourced from Arthur’s private vineyard, each with a unique Australasian touch.

Thanks to several years of development, Arthur’s private vineyard had gained a substantial reputation in noble circles. Both its high- and low-end wines held their own in the market.

Especially within Australasia, Arthur’s vineyard commanded a significant market share. It had become a major revenue generator because of its large profits and income.

For the banquet, the red wines on offer were limited-edition grape wines produced in 1901 and 1902. Due to the limited production volume at that time, they were priced correspondingly high.

The price of a single bottle of these wines was at least 500 Australian dollars, with some even exceeding over a thousand Australian dollars.

With also about ten chefs meticulously handcrafting a variety of delicacies, appetizers and desserts, the total cost of the banquet for Arthur was no less than 200,000 Australian dollars.

The moment Arthur entered the banquet hall, all conversation ceased. All eyes turned to him as he was the irreplaceable protagonist of the night.

“Congratulations to you, Arthur, and to Australasia on earning its rightful place,” lead off Crown Prince William, the first to come and congratulate Arthur with a warm smile.

As peers of nearly the same age, Crown Prince William and Arthur had established a good rapport during Arthur’s visit to Germany. Their interaction was always cordial.

“Thank you!” Arthur greeted Crown Prince William with a warm hug, expressing satisfaction with his presence.

The fact that Germany had sent a royal family member of the Crown Prince’s caliber all the way to Australasia revealed the importance Germany presently attributed to Australasia.

After all, a crown prince was an emperor-in-waiting. Besides the monarchs and crown princes of some important countries, there weren’t many who could merit a personal congratulations from Crown Prince William.

After Crown Prince William, Duke Sergei came forward to offer his congratulations with a pleasant smile.

As the de facto guardian for Grand Duchess Mary, he was quite satisfied with Arthur.

As the king of Australasia, Arthur had managed the newly united kingdom methodically, and the potential of Australasia was plain to see under his rule.

Beyond that, Arthur may have belonged to a European royal bloodline, but he wasn’t like the majority of European nobility who led a life of debauchery and extravagance.

Duke Sergei had arrived in Australasia a few days ago and he hadn’t heard any rumors of illicit private affairs involving Arthur. It was evident that Arthur prioritized national affairs over personal ones at a level uncommon among the nobility.

Following the conversation with Duke Sergei, Arthur took the initiative to engage Crown Prince George in conversation.

In reality, Crown Prince George was already 41 years old, and looked somewhat out of place standing amongst Arthur and Crown Prince William due to the age difference.

Indeed that was the case. Being of different generations, Arthur and Crown Prince George did not have much to talk about. After graciously receiving his blessings, Arthur quickly ended the encounter and refrained from prolonged conversation.

If he wasn’t concerned about the sentiments of the British people, Arthur wouldn’t even have considered going out of his way to interact with Crown Prince George,

It’s worth mentioning that, the current surname of the British Royal Family is still Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, from a prestigious family originating in Germania.

This family line had successive rule over the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the British Empire and now the Kingdom of Australasia. It remains the current most long-standing family in Europe, with control over the highest number of countries.

Europeans have highly valued such royal families. Many small newly independent nations would often choose a prince from a prestigious family as their monarch.

However, the prominence of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family was significantly faded after World War I. First, there was King George V of Britain, who, in order to appease the British public who were discontented with Germany, decided to abandon the German-derived royal family name. He changed the surname of ‘Saxe-Coburg-Gotha’ to the more British ‘Windsor’. This formed the infamous Windsor Dynasty in later generations.