A trap had been set for Princess Charlotte, woven with precision behind palace walls. But one woman uncovered it before it could strike and the diary she left behind tells the harrowing tale. At Windsor, preparations were already underway for what many in the palace called a defining moment in Charlotte’s first major solo engagement. The air was thick with quiet anticipation, but also with something else Anne couldn’t quite name at first. As she walked the corridors, reviewing final arrangements, she caught glimpses of hurried staff exchanging cryptic notes and whispering just out of earshot. She noticed the stage plan pinned to the wall bore strange, unfamiliar markings. The podium lights, usually soft and flattering, had been recalibrated harshly, and the speech Charlotte had practiced was being reviewed by aides she didn’t recognize. Anne’s sharp eyes scanned the scene every detail bore the fingerprints of something deeply familiar.
