Work Text:
It all starts one night as they are lying in bed. It’s December, and they’re having an early Christmas at the White House, their last with Ellen as president, before heading to England to spend Christmas Day with Henry’s family.
“Henry?” Alex whispers into the small space between them, the room lit only by the moonlight coming in through the window.
“Yes, love?” comes Henry’s response, just as quiet. His hand strokes up and down Alex’s arm gently in a casual way that makes Alex’s heart melt a little.
Alex hesitates for a moment, but his lack of filter soon breaks his hesitancy. He’s already been thinking about this for days . “Do you ever think about what it would be like to be married?” His voice is barely a whisper due to nerves, but he knows Henry can hear him.
“I-” Henry starts, cutting himself off. There’s a moment of silence, Henry’s hand stilled on Alex’s arm before he speaks again. “Yes, I have. How could I not, with the way the press is always on about it? It wouldn’t change much except in politics, really. You would be able to come with me to more things without any issues, but then the press will start speculating about children, and Gran will get even more insistent about how I need to ‘produce heirs’.”
“So, you don’t want to?” Alex asks in a small voice, his insecurities flaring back up. They don’t come up as much anymore, with Henry here to reassure him, but sometimes they pop up.
Henry brings his hand up to cup Alex’s cheek. He says, “That’s not what I meant, love. Of course, I would love to marry you. But if we’re talking about it, we should talk about everything it would mean for us.”
Alex lets out a breath in relief. “Okay. I’ve thought about it a lot in the last few days, though. Longer than that, really, just not at the front of my mind. But I just finished law school, and Mom only has a few weeks left as president, so as long as it’s after the next president gets sworn in, there won’t be any issues for her politically. The press will always be hounding us about something, no matter what we do, and I think we can handle Mary,” Alex says, barely pausing for breath.
“We would have to have a royal wedding, like Philip had. Anything else would practically be considered eloping,” Henry says.
“And we’d have to announce the engagement to everyone. Though, I have an idea for that,” Alex says, a smirk pulling at his lips.
Henry smiles back, the moonlight glinting off his perfectly white teeth. “Is that right?”
They tell their families first, of course, and June enthusiastically agrees to help with their plan to tell the world. She is, after all, a wonderful speech writer, though the boys have the final say.
Alex and Henry are in Paris over Valentine's Day. Cliché, they know, but they also know that the press will call it “romantic.” They picked the place and date very carefully.
They are in a place full of tourists near the Eiffel Tower. A few staffers — technically Henry’s but really theirs — are in the crowd, phone cameras at the ready. There is some professional press as well, since Alex and Henry quietly tipped them off that they would be visiting this plaza after a Valentine's lunch. Many of the tourists around them are watching them and taking pictures, some more obviously than others.
When Henry drops down to one knee in front of Alex, positioned so the Eiffel Tower will be in the background in the staffer’s video and the press button photos, the whole plaza seems to go quiet. Henry pulls out a box containing the signet ring Henry gave him years ago, though no one will be able to tell given the distance and also the fact that Alex always wore it under his shirt. People noticed that Henry stopped wearing it, but where it went was never confirmed. They had decided that this had more meaning than buying a ring, and they would just buy actual rings for the wedding.
“Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz,” Henry says, voice clear and carrying. Alex watches him with love, pretending to be at least a little surprised. He practiced with June to get the face right. “I fell in love with you eight years ago at the Rio Olympics. For me, it was love at first sight, and in all that time, I have never once doubted or wavered in my love for you.
“Five years ago, I kissed you for the first time, and I was so scared I ruined everything. But the next time we saw each other you kissed me back, and threatened to put me on a no-fly list if I ghosted you again. The next time I ran away because I got scared, you showed up at Kensington and threatened to keep yelling until the press showed up if no one let you in.
“You have always been so fierce with your love, and so determined. You refused to let me deny myself happiness by letting you go.
“My heart beats in time with yours, and aches for you when we are apart. I cannot sleep without you next to me. When I must be away for business, I can think of nothing but you, across mountains or oceans, knowing that you will be working late into the night without me to drag you to bed.
“From the moment I first saw you, under the Brazilian sun, you were it for me. My love for you and my certainty in this truth has only grown over the years we have known each other. And somehow, inexplicably, you love me back.
“I am a thousand percent sure that you are it for me. You are my forever. I love you with everything that I am. I will never stop loving you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
“So, my love, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Alex is smiling so wide that his face feels like it’s going to split open. “Yes,” he says immediately. “Yes, of course, I will marry you.” He pulls Henry up to kiss him, his arms around Henry’s neck, and the crowd breaks into applause. Alex is vaguely aware of camera flashes going off, but he ignores them. Even though this whole display was rehearsed, it still makes an overwhelming warmth wash through him at the thought of getting to marry Henry. “I fucking love you,” he murmurs against Henry’s lips.
Prince Henry ✔️
@HRHPrinceHenry
@AGCD said yes!
[picture of Henry kneeling before Alex with a ring box in front of the Eiffel Tower]
[posed picture of Alex and Henry standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, a gold signet ring visible on Alex’s finger]
Alex Claremont-Diaz✔️
@AGCD
@HRHPrinceHenry proposed in Paris!
[same image of Henry kneeling]
[image of Alex kissing Henry in front of the Eiffel Tower, Alex’s arms around Henry’s neck, one of Henry’s arms around Alex’s waist while the other clutches the ring box]
@AGCD and @HRHPrinceHenry retweeted
Allie
@AllieAce
Oh my god, look what I just saw. @HRHPrinceHenry proposed to @AGCD. It’s so sweet
[video of Henry’s proposal speech and the couple’s kiss after Alex said yes]
The World’s Favorite International Power Couple Gets Engaged
Yesterday, February 14, in Paris, France, a crowd of tourists and some press were surprised to see HRH Prince Henry of Wales get down on one knee. I, and the few other reporters in attendance, thought we were just going to report on a Valentine's Day date, but we were instead witness to something much bigger as Prince Henry proposed to former FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz in front of the Eiffel Tower.
His romantic speech (the most complete video of which was posted by @ AllieAce on Twitter and retweeted by the power couple themselves) has touched the hearts of all who heard it, especially fans of the couple. The speech made reference to the ups and downs in their relationship, some of which have fans scrambling to discover more as the events were previously unknown. We can only wonder when Alex Claremont-Diaz was yelling outside of Kensington Palace, and how it went seemingly unnoticed by the public.
The couple has been going steady for five years now. Many will remember how their relationship was discovered four-and-a-half years ago when a candidate running against President Claremont leaked their private emails and the subsequent international reactions.
Much like when their relationship first became public, support is pouring in from all over the world. Their wedding will be the first time a Prince of England has married another man. As the popular quote from their leaked emails goes, “History, huh?” It looks like they will be making it once again.
People all over the world are eagerly awaiting the first queer royal wedding, seen by so many in the queer community as a large step forward toward acceptance. We wish Prince Henry and Alex all the best as they move into the next chapter of their lives.