3 . hardly noticed by Vicky in her grief and her expectant motherhood , the political scene in Prussia had greatly changed . it was only after the birth of her second son in August , that she resumed her old interests . Fritz had shielded her from worry in the last weeks of her pregnancy , but now with her second son thriving , delighted with this strong and perfect child , Vicky &apos;s vitality renewed itself . Fritz , she observed , looked harrassed . he seemed unwilling to talk about current events , but her direct questions broke through his reserve . it appeared that Roon , the only conservative in the otherwise liberal ministry , had in accordance with the King &apos;s demand , drawn up plans for an army reform , which the King approved , but the diet did not ; whereupon the King dissolved the diet , only to have the newly elected one also vote against the reform . furious , by this time , the King dissolved the second diet ; and the third , although the majority of its members were still in opposition to the King , suggested a reasonable compromise . in this crisis , Fritz who was at his wit &apos;s end , advised acceptance , and the King then turned upon him , and declared that sooner than step down from the stand he had taken , he would abdicate . the abdication document was already drawn up , though not yet signed . Vicky listened aghast . they had never , she realised been more in need of the Prince Consort &apos;s advice . the opinion in the country , Fritz said bitterly , is that I am urging my father to abdicate , in order that I may step into his shoes . what nonsense , oh , what nonsense ! Vicky cried . it seems anything but nonsense to our enemies , my dearest . but who could want to reign under such conditions ? how could you make a success of kingship knowing your father was bitterly resentful and hurt ? not all sons love their fathers , Vicky . but you do , do n&apos;t you ? yes ; though not as you loved yours . I doubt though , if our opponents credit me with filial affection . what will you do ? refuse the crown if it is offered to me . apart altogether from my father &apos;s feelings , if I accepted it , it might well start a civil war . if the worst comes to the worst , and the abdication paper is signed , I shall stand down in favour of Willy . which , Vicky said , would mean a regency for many years , and heaven only knows who would be appointed Regent . there must be some alternative . the present diet is trying to find a solution , Fritz told her . I have said that I will offer no further suggestions , for any advice of mine is suspect . Roon has sent for his friend , Otto von Bismarck , hoping that he may find some way to end the deadlock . Bismarck ? oh yes , of course , the Paris ambassador . Vicky knitted her brows , Bertie of all people was talking about him , some time ago . he said he had heard that this man was the hope of the conservatives ; that he was excessively able and ambitious . Bertie , I gathered , thought he might be a very sharp thorn to us . odd to think of Bertie being so well-informed , Fritz commented . feeling rather proud of her brother , Vicky agreed . Bertie was much more intelligent than most people supposed . poor , darling Papa had under-rated him , which was natural , as they were so very different from one another . presently , she said : if it were not that we should be throwing poor little Willy to the wolves , and depriving him of his father and mother - for you may be sure that we should have no say in his upbringing - I should be glad to go into exile . England would not be that for me , of course . it is you &amp;hellip; would it be grievously hard on you ? I can imagine worse fates , and unless my father is pacified , that is what it will come to . Willy would not be the first boy king in history , and by the time he was old enough to rule , conditions might have altered for the better . my darling , rather than risk a civil war , we should have to give him up . Prussia might become a republic , Vicky hazarded . the other states might be co-operative . that I can not believe . as a whole , Germans are imperial minded . no , they would insist on a king , if only a puppet king . is there nothing we can do , Fritz ? nothing but wait . I have no influence over my father , and my poor mother is in despair . Bismarck is expected to arrive in Berlin tomorrow , and my father has agreed to receive him . Vicky was silent , unable , though it shamed her , to resist weaving a roseate dream . what joy it would be to return to England with Fritz , and to forget these few bitter years as though they had never been . even if they had to leave poor little Willy in the hands of those in authority here , they would have their two younger children , and when everything had settled down , it might not be an absolute parting from their firstborn . Victoria would use all her considerable influence to prevent that . it was a dream soon to be dispelled . the next day the King tore up the abdication document . Bismarck promised him that given authority , he would get through the army reform , whatever the disposition of the diet ; whereupon the King conferred upon him the title and position of Minister President and foreign Minister of Prussia . hearing this , Fritz and Vicky scarcely knew whether to be relieved or otherwise . at least the immediate crisis had been bypassed , and the King , worn out with the struggle was content to leave the affairs of state in the hands of his new adviser . Queen Augusta , who had hitherto seen little of Bismarck , but who within twenty-four hours disliked him intensely , wept disconsolate tears . her influence over the King had never been great , but now it was reduced to nil . the new President Minister bluntly announced that he would not tolerate petticoat government , and in this he included the young Crown Princess as much as the Queen . he would serve the King , Bismarck said , but him alone , and he had no doubt but that he could serve him to his satisfaction . he swore that if the King relied on him , he would finally be not only King of Prussia but Emperor of a united Germany . soon it was realised that the new Minister had an enormous following and with the King &apos;s backing , his authority was paramount . within weeks , a new diet , composed of those who slavishly believed in him , was completely under his sway . Fritz was treated as a weakling enemy . Vicky as his evil genius . unpopular before Bismarck came into power , she was now hated . this hatred took the form of ignoring her whenever it was possible , and had she not been the Princess Royal of Great Britain , and her mother a powerful queen , she and Fritz might , she thought , well have been banished from the country . Vicky often wondered that she did not meet with an untimely end . there were more ways than one of getting rid of an intransigent princess . but it was not Bismarck &apos;s policy to so inflame Britain that he had a war on his hands . it was far wiser to treat Vicky as an ignorant , hot-headed girl , and while appearing to tolerate Fritz , to estrange the King from him by various subtle means . finally , however , Fritz was forced into open conflict with his father . Bismarck , though the diet was now subservient to him , was constantly criticised by the more liberal newspapers , and he retaliated by passing an emergency decree , which effectually muzzled the press . now , no political opinion could be newspaper circulated without the approval of the Minister President ; free speech was annihilated . on the other hand , any article in praise of him and his government was given extravagant publicity . scurrilous attacks were made on Vicky . nothing was too bad , or too personally insulting to be written about her . there were now no objections raised to her visiting England as often as she chose ; the hope was openly expressed that she would never return to Prussia . Fritz , whose opinions and principles were outraged , and who was furiously indignant on Vicky &apos;s behalf , came out into the open , and when at an official reception at Dantzig he was asked outright by the burgomaster if he had had any hand in bringing about the press ordinance , he replied that he had not . he had , he said , been absent from Berlin at the time , and had had no part in the councils which had led up to it . his short speech which followed , showed clearly where his sympathies lay . the burgomaster &apos;s question had come as no surprise to him ; he had been warned before the reception that he would be challenged , and Vicky , who was with him , had implored him to make his position plain . they had their own following , she argued , though it might be a minority following , and Fritz owed it to them to show that he was not involved in this disgraceful measure . within hours the storm broke about their heads . the King threatened to cast Fritz off altogether . the Queen Augusta wrote him an hysterical letter , in which she confusedly sympathised with him , reproached him , and laid all the blame on Vicky who was proving herself no friend to her adopted country . I am not , I suppose , Vicky said sadly . not to this new Prussia , which is changed and demoralised . you would be better without me . even some of your real , true friends doubt me ; they think you have wedded not only me , but my country ; and they would rather put up with this devilish Bismarck than run the danger - they think it is a danger - of being anglicised . I do n&apos;t blame them in the least . I know how repellent it is to me to be prussianised . I should never have loved you , or wanted to marry you , had that been your attitude . thank God , it never was , Fritz said . all I hoped was that you would bring the fresh air of your country , to blow upon the cobwebs in mine . I have n&apos;t sufficient breath for that , and Vicky smiled wryly . oh darling - I feel so hopeless . sometimes I am afraid they will contrive to separate us , dearly though we love one another . to think that , was to believe in the reality of a nightmare dream , Fritz chided her , and added : but I only wish you could get away from her - you and the children as well - until the worst storm blows over . we both ought to get away Fritz - not permanently , but for a respite . I , in that way , am strangely free for the first time since I came to live here , and with the King so opposed to you and your views , you can scarcely be more than a figure-head in Prussia . moreover , the hateful Bismarck will see that you are not . so it seems , agreed Fritz with a shrug . why not give the King and the country time to tire of him ? Vicky urged . what good can you do , as things are ? Mamma , poor darling , has sufficiently roused herself from her grief to be concerned for us . she has a proposition in mind , though it greatly depends upon what she thinks of Alix when she at last meets her . if possible she will bring about that marriage , because Papa so much wished it , though Bertie seems more or less indifferent . poor boy , he has been too miserable to think about his future . the Queen , Fritz opined , was certain to approve of the Princess Alexandra , whose inherent gentleness would be an enormous asset to her . well , we shall see , Vicky said . the meeting at Laeken has been arranged , and then Mamma has asked if we could take charge of Bertie for a while . take charge of him ? in Berlin ? he would scarcely enjoy himself here just now . Mamma knows that . I am sure she would not advocate it . 