Once upon a time, there was a princess with wild hair.

Her kingdom was small but full of remarkable

creatures, whom she loved dearly. She spent much of

her time trying to train them but they remained unruly,

especially her loyal companion Greg.

One day, by fluke, she received a letter from a Jester in

a faraway land, one who spoke of his travels and the

fantastical creatures he had met: The adorable but

vicious quokka, the tall and powerful kangaroo, and the surprisingly docile koala.

Through their correspondence, she

dreamed of one day finding these creatures, to

understand them and potentially adding them to her

kingdom. She knew she couldn't do it alone and would need a guide.

The Jester would have loved to have taken the Princess to this land, but his village has been forsaken by a curse,

trapping all villagers inside. No one could leave or enter. He would not be able to join her on this journey, at least until this curse is lifted.

The Princess was never one to leave a problem

unsolved, and was well known to overcome impossible

challenges set before her. It was that stubborn nature

which led her to saddling up her noble steed Greg and

beginning her journey.

She had met several princes and knights in her time, but

this Jester, whom she had never even met, had grabbed

her attention like no other. Whilst foolish and

entertaining, his letters also gave away a sharp

intellect, something that she found very compelling.

She could not wait to meet him face to face.

* * * * * * *

Kate (the Princess) and Charlie (the Jester) met online in February 2020--they matched and immediately hit it off. At the time, Kate was in her third year of vet school, and Charlie was living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kate was planning to spend part of the summer in Ireland, knowing she wanted to work there after graduation. When they matched, Charlie didn't initially realise she wasn't in the UK--but because the conversation was so witty and irresistible, they decided to continue chatting until Kate came over in the summer.

And then a month later, COVID happened!

Hoping it would last just a few months, they held out hope Kate would be able to come over to Ireland before the end of the summer and the start of her fourth and final year of vet school.

And then COVID just kept going...and going...and going...

And realising they were already in too deep, they made the commitment to continue the long-distance, never-met-in-person, dating thing online until they could meet. It was during this time Charlie wrote the original Princess and the Jester fairytale--a home-made, highly accurate, and exceedingly romantic personalised fairytale telling of their adventures and overcoming troubles and adversity together.

And they didn't meet until Kate's birthday in 2021 (over a year after they had begun their long-distance adventure)! Charlie flew from Australia (where he had been since Christmas 2020)--over 40 hours and 5 flights--to get to Kate to meet for the first time. He stayed in the US with Kate for 3 months until he had to return to the UK. During that time, they travelled around and saw a lot of what the East Coast had to offer--Disney World (just a quick wee 12 hour drive from Blacksburg, VA!), Colonial Williamsburg, Washington DC, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and lots of family and friends.

During that time, Kate found a job in Northern Ireland and graduated from vet school in May 2021. When Charlie left in late June to return to Belfast, Kate was waiting for VISAs and paperwork to come through, hoping to join him in July or August. Unfortunately, they returned to long-distance until Kate finally made it over in late October, and she started work in November in Ballygawley, Northern Ireland.

Since then, we have thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of living in the same country <3

Charlie proposed when we were on holiday in Rome in September 2023.

Surprised??

We (mainly Kate) decided to keep the engagement quiet for several weeks until we had a chance to shop and pick out our engagement ring together. We loved having the time together as 'just us', but we have been so excited to share our news and share in our excitement with everyone!

Anyway, back to the proposal-- Originally Charlie had asked Kate's Dad's permission on ask her to marry him when they were in the US. Kate was in Pennsylvania getting ready for her cousin's wedding, and Charlie was left with Kate's family--and took major advantage of that fact to ask permission to propose. So when Kate caught the bouquet at her cousin's wedding, only her dad and Charlie knew what was coming!

Charlie originally planned to propose at the Trevi Fountain--but when they got there, it was shoulder-to-shoulder, rammed packed full of tourists. In an amazingly astute (and romantic) about-face, Charlie decided to change the plan. He proposed later that night in the apartment with a hand-made and home-written sequel to the original Princess and the Jester story. The last page of the fairy tale sequel asked the question.

And I'm sure you can guess my answer!