chapter 3

Three months later, Henrietta was not pregnant. Something had to be wrong. The royal doctor was brought in to examine her. He could find no reason why Henrietta had not conceived. Hardly suprising because he was not allowed to touch her majesty's 'delicate areas' . Indeed it was thought of him as impolite to touch her at all. The doctor prescribed a 'wee tot of brandy' before bedtime as her remedy, thinking that a little bit of alcohol in her system might relax her a bit more, remove some of her inhibitions. A little bit of brandy wouldn't hurt anyway.
So, that night, she received her remedy from one of her ladies-in-waiting. Henrietta was not used to strong liquor. It made her cough when the liquid burned the back of her throat and warmed her all the way through as it made it's way down to her stomach. But, if the good doctor thought that this medicine would help her to get pregnant, she had to take it. It was her duty. She had to do it for king and for country.
A week later, there was no sign of the 'wee tot' of brandy having any impact on her fertility or her behaviour. One of her ladies though that if a 'wee tot' was not working, maybe double the prescribed amount would do the trick.
Pretty soon after, Henrietta was drinking a full wine glass of brandy every night before bed. She gulped the whole lot down at once, ignoring the burning sensation, that she was now enjoying and looked forward to. The brandy made her head spin. She stumbled into her bed chamber, slurred her words, but no matter how drunk she became, she knew it was only a side effect of her medicine. The medicine that would make her pregnant.
Henrietta was never sure if Frederick was going to come for her. When he did, she was certainly more relaxed than their first night lying there together. On nights he didn't come to her, she experimented with her own touch. She found out where her fingers needed to go to arouse her. She showed Frederick what to do. Sex became more enjoyable than before, but it was still her duty.
One night while she waited for him, she noticed the brandy decanter had been left out. If one wine glass of brandy did not make her pregnant, then maybe another glass would!
Every night she drank more and more until she could drain the whole decanter. She would make herself so drunk that she could hardly stand. Her lips would be so numb and she was barely coherent as she staggered into her bed, tripping over her nightie.
In the morning, she started to feel the after effects. Her head ached so much, she was grumpy and snappy with her ladies. They appealed to the doctor for a cure. He prescribed... a 'wee tot of brandy'.
After living at the palace for six months there was no sign if any baby. Henrietta took so much 'medicine' that she was inebriated just about every day. If she was not inebriated, she was lying in bed nursing a hangover.
The doctor was sacked. His medicine was not working. Another doctor was brought in to help.