A letter arrives from Buckingham:
To Duke Mul Henging,
I send this regarding the ill news from the royal court. Although I have no doubt word has long since reached your realm, I fear that news of the king's sudden illness still has yet to truly take hold in most of England. His reign has been ongoing for longer than most of us have been alive, and even in my own court there's almost a sense of denial: No-one will outright say it, but there seems to be this unspoken assumption that he will recover shortly and bless us with another hundred-years of rule.
I, however, fear this is not the case, and with Prince Æthelheard's elevation to heir being so recent I fear he may not be ready to hold the crown. It's for this reason that I write to you, hoping to find an ally in my attempts to keep this realm united should the worst take place and we lose our dear king: The prosperity that Æthelbald's reign brought us has made us far richer than any of our predecessors, and I believe we owe it to him to keep his kingdom united even after his passing.
Sincerely,
Leofræd, Earl of Middlesex