Page 25 - The Gluckman Occasonal Number Nine

It had been made clear to her since childhood that marriage would
serve the kingdom’s political needs, not her own romantic desires. So
the closer she came to marriageable age, the more she fretted; and the
more she fretted, the more anxious the king became to find her a
husband.
The noble families of Baublestein had little to offer in the way of
eligible sons. The current crop of young barons, dukes and earls were
showing the results of inbreeding in ways obviously lowering their
value as prospective prince consorts.