but from that time on no one could make a successful sea - trip . the people began to murmur because the king had not kept the promise he had made the sea - queen . but the king and queen never allowed the prince out without a great escort , and he was never permitted to enter a ship , for all his desire to do so . after a few years they gradually forgot the sea - queen , and when the prince was ten years old , a little brother came to join him . not long after the older of the princes was out walking with his tutor and several other gentlemen . and when they reached the end of the royal gardens by the sea - shore - it was a summer 's day , unusually clear - they were suddenly enveloped by a thick cloud , which disappeared as swiftly as it had come . and when it vanished , the prince was no longer there . nor did he return , to the great sorrow of the king , the queen and the whole country . in the meantime the young prince who was now the sole heir to the crown and kingdom grew up . when he was sixteen , they began to think of finding a wife for him . for the old king and queen wished to see him marry the daughter of some powerful monarch to whom they were allied , before they died . with this in view , letters were written and embassies sent out to the most distant countries .
the older prince disappeared .
why was the young prince the sole heir to the crown now ?
why was the young prince the sole heir to the crown now ?