“The reports were that the death of her daughter and family in that plane crash jolted her back into—I don’t know whether to call it reality or sanity,” said Iris. “I don’t necessarily agree that they are one and the same. Where are you going with this?”

“My point is that there is no profit in trying to blackmail Princess Alice because she doesn’t have the wherewithal to pay to keep things quiet. Someone gets hold of Talbot’s secret treasure trove, sits on it for over a year, and then something happens that makes it valuable: Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth are photographed at the Brabourne wedding, and the world now knows they’re in love. The exiled Greeks may not have two drachmas to rub together, but our own royal family can afford some hush money.”

“Makes sense,” said Iris. “What do you think the scandal is?”

“If it’s being sent to Princess Elizabeth, then it must be something that would scuttle any possibility of marriage to the prince,” said Gwen. “Something more than just the reputation of his mother. If insanity on his maternal side, adultery and abandonment on his paternal side, and Nazi brothers-in-law aren’t enough to stop an engagement, then it has to be something massive.”

“Go on,” urged Iris.

“For the first part of Andrea and Alice’s marriage, princesses are coming like clockwork,” said Gwen. “Then after the fourth, no new children for seven years.”

“There was a war going on,” Iris pointed out.

“But Greece was neutral, wasn’t it? So given that Andrea’s wife clearly was capable of producing children, and assuming his male ego required a son no matter how long it might take, why did it take him so long? Yet Philip doesn’t show up until 1921.”

“These things happen.”

“Yes, of course they do. Right, so prior to Philip, the family had been in exile, correct?”

“Correct.”

“They are welcomed back to Greece and reestablish themselves in Corfu, and a bouncing baby boy is born. Where did they live before Corfu?”

“Switzerland,” said Iris, pulling out her notebook and opening it to her research. “The Greek king in exile—”

“Pre–monkey bite?”

“Not that king. This was his father, Constantine the First, who had abdicated. He was Andrea’s older brother. They were living it up at the Grand Hotel in Lucerne. Andrea and family were there, with the obligatory side trips to St. Moritz and Lugano.”

“When did Andrea leave Switzerland to return to Greece?”

“Erm, ah, here it is. He goes to Rome in September 1920, then back to Greece in November.”

“And Philip is born the following June tenth.”

Iris counted back on her fingers.

“Nine months earlier is September tenth,” she said. “Cutting it close. A nice farewell present to the wife, then off to the intrigues. The monkey strikes in October, the royal nephew dies, big brother retakes the throne a month later.”

“Cutting it very close,” said Gwen. “Philip must have been quite the surprise after so many years.”