When the King does speak, he seems to have ignored Philip’s request. ‘Lilibet’s come on a lot over the last few months,’ he says. ‘I was very proud of her in South Africa.’

‘I heard her broadcast,’ says Philip. ‘It was very moving.’

The King nods slowly, still looking out of the window. The smoke from his cigarette curls above his head, drifting in the sunlight. ‘It was. For her birthday, you know, Lilibet was showered with diamonds, and I felt that was only right, because that’s what she is: a diamond. She’s strong and shining and clear and true.’ He turns at last to fix Philip with his gaze. ‘Do you understand that, Philip?’

‘Of course I do,’ Philip says, smoothing the impatient edge to his voice with an effort. He wants to marry Elizabeth, for God’s sake. Why would he do that if he didn’t understand how special she was?

‘There’s no “of course” about it,’ the King says sharply. ‘You don’t know Lilibet the way we do.’

‘I know her well enough to want to marry her.’

The King makes an impatient gesture with his cigarette and then his shoulders slump. ‘For so long it’s just been the four of us,’ he says. ‘I don’t know how I would have got through if I hadn’t had the Queen and my daughters.’ He smiles fondly. ‘Elizabeth and Margaret, my pride and my joy. They are so different, and yet we fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw. And now you want to take her away.’ With a sigh he stubs out the cigarette. ‘The puzzle will be broken. Do you wonder I don’t want to lose her?’

‘You wouldn’t deny her the chance of a husband and a family of her own, would you, sir?’

‘No, of course not, but she’s young yet.’

‘She’s young but she knows her own mind,’ Philip says. ‘You said it yourself, sir. She’s strong and she is true, and she is steadfast. She won’t change her mind about me – and I won’t change mine about her.’ He pauses then says more gently, ‘You won’t lose her, sir. I know her well enough to be sure that her first duty will always be to you and to the country, to the Commonwealth, just as she said in her speech.’

The King only sighs.

Philip risks pushing harder. ‘We have waited, sir. Longer than the six months you stipulated. And I have done my bit. I have renounced my rights to the Greek throne to help defuse anxieties about me being a foreign prince. I’ve given up my title.’

Focused on getting British nationality, Philip hadn’t thought about what that would mean to him until it was too late. The moment he went to sign away his rights, he almost balked. The pen felt strange and unwieldly in his hand as he stared down at it and he found himself thinking about his father. What would he think about Philip rejecting the title of ‘Prince’ in favour of a mere ‘Lieutenant’? The Greek dynasty was not a long established one, but their roots in the royal house of Denmark and their connection with royal families across Europe had always been a point of pride. Philip was turning his back on all of that.