‘Best of luck, darling.’

The bridesmaids have been getting ready in another room and they can be heard chattering and laughing as they go past the door on their way down to the entrance where a fleet of Daimlers are lined up to take them to the abbey along with the rest of the royal party. Elizabeth and her father will leave last.

Outside, the crowd are stirring in anticipation too. Singing and sporadic cheering drift up from the Mall.

‘You should start heading down too,’ Bobo says in a practical voice after the Queen has gone. ‘You can’t move very fast with that train.’

‘The necklace—’

‘I daresay Mr Colville will be able to find you when he makes it back from St James’s Palace.’

‘All right.’ Elizabeth starts to nod and then thinks better of it with the tiara and veil. ‘I think we’re ready, aren’t we?’

‘As ready as we’re going to be.’ She beckons to one of the Hartnell dressers to help with the train. ‘Here, we’ll take the veil, you just concentrate on walking in the dress.’

They have almost reached the top of the stairs when Jock Colville comes running up them. Elizabeth stops.

‘Did you get it?’ she asks eagerly, and Jock’s smile is triumphant as he pulls the pearl necklace from his pocket.

‘Sorry I took so long, ma’am,’ he says. ‘I commandeered the King of Norway’s Daimler before I’d given the king a chance to get out, but in the event, we couldn’t get through the crowds in the car, so I got out and ran, fighting my way through everybody.’

He hands the pearls to Bobo, who undoes the clasp and puts them around Elizabeth’s neck.

‘When I got to St James’s, it was deserted. Everyone is already at the abbey and there was only one aged retainer who had no intention of letting me in. Of course, I left in such a hurry, I didn’t have any way of proving who I was! There is a police guard and they tried ringing here, but the switchboard operators have been given the day off.’

‘What did you do?’ asks Elizabeth, thrilled to be able to pat the pearls into place at her throat.

‘Eventually I had the brainwave of showing them the wedding programme with my name on it, but even so two policemen insisted on coming back to the palace with me. I don’t think they quite trusted me!’

‘Well, I’m very grateful, Jock. Thank you.’

‘My pleasure, ma’am.’

The pearls have steadied her. She is ready now, nervous still but it is a simmering low in her belly, not the frazzled, fluttery feeling in her chest she had before.

As Elizabeth makes her way slowly down the stairs, she can see the Life Guards on horses trotting out through the arch. For the first time since the war, they are in their ceremonial uniforms rather than battle dress and they look splendid in their plumed helmets, scarlet tunics, and steel cuirasses. It lifts her heart to see them and judging by the roar of approval from the crowd on the other side of the gates, they have the same effect on everybody. The Queen and Margaret follow in a sedately driven Daimler, followed in their turn by an escort of the Horse Guards in all their ceremonial glory.