‘Except that means remembering one day we’ll just be notes in a history book too,’ says Philip with a grimace.

‘Well, it’s true.’

‘You’ll have a rather bigger note than me.’

There is an edge of something Elizabeth can’t quite identify in his voice. She glances at him and then away. That, too, is true. There is no point in denying it. Does it bother him that her inheritance is so much greater than his could ever be?

‘Do you ever wonder what it’s like not to be royal?’ he asks abruptly.

‘Sometimes.’ Elizabeth pulls the collar of her old coat closer against the chill as they start walking again. ‘When Uncle David abdicated, we moved to Buckingham Palace. We were horrified at first. We loved our cosy house in Piccadilly. That felt like an ordinary way to live, although I don’t suppose it is. The palace isn’t the most comfortable of places but it has a lovely garden with a hillock in it. Margaret and I used to climb it so we could look over the wall at the people walking past. We liked watching the children especially and wondering where they were going, where they lived, what they would have for their supper.’

‘Did you envy them?’

‘Not really. We were just curious. It’s hard to imagine what life is like for other people, isn’t it? Probably those children were walking past and wondering what it was like to live in a palace, but for us it was just the way things were. How they are.’

‘You’re lucky,’ Philip says, and she smiles faintly.

‘It doesn’t always feel that way. I know how privileged I am, but it does come at a price. I don’t have a choice about the life I get to lead.’

He looks down at her. ‘What would you choose if you could?’

‘Oh … nothing exciting. Just to live in the country with dogs and horses.’ She sighs a little. ‘I suppose you think that’s very dull,’ she adds, flushing a little.

A smile twitches the corner of his mouth. ‘Well, it’s not what I would choose, I have to admit. But if it’s what you want …’

‘I might want it but I’m not going to get it,’ Elizabeth says. ‘I might have been able to if Uncle David had done his duty, but he chose to put his personal feelings above that. Papa has had to pay the price for that decision, and I will too. Of course there are worse fates, but no, I don’t always feel lucky.’

Philip has his hands jammed into the pockets of his tweed jacket. ‘Actually, I was thinking about your family,’ he says. ‘About how close you are. Your parents, your sister. It’s been very nice for me to see that. I do envy you that.’

‘Yes, I am lucky in my family,’ she acknowledges, her face softening as she thinks of her beloved father, her bright, charming mother, and Margaret, so quick and so talented, so funny and spirited. Too spirited, sometimes. ‘Of course, Margaret and I have our moments, but I suppose all sisters have those.’