‘That was just the first round.’ Uncle Dickie studies his nails. ‘I think it would be a good idea if you gave up your Greek nationality and became a British citizen. You need that in any case. The war is coming to an end and you won’t be able to continue your naval career if you’re not British.’

‘I don’t mind doing that. It’s not as if I have any real connection to Greece. I feel British as it is.’

‘That’s what I thought. There’s some understandable resistance to the idea of Princess Elizabeth marrying a foreign prince, particularly in view of the war, but you’ve been to a British school, and you only speak English now … That all counts in your favour. We will have to tread carefully, though, in view of Britain’s relationship with Greece, but I see no reason not to set the wheels in motion – if you’re agreeable?’ Mountbatten adds as an obvious afterthought.

It is nice of Uncle Dickie to pretend he has a choice in the matter, Philip reflects a touch cynically. ‘Fine by me,’ he says.

‘Good.’ There is a delicate pause. ‘Of course, it’s probably better not to mention a possible marriage in connection with your naturalization. We’ll tell your family it’s purely a matter of your career. If they get a whiff of a wedding, there’ll be no stopping them. Shocking gossips, the lot of them.’

Philip cocks a brow. ‘That’s rich coming from you, Uncle Dickie,’ he says in a dry voice. Gossip is the stuff of life to his uncle.

‘Don’t be impertinent, boy,’ Mountbatten says easily. They have stopped in the shade of a palm where they can look out over the Nile. ‘How are you getting on with Lilibet?’

Philip is uneasily aware that he doesn’t want to talk about Elizabeth with anyone. ‘Fine.’

‘There’s no one else? What about that pretty girl? The one with the odd name?’

‘Osla? She’s just got engaged, as it happens.’

‘Good. Don’t take up with anyone else.’

‘Dammit, Uncle Dickie, I’m not quite twenty-three!’ Philip’s hackles are rising in spite of himself. He doesn’t like being pushed around. Doesn’t like feeling that he’s not his own man. The Mountbattens have been good to him and he hates the thought of disappointing them or, worse, being rejected by them, but still …

‘I’m sorry, Philip, but you need to think seriously about your options,’ Mountbatten says, not ungently. ‘You’re a prince, and that comes with obligations. It’s no use pretending your life is your own. Nor do you have the luxury of a private income. What are you going to do if you don’t marry Lilibet? Work in a bank? Or do you want to end up like your father, living hand to mouth in some backwater?’

Philip has to clamp down on the furious reply that springs to his lips. The flicker of contempt in his uncle’s voice when he mentions Andrea stings all the more because deep down, Philip feels the same. He loves his father, but what has he done with his life? Philip doesn’t want to be like him.