‘Yes, sir.’

Philip looks at Elizabeth who mouths sorry. What else can they do?

‘Lilibet?’

‘Yes, Papa. I understand. We’ll keep our engagement a secret for now.’

Chapter 29

London, October 1946

‘South Africa? For how long?’

Scowling, Philip paces around Elizabeth’s sitting room. Outside, as if mirroring his mood, a blustery, bad-tempered wind is swirling autumn leaves in eddies across the Mall.

‘We’d be away three months. The plan is to sail at the end of January.’ Elizabeth has her head down, petting Susan. ‘I’d be there for my twenty-first birthday in April. Papa says we’ll be able to announce the engagement once we get home.’

‘He said we’d have to wait six months. It’ll be nine months before you get home!’

‘I know.’ Elizabeth is clearly upset but Philip is too angry to comfort her.

He left Balmoral in high spirits. The King’s lack of enthusiasm for the engagement had galled, but on the whole Philip was pleased with the way things had gone. Elizabeth’s proposal had been a bonus, and her practical approach to the marriage frankly a relief. She made it clear that she isn’t going to expect any nauseating displays of emotion but at the same time, there is a sweetness and an innocence to her that Philip finds touching.

True, his own enthusiasm for the marriage has wavered at times, but now that he has committed to it, Philip sees no reason why they shouldn’t have a successful marriage. But he’s frustrated at not being able to enjoy his triumph to the full. First there was the King’s grudging acceptance of the engagement and then the demand for secrecy. Philip doesn’t buy the alleged concern about the political situation in Athens. When has Britain ever cared what is going on in Greece? No, they’re just hoping Elizabeth will change her mind about marrying him.

In the meantime, instead of shouting the news from the rooftops, he has to continue the absurd charade of pretending that he and Elizabeth mean nothing to each other. It’s not that he wants to hang over her and make a fool of himself, Philip reassures himself, but nonetheless she belongs to him now and it grates that he’s not allowed to show it. Oh, he is permitted to take her to the theatre occasionally and sometimes he takes her for a drive to Richmond Park but chances are that on any given evening he will have to stand by and watch one of her faithful Guards officers escort her to restaurants or out to one of the fashionable clubs.

‘I’d much rather be with you,’ Elizabeth assured him when she got back from Balmoral at the beginning of October. ‘I wish you’d been able to stay in Scotland,’ she added wistfully. ‘It wasn’t the same without you.’

‘Has your father forgiven you yet?’ Philip asked and she pulled a face.

‘Not really. He was livid when that Greek newspaper claimed that the announcement of our engagement was imminent.’

‘That was nothing to do with me.’ Philip has already been hauled over the coals by the King about that. ‘I told my mother and Uncle Dickie. He can be a gossip but he knows how important it is to stay on the side of the King right now, and as for my mother … she’s really more interested in the religious order she’s joined. If you ask me, it was Uncle Georgie indulging in some wishful thinking.’