But at least there is Elizabeth.

Philip sets his jaw and refuses to care. Elizabeth wants to marry him. He will have the last laugh. They can keep their court with its arcane rituals and oppressive deference. Sometimes it feels as if nothing has changed since George V’s time: at least Edward VII had some jolliness about him. None of the courtiers bowing and scraping around the King appear aware that not only are they no longer in the nineteenth century, they are almost halfway through the twentieth and things are changing. The King may want to return to the pre-war years, but the rest of the country is looking forward. Labour’s victory in the general election the previous year was surely a sign of that, but no one at court seems to want to realise it. They are all harking back to the past, Philip thinks impatiently, when they should be looking to the future.

The King is adamant that Elizabeth is to go to South Africa. Clearly, her parents have calculated that they can indulge her by inviting Philip for Christmas, but only if she agrees to the visit. Philip thinks sourly that he wouldn’t be surprised if the entire tour has been arranged with the sole purpose of separating them for as long as possible.

The date of departure is set for 1^st February. On 23^rd January, snow begins to fall out of an iron-grey sky. It is pretty at first, but as the temperature drops and the snow keeps falling, swirling relentlessly down and blown into great drifts by bitter winds, the novelty of a landscape blanketed in white soon wears off. Trains burrow into snow tunnels, cars skid over icy roads. Electricity cuts plunge cities into darkness; fuel shortages shut down factories and workers are laid off. In his Nissen hut in Corsham, Philip wears his greatcoat and a balaclava to bed. The pipes are frozen so no one can have a bath and when everyone is huddled together the smell is soon ripe enough to make his eyes water.

As the big freeze tightens its grip, the King himself begins to have doubts about whether the tour should take place. Elizabeth writes to Philip that she is secretly hoping it will be cancelled. It can’t look good for the royal family to be heading off to the sunshine when the country is enduring the worst winter anyone can remember.

But the tour is intended as a celebration of the Commonwealth and to thank the South Africans for their service during the war. It cannot be cancelled, the King is reluctantly persuaded, while Elizabeth even more reluctantly allows herself to be measured for summer dresses.

The final blow is the King’s refusal to allow Philip on board HMS Vanguard to say goodbye to the royal party. ‘It’ll only give the gossips more to chatter about,’ he says brusquely, hardening his heart to Elizabeth’s protests. ‘You’ll have to say your goodbyes before then.’

Philip can hardly force his way onto the ship, but his pride, already bruised by the King’s attitude, takes another kicking. He may be down, but he is not out, he vows, not by a long chalk. He is not giving up on Elizabeth now.