I would like to thank Nick Cowan for his arduous work with the research for this book. I would also like to thank him for his expertise in helping me with the construction of the multiple strands it took to compile the manuscript and his endless patience in checking my copy. No royal manuscript would be complete without the forensic eye of Majesty’s managing editor Joe Little, whose brilliant memory for royal facts and details is second to none. I would also like to thank Robin Piercy, whose sons Angus and Henry helped with all the technical difficulties I managed to frequently get myself into.

Over the years of writing royal books and especially biographies, I have interviewed many people whose valuable contributions have added to the content of this book. Sadly, some of them are no longer with us, but I would like to thank them posthumously, in particular: the Hon. Margaret Rhodes, with whom I spent a delightful morning at her home in Windsor Park, and James Edwards, the ebullient, eccentric and totally charming former head of Heatherdown prep school, who described so perfectly the Queen’s role as a mother.

I would also like to thank my editor Ian Marshall and everyone at Simon & Schuster for their help and support.

Ingrid Seward

London, September 2017

Photographs

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1. Prince Philip (ennobled the Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage) and Princess Elizabeth during their honeymoon at Broadlands in 1947.

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2. Adopting an identical pose sixty years later in 2007. The Queen is wearing the same sapphire and diamond chrysanthemum brooch and pearl necklace.

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3. The Duke and Duchess of York with baby Elizabeth on 29 April 1926, a week after her birth.

Mary Evans Picture Library

4. The future Duke of Edinburgh with his parents Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece in the same year.

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5. Princess Alice of Greece and her son Philip, aged three, photographed in 1924, by which time they were living in France.

Camera Press

6. Princess Elizabeth in February 1931, aged five, with her mother, the Duchess of York.

Getty Images

7. Princess Elizabeth, her father King George VI and her sister Princess Margaret, photographed in July 1946, a year before her wedding.

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8. King George VI, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, the Queen and Prince Philip at the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten in October 1946.

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9. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with children Charles and Anne in the garden of Clarence House, 1951.

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10. Seven-month-old Prince Andrew is the centre of attention as the family enjoy their annual holiday at Balmoral Castle in September 1960.

REX/Shutterstock

11. Prince Philip in 1965 sharing a joke with famous comedian Jimmy Edwards at a polo match. Philip enjoyed the waggish company of show-business friends and would support their charity events.

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12. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the glamorous couple, at a state banquet in Lagos in February 1956.

Getty Images

13. Ten years after their wedding, in their seats for the world premiere of the film Dunkirk on 20 March 1958.

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