Despite the valet’s best efforts, it took Philip, who showed little interest in his appearance, some time to accept Savile Row suits and shoes handmade at Lobb of St James’s Street. At the garden party held at Buckingham Palace immediately after the engagement was announced, Philip appeared in a well-worn and shabby naval uniform. A week later, Philip accompanied his fiancée to Edinburgh, where she was to receive the Freedom of the City. As the princess made her acceptance speech, Prince Philip stood dutifully two steps behind, a position he would have to take many thousands of times over the coming years. It was the first time he saw the physical symbol of how his status would always be secondary to his future wife.

That evening in Edinburgh at a ball held in their honour, the couple danced a complicated eightsome reel. Philip had been wise enough to take some Scottish dancing lessons from Princess Margaret before the trip to Edinburgh and performed well. When the King heard about the evening in Edinburgh, he sent a message to King Paul of Greece saying: ‘Philip is making out well.’

Prince Philip was still based at Corsham, but whenever he had time off he drove in his MG sports car to London to see Princess Elizabeth. His record time for the 98-mile journey from Corsham to London was one hour and forty minutes. In the autumn of 1947, he had a narrow escape when his car crashed into a tree, leaving him with a twisted knee. It didn’t put him off his love of driving, and he used to take the princess in the MG to Richmond Park. To avoid unwanted attention from the public, she disguised herself with a scarf over her head, while Philip wore his normal prescription dark glasses. A staff car with the ever-present detective would follow discreetly behind.

Considering the dire straits of the country’s finances after the heavy cost of the war, Parliament took a generous view in voting £50,000 for the refurbishment of Clarence House, a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, which was to be the new palatial home for the couple after the wedding. In addition, Philip was granted a £10,000-a-year allowance and Elizabeth’s was fixed at £50,000 a year. Philip took a great interest in every detail of the plans for Clarence House; he even consulted with the staff so that their quarters were efficiently laid out. His greatest delight was his fully equipped miniature cinema in the basement, a wedding present from the Mountbattens.

After the wedding, the couple lived in Elizabeth’s apartments at Buckingham Palace while the works at Clarence House were completed. General Sir Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning, the husband of the novelist Daphne du Maurier, was appointed as comptroller and treasurer of their joint household. He was a former Guards officer who had been Dickie Mountbatten’s chief of staff.