Margaret had crawled onto a sofa and began jumping on it.

Lilibet was like a proud housewife. ‘Don’t jump on the sofas, Margaret. You know what Mummy has told us.’

Margaret immediately dropped to her knees and began to cry.

Marion comforted her by swinging her onto her hip. When she looked round, Lilibet had vanished.

‘Where’s your sister gone?’

Margaret wiped her nose and pointed back to the hall. ‘Up,’ she told Marion.

‘There’s an upstairs too?’ Marion pretended not to believe her, even though she had just heard little footsteps going up the stairs.

‘Yeeees.’ Margaret laughed. ‘Silly-billy.’

Elizabeth called from upstairs, ‘Come on, you two.’

Marion put Margaret on to the stairs and they both crawled up together. On the bright landing, Marion could finally stand up. ‘I am a giant!’ She laughed. ‘Like Gulliver in Lilliput.’

‘That sounds like my name.’ The elder sister was busily tucking Margaret Rose into a tiny bed. ‘Margaret calls me Lilibet because she can’t say Elizabeth properly.’

Little Margaret, comfortable under her blankets, began giggling. ‘Lilibet, Lilibet, Lilibet.’

‘See? And now everybody calls me that. Come on, Margaret, you’ve got to get up now.’ Lilibet gently extricated her sister. ‘Now I must make the bed properly again or Mummy will tell me off.’

‘Do you do all the housework yourself?’ Marion asked jokingly.

‘Oh yes.’ Lilibet was serious. ‘Mummy says we must not let people do everything for us. We must learn to do it ourselves.’

Marion was impressed. ‘Good for you.’

Outside, the three of them began a gentle game of tag, which came to an abrupt end when Margaret tripped on her bad leg.

‘Brave girl,’ Marion told her, giving her a hug. ‘Show me where it hurts.’

Again the tiny Princess rolled down her sock to reveal her graze. Marion dropped a kiss onto it. ‘No harm done.’

Lilibet stood with her hands on her hips, watching as Margaret bravely pulled herself up. ‘Oh, what are we going to do with her, Miss Crawfie?’

‘She’s all right,’ Marion said, brushing the little girl down and lifting her into her arms.

Lilibet started to laugh. ‘I said Miss Crawfie, not Miss Crawford. Crawfie. I like that.’ Her laughter was so infectious that Margaret started to laugh too. ‘That’s a good name for you, isn’t it? Can we call you that?’

Marion thought about it for a moment. It seemed that everyone else had nicknames. Bobo, Alah, Lilibet. She grinned at Lilibet. ‘Why not?’

Returning to the house, Marion found that they were a little late for elevenses. The Duke and Duchess were sitting together on the terrace, the table before them set with refreshments, including tea, a jug of lemonade and a plate of biscuits.

‘There you are.’ The warmth in the Duchess’s voice welcomed them. ‘Have you had a good morning?’

Marion delivered the Princesses and curtsied, while the girls ran straight to their father.

‘We had a lovely time,’ said Lilibet. ‘We showed Crawfie our little house.’