It was far from being what he really thought and felt. A few years ago Willy had barred his sister Sophie from ever setting foot on German soil again, when she had married Tino of Greece and had converted to Orthodoxy. For the moment, though, it was convenient to convince himself that they were his real feelings; and when Willy wanted to convince himself of anything, he did so easily and with passionate – although temporary – sincerity.

‘It is what both Ella and Miechen have found,’ he said, having no idea whether or not this was true. ‘And Nicky’s mother, too, was a Lutheran until she married Nicky’s father. A change of faith is really not such an unusual thing for a royal in your position.’

‘No,’ Alicky said, as she had said to Nicky. ‘I cannot do it. I cannot.’ Tears choked her throat. ‘I have made a promise to my late mama that I will never forget my confirmation vows.’

Willy had the vision of a much-needed military alliance between Germany and Russia in front of him, and he wasn’t accustomed to being thwarted.

‘There is no need for you ever to do so,’ he said, with what he hoped was God-like authority. ‘The vows you took as a Lutheran are, in essence, the same as the vows taken at confirmation in the Russian Orthodox Church. And so, when you make your vows on becoming a member of the Orthodox Church, you will simply be reaffirming your Lutheran vows.’

Whether what he was saying was true, he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was that Alicky married Nicky, and that the future Empress of Russia would be a German.

‘Think of Nicky,’ he continued, undeterred. ‘He is a mild-mannered, gentle young man, not unlike late Cousin Eddy. And Granny Queen realized that when Eddy became King and Emperor, he would need a strong woman at his side to give him the strength and forcefulness his own nature lacked. That was why she arranged for a marriage between him and Kindred Spirit May – and it is why, on his death, she didn’t let such an admirable future Queen and Empress go to waste and saw to it that May married Georgie. When Nicky becomes Tsar, the responsibilities he will inherit are so vast they will crush him. If he is not to be dominated by his uncles – and make no mistake, Alicky, his uncles’ intentions will be to dominate him and rule through him – he will need a wife who will be a strength to him; someone who will rule the largest country in the world alongside him, allowing no one else to influence him. And God’s purpose for you, Alicky, is to be that person. It is,’ he ended with an over-the-top theatrical flourish of his good hand, ‘your royal duty and God-given destiny!’