The wedding vows were concluded. Sissy and Ernst were man and wife and the organ began to play the opening bars of one of Luther’s greatest hymns.

‘Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren,’ every wedding guest but one sang in faultless German.

‘Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation,’ George, who had barely a word of German, sang in a deep tenor.

After the end of the wedding breakfast that followed the church service, Ducky sought her out.

‘It’s been ages since I’ve seen you, May.’ she said, kissing her affectionately on both cheeks. ‘And I love the crown. Pearls and diamonds together. So pretty. Was it one of Granny Queen’s?’

‘It was. It’s the State Diadem, and I wear it at State Openings of Parliament and when attending foreign coronations and, although a wedding isn’t a coronation, I thought Sissy and Ernst deserved no less.’

‘Quite right – and why be satisfied with wearing a tiara when you have a closetful of crowns to choose from? Where can we go to have a little privacy?’

‘The palace is so crowded – nowhere but a bedroom. The one George and I have been allocated is quite near, and I could do with a break from the crush.’

‘And so,’ Ducky said fifteen minutes later as she made herself comfortable on a sofa with a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigarette in the other, ‘first things first. Alicky. Do you hear from her often?’

‘Not as often as I used to, but we do still write to each other.’

‘About Alexei?’

‘Yes and no. She writes about him in the same way she writes about Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia. Family doings.’

‘And never mentions his disease?’

‘She told me about it when it was first realized he had it, but no, she never mentions it in her letters, and neither do I. How can I?’

‘You can’t, but it is the source of all the problems the Russian monarchy is facing – because if it wasn’t for the family disease, Alicky and Nicky wouldn’t be hiding Alexei away at Tsarskoe Selo; Alicky would probably be behaving as an empress should behave and wouldn’t be so very, very unpopular; and there would be no need for Rasputin. And if it wasn’t for Rasputin, there wouldn’t be the widespread belief that he is ruling the country through Nicky.’

May stared at her, shocked. ‘I knew things were bad in Russia. George says that unpleasant man Lenin is at the bottom of the unrest in the country – but surely no one can believe a faith-healer is influencing the decisions Nicky makes?’