‘Yes, of course it would.’ May sometimes thought she was the only person in the family who understood Cousin Willy even a little. ‘Willy likes to shine and be the centre of attention. If he had been allowed to shine at the Jubilee, he would have oozed charm all week. I’ve no idea why the Queen is so out of sorts with him, but you must have noticed that when it came to the formal celebration dinner at Buckingham Palace, he and Dona were seated so far away from her they were practically in another room.’

‘Yes, I did notice, and I know why.’ Alicky put her foot to the ground to bring her swing to a halt. A year ago her sister Irène had become engaged to Willy’s brother, Heinrich, and as a result she knew far more about what was going on in the Hohenzollern family than May did. ‘It was because Willy and Aunt Vicky were at loggerheads about his father’s medical treatment, and Granny Queen was angry with him for causing his mother additional distress at such a difficult time. You do know Uncle Fritz has throat cancer, don’t you?’

‘Yes, of course I know. What I didn’t know was that Willy’s always-unhappy relationship with his mother had been made even worse because of it.’ May brought the swing to a halt. ‘Do you remember what Willy told us about the way he suffered when, because she was so ashamed of his deformed arm, she allowed the doctors to use barbaric practices in an attempt to lengthen it? Whatever is going on with Uncle Fritz’s treatment, Willy could be quite right to object to it.’

‘It’s a different situation this time. The bad feeling is because Aunt Vicky refuses to believe Uncle Fritz has cancer and doesn’t want him to have surgery, whereas Willy believes that only drastic surgery will save his father’s life. Whatever the truth of it, May, the battle lines have been drawn and I think it’s a relief to everyone that Willy and Dona aren’t among the guests this week.’