I joined Papa for a stroll in the warm night air after dinner last night. Lilibet was out for the evening, and Mummy had a headache. The dogs all followed us out, of course.
I took a deep breath. ‘Papa, are you going to announce Lilibet’s engagement to Philip?’
He was quiet for a moment. ‘If I announce it, it will be official, and there’ll be no going back.’
He sat down heavily on a bench overlooking the lake. I sat beside him, picked up his arm and hooked it round my shoulders, like I used to do when I was little. He patted my hand. ‘Margaret, I still don’t know if he’s right for her.’
‘Why not?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know. He’s a terrific chap and all that, but he’d be marrying into a life that he’s just not used to. Not fitted for. He’s used to going where he pleases, when he pleases, sailing, cricket, nightclubs, all that sort of thing.’
‘But if he marries, he’ll change, won’t he?’
Papa gazed up through the branches of a horse chestnut tree. ‘Will he? I don’t know.’
‘Then why not ask him?’
Papa smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. ‘What a good idea!’
I don’t know if he meant that, or if he was really laughing at me.
May 15th
Papa has to make a speech at the Guildhall today. His cough is bad, and his voice isn’t strong. I hope it doesn’t wear him out.
May 24th
Lilibet wants to talk to Papa about the engagement, but she keeps putting it off, because he’s clearly exhausted. Only one thing keeps the smile on her face. The day after tomorrow Queen Mary’s having a luncheon party here at the palace, to celebrate her eightieth birthday. Philip’s been invited.
‘That has to be a good sign, doesn’t it, Margaret?’ she whispered, as we waited to meet some charity officials for a reception. ‘If Granny approves of Philip, I mean?’
‘Ssh,’ I hissed. I didn’t want us to get black looks for talking at the wrong time. But then I leaned towards her and whispered, ‘If Papa had decided against him, he definitely wouldn’t be coming, would he, so it is a good sign.’
That earned me a look from Mummy. How she can show she’s cross at the same time as giving a beaming smile beats me, but she can.
June 13th
Lots of engagements – Trooping the Colour yesterday, for the first time since 1939, and the crowds were out in force.
Lilibet has been given the freedom of the City of London. I went to the ceremony with her on Wednesday. She inspected a guard of honour first, then received the most gigantic bouquet. You could hardly see her behind them. ‘No gardenias,’ she whispered to me. After photographs, we went inside. The prime minister was there. The declaration announced that she’s the first royal princess to accept the honour. It was formal, but friendly at the same time.
We have both (me, too!) been appointed by Papa to the Imperial Order of the Crown of India. I imagine we’re the very last members, as India is shortly becoming independent. The insignia has the letters VRI (Victoria Regina Imperatrix) set with jewels, and it’s on a pretty light-blue bow. Maybe one day I might go to India, and wear it there.
Lilibet has so many engagements now. She’s happy to do them, because they relieve Papa of a lot of duties. She’s always glad when I go along, too.
Papa usually has Mummy to accompany him. How could Lilibet face the prospect of being queen without having somebody of her own to help and support her. She needs her Philip. She loves him.
July 1st
The moment came when Papa was ready to talk about Philip. He sent everyone away except Lilibet and Mummy. I practically wore a groove in the carpet, because I paced up and down so much. I trod on two paws and was so anxious that I wouldn’t have noticed if the poor dogs hadn’t yelped.
Finally everyone came out, and I dived for the sofa so it wouldn’t look as if I was lurking. They smiled at each other as they talked about it being time for coffee, but there was something in the air.
As soon as I could get her alone, I said to Lilibet, ‘Well?’
‘I just don’t know,’ she said miserably. ‘Papa said he’s thought of nothing else, and seemed to have come round to the idea, but Mummy’s clearly still not sure. She said she’s fond of Philip, but…’
‘But what?’
‘That’s just it. She didn’t seem able to express how she feels. Oh, Margaret, I can’t bear it.’
July 2nd
I managed to get Mummy and Papa alone this morning.
‘You love Mummy, don’t you, Papa?’ I said.
‘Of course I do.’
‘You had to ask her to marry you more than once before she accepted, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, but I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone that.’
‘I won’t, but why wouldn’t you take no for an answer?’
He smiled at Mummy. ‘I knew she was right for me.’
‘Well, then,’ I said. ‘Lilibet knows Philip’s right for her. Don’t you see?’
They looked at each other.
‘She’ll be queen one day,’ I said. ‘She needs Philip. I know him. I know he’ll never let her down. He’ll be the best consort ever. You have to let her marry him.’
Slowly, Mummy raised a finger to her lips. I knew what she meant. Nobody, not even a princess, tells a king what he must or mustn’t do. But I dared.
Papa came over to where I sat. He crouched in front of me, and said, ‘Margaret, Lilibet is a very lucky young woman. She’ll never want for love and support while she has you.’
My eyes became teary, but I held it back.
‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘l’ll do whatever’s best for Lilibet’s happiness.’
And he did.
July 9th
Today, I watched proudly as the King and Queen announced the engagement of their dearly beloved daughter, the Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN.
And they’ll live happily ever after – my sister Lilibet and her prince, Philip.
THE END
Afterword
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip have indeed lived happily ever after. They were married in Westminster Abbey on November 20th, 1947, and celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007.
Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, died on February 6th, 1952. The young princess, now Queen Elizabeth II, moved into Buckingham Palace with her husband and two children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, and she has reigned from there ever since. The couple have four children, eight grandchildren, and are now great-grandparents.
Queen Elizabeth is only the second monarch, after Queen Victoria, to reach her Diamond Jubilee year. Throughout their marriage, Prince Philip has proved to be a strong, loyal and supportive consort who, in partnership with Her Majesty, has spent his life in service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
For my grandson, Eddie with all my love
While the events described and some of the characters in this book are based on actual historical events and real people, some situations have been altered for the purposes of the narrative.
Scholastic Children’s Books,
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A division of Scholastic Ltd
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2002
This electronic edition published 2012
Text © Valerie Wilding, 2012
Cover illustration © Richard Jones, 2012
All rights reserved
eISBN 978 1407 13292 1
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right
to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage or retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical or otherwise, now known or hereafter invented, without the express prior written permission of Scholastic Limited.
Produced in the India by Quadrum
The right of Chris Priestly to be identified as the author of this work respectively has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
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