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the Irish Guards march past playing ‘Happy Birthday’.
    William, as usual, was in the party, and he was seen wheeling Princess Margaret who was confined to a wheelchair. Her appearance shocked the onlookers. Her face was badly puffed and her arm was in a sling. No one had ever seen her in such a state, particularly as two weeks earlier she had attended Prince Philip’s eightieth birthday party at Windsor when she had looked all right.
    William was heavily criticised by the media for pushing her to the fore and allowing the public to see her in such an appalling condition, the result of a fall in the shower when she badly scalded her legs and severely bruised her face. The only comment he made was, ‘Do you think for one moment that I would have dared to push her in that way unless I had first been ordered to do so?’
    Obviously both The Queen and The Queen Mother knew beforehand about Princess Margaret’s condition and they took the decision to allow herto be seen, and she herself insisted on sharing her mother’s big day. But had she realised just how ill she looked it is likely that she might have had second thoughts as she was a woman who had been proud of her looks and she would not wish to be remembered in that condition. Her own children, David Linley and Sarah Chatto, were also at Clarence House on that day and they raised no objections, so William was absolutely blameless.
    He was fastidious about his personal appearance. When he was out of uniform he looked like a man who had been dressed by Savile Row, and perhaps he was. Suppliers fell over themselves to give him whatever he wanted. His shirts came from Turnball & Asser in Jermyn Street and he would not wear shirts with button-down collars or button sleeves. He had a large collection of cufflinks that he liked to display, including several pairs given to him by the Prince of Wales. And as a finishing touch, he also liked to wear a silk handkerchief flowing from his breast pocket. He used to point out to the valets of the Duke of Edinburgh that their master was committing a sartorial mortal sin by wearing a white handkerchief with the top folded straight across.
    Someone once said that William exemplified that great British tradition of non-gentlemen who tried to pass themselves off as the real thing – and nearly, but not quite – succeeded.
    Always immaculately turned out, whenever we met for a drink, he would arrive with a little bag of ‘goodies’ for my wife – who he had never met. It was typically generous of the man.
    He also liked to boast that he never once sat down in The Queen Mother’s presence and that she never once invited him to. He did share drinks with her on many occasions, especially at weekends when they were at Royal Lodge. She used to ask him to have the same drink as her, gin and Dubonnet with the proportions being, two thirds gin, one third Dubonnet and plenty of ice. But he didn’t care too much for Dubonnet saying it was too sweet for his taste. So when he poured the drinks, his was usually nine-tenths gin and just a drop of Dubonnet, just to please her.
    In the latter days of The Queen Mother’s life, when she was still fairly active, they would be driven down to Royal Lodge on Friday afternoons after luncheon (they refused to call it lunch) and when the senior members of the Household had left for the evening, it would often be just the two of them in Her Majesty’s sitting room. Of course, there were other staff in the house: security guards, footmen, a chef, in case The Queen Mother wanted a snack, and a dresser waiting to assist Her Majesty when she retired for the night. But the Ladies-in-Waiting, including her niece Mrs Margaret Rhodes, daughter of The Queen Mother’s sister-in-law, would leave for their homes.
    After a few stiff drinks, William would put on some records of The Queen Mother’s favourite music and occasionally they would dance. Nothing too strenuous , just the odd foxtrot or waltz. And when the