He arrived on the golden sands of St. Lucia in 1987, the self-proclaimed ‘King of the Caribbean’. Riding his beloved elephant Bupa, in a pristine white linen suit and signature straw hat, Lord Glenconner was sure to make an entrance.

After building a hedonistic retreat for royalty and rock stars on his private island of Mustique, the 60-year-old had his sights set on something bigger and better.

The eccentric Scottish aristocrat, a confidante of Princess Margaret, hoped to spend the rest of his days in unparalleled luxury under the St. Lucian sun.

Yet the grand plans of Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, failed to materialize for a second time and he died in 2010 in an unfinished property, estranged from his long-suffering family, with only his servant at his side.

Twenty years later, the West Indian empire that the controversial colleague so desperately wanted to grow will soon be confined to the history books; his ties with his paradise island are gone forever.

The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that Kent Adonai – the penniless servant who was bequeathed his boss’s entire multi-million pound St Lucian estate before a legal battle with the Glenconner family left him with just half – is to claim his ‘inheritance to sell and redeem. ‘.

Lord Glenconner’s eldest grandson, Cody Tennant, 29, who now holds the title, put his stake on the market in early 2023 for £19 million.

A close friend of Mr Adonai, who grew up in a slum with little to no education, said the 59-year-old wanted to “cash in on his reward” and “put the stress of the past years behind him.”

Unbeknownst to his family, shortly before his death in 2010, Lord Glenconner changed his will to leave all his overseas assets to his faithful Man Friday, Mr Adonai, whom he had originally employed to care for his Indian elephant .

The inheritance was disputed by his wife, Lady Mary Glenconner, who claimed that her late husband had not been of sound mind when he made the controversial amendment.

In 2018, the bitter and protracted lawsuit was settled in the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean, with plots and shares divided between the young master and the former servant, signed by both men.

Mr Adonai received 27 hectares of land and property worth more than £20 million, but claimed at the time it was not a ‘fair’ distribution because much of the land was unprofitable without a sale. He even suggested that he be forced to become a fisherman to pay for his seven children.

In addition to his part in the St. Lucian fate, Cody also left behind a bizarre stone carving of a lingam, a Hindu representation of the phallus symbolizing the god Shiva.

The sale – which sources say is imminent – ​​will mean the Glenconners will no longer have any land or property in St. Lucia.

It is believed that Mr Adonai is speaking to another real estate agent and is hoping to sell his land in parcels. Last night, a friend of Mr Adonai told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘He has put everything on the market and wants to get rid of all the land that Colin Tennant left him.

‘It hasn’t been easy for him since he inherited the property. There are a lot of people after him. It’s hard for him to trust people. It can’t be easy for him that he got all this land from his late colleague.

“Kent was there for Mr. Tennant and cared for him as a son would for a father. He took care of him and did everything for him. He cared for him until his death. Not many people would do that.

“Kent is easy to get along with and knew Mr. Tennant well. He did everything he could to make sure he was well taken care of. He treated him like a father and had a lot of respect for him.’

The source added: “Kent wanted to do something honorable after Glenconner’s wife urged him to do so and he did. He gave the family their share and he kept his. He is a good man and he is loved.”

The once grand Beau House and its 95-acre estate, now owned by Cody Tennant, is for sale for £19 million but has not yet been sold.

Aerial images of the whitewashed property, which has been empty for more than a decade, show it to be in a state of disrepair, with overgrown and neglected gardens.

The estate is offered for sale in its entirety or in individual lots. The two-bedroom, 5,000 sq ft house alone, which Lord Glenconner designed and built, has an asking price of £4.33 million.

The listing on Penny Strawson’s property advice website states: ‘This is an exceptional opportunity to acquire land rich in history and enjoy unsurpassed views, in one of the most sought-after locations in the Caribbean. Beau Estate is a Caribbean idyll in a spectacular setting.

‘The 95 hectares of land also includes Beau House, the former home of Lord Glenconner. Nestled between the two beautiful volcanic peaks of the awe-inspiring Pitons, Beau House offers breathtaking westward views of the Caribbean.

‘Despite some disrepair, it has the best location on the entire island. This property is located next to the exclusive five-star Sugar Beach resort, with its pristine white beaches and many dining options.’

The late Lord Glenconner bought Mustique – reportedly named after mosquitoes – for £45,000 in 1958, with the aim of turning it into a cotton plantation.

There were no roads, no jetties and no running water, but after scrapping his original business plans he set about creating a high society playground of bars, restaurants and private villas.

It was the place to be seen in the 1960s and 1970s and the larger-than-life nobleman regularly hosted lavish parties for A-list guests including Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and Raquel Welch.

His friend Princess Margaret was also a regular visitor to the four-square-kilometre island. He gave her a piece of land as a wedding gift when she arrived on the royal yacht Britannia during her honeymoon with Lord Snowdon.

She then built her own secluded holiday resort, Les Jolies Eaux – where she was famously photographed with her lover Roddy Llewellyn in 1976, while still officially married. It is said that the costs of running Mustique ‘considerably depleted’ Lord Glenconner’s fortune, so in the mid-1980s he sold land in St. Lucia, 100 miles away, and bought the land.

He hoped to create something as spectacular as Mustique, but this time his venture failed.

He spent the rest of his days in the Caribbean, 4,000 miles away from his long-suffering wife, who divided her time between family homes in the Borders and Norfolk. In his later years, suffering from ill health, he is said to have been housebound with only one member of staff, the ‘estate manager’, Mr Adonai, who cared for him around the clock until he died aged 83 from a heart attack.

In her memoir, released last year, Baroness Glenconner, 91, a bridesmaid at Queen Elizabeth’s 1953 coronation and maid of honor to Princess Margaret, opened up about her ‘abusive’ 50-year marriage to Colin Tennant – and admitted his time in the Caribbean saved them from divorce because it kept them apart.

Lady Glenconner, who said her ill-tempered husband once beat her so badly that it left her permanently disfigured, wrote: ‘From the earliest days of our marriage everything went one way: from me to Colin. His own feelings took precedence in every situation. How tiring and lonely it can be. I felt like parts of me were dying without anyone to care for or nurture me when I needed them.

‘It was like having another child, but a very large, disruptive child. Mostly he shocked, offended and scared other people and I had to sort out the results.

“Too often I existed only as a buffer between him and everyone else.”

She continued: “He had bought Mustique in 1958, spent a fortune developing it and ended up living there more often than not.

‘Although we still spent a lot of time together, we no longer shared a permanent home. Still, I took care of him as best I could. I was still his wife and that meant I was by his side in public at his extravagant parties in the West Indies.

‘If I hadn’t been living independently in England I probably would have had to leave Colin completely. As it was, I could stay married. I continued with it and paradoxically became more confident. It was my choice, and I accept that it may not be for everyone, but I don’t regret it.’

Following the end of the inheritance dispute in 2018, Lady Glenconner said: ‘I am very fond of Kent. He took very good care of my husband and was well rewarded with a decent portfolio.

“Kent was very happy with what he got, and so was Cody.”

Cody Tennant has never spoken publicly about the will, his plans for Beau Estate, or what he plans to do with his fortune once it is sold.

Educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the University of Aberdeen, he was raised in Edinburgh by his mother Shelagh after his father Charles Tennant, a one-time heroin addict, died of hepatitis when Cody was six.

Unlike his showman grandfather, the 4th Earl stays out of the spotlight: he declines invitations to debutante balls and other society events. But it turned out he had proposed to his university sweetheart Rebeka McDonald, also from the Borders, last year.

According to his grandmother, the young peer has chosen to have a ‘beautiful, quiet family wedding’ at his Scottish family seat, Glen House, known as ‘The Glen’, near Traquair in Peeblesshire.

Gone forever is the debauched legacy of the Caribbean Glenconner – and for the new generation it seems like a matter of good advice.

Sophie Turner showed off her love for bargains on Monday when she was spotted in London buying wrapping paper for Christmas.

The Game Of Thrones actress, 27, has made her new relationship with aristocrat Peregrine Pearson public amid her bitter split from Joe Jonas.

Sophie was spotted in a very surprising location as she got ready for the holidays – when she opted for a trip to budget stationery store Ryman’s.

Her children Willa, three, and Delphine, 16 months – who she shares with Joe – will be spoiled this Christmas as Sophie leaves the shop with seven rolls of paper.

The star looked stylish in a £1,000 leather biker jacket, while wearing sunglasses and over-the-ear Apple headphones for a chic and expensive look.

Showing she had a productive trip to the city, she left with two tote bags full of purchases.

Last week Sophie confirmed her relationship with the heir to the media empire, who has been dubbed Britain’s ‘most eligible bachelor’, as they passionately kissed.

Sophie and Peregrine – known to friends as Perry – were first spotted kissing on an outing in October, sparking speculation she had moved on following her split from Jonas Brother singer Joe, 34.

Peregrine is the eldest son and heir of Michael Pearson, the 4th Viscount Cowdray – a former film producer who owns a significant portion of the Pearson media empire.

Although Sophie is said to be worth a whopping £10 million, this pales in comparison to Peregrine’s family fortune.

Sophie was offered the role of Sansa Stark in Game Of Thrones at the age of 13 and has since appeared in many films and campaigns, helping her make her own fortune.

The mother of two’s upbringing is relatively modest as the daughter of Sally and Andrew Turner, who worked as a kindergarten teacher and pallet distribution company respectively.

The Turners moved to Chesterton, Warwickshire, when she was two years old, where she spent most of her childhood.

Sophie attended Warwick Prep School until the age of 11, before attending The King’s High School for Girls, which currently costs between £7,250 and £8,630 per term.

Sophie and Peregrine’s latest PDA display suggests they are giving romance a try as they looked smitten with each other during their evening stroll on Thursday.

Peregrine, 29, has also recently experienced his own split after splitting from King Charles’ goddaughter, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark.

But it seems the new couple have found solace in each other after their respective breakups, as their relationship continues to heat up.

During the romantic walk, Sophie and Peregrine couldn’t keep their hands off each other and stopped several times for hugs and kisses.

Sophie was dressed in a gray hoodie and a black jacket, while she also wore a green beanie and a pair of gloves.

Peregrine Falcon also kept warm in a coat with a fur-trimmed hood, while also wearing a wool scarf and hat.

As they walked side by side, Peregrine could be seen putting his arm around Sophie as they seemed very comfortable in each other’s presence.

Peregrine has a £5million home in Chelsea, while his father owns a West Sussex mansion with 22 bedrooms and 16,500 acres, including ten polo fields.

Last month, Joe filed for divorce from Sophie and the couple reached a temporary custody agreement.

Joe Jonas has previously accused his estranged wife Sophie Turner of passionately kissing British aristocrat Peregrine Pearson in public, but the singer has seemingly made a U-turn and now fully supports her decisions.

The Game of Thrones actress, 27, appeared to confirm her romance with the heir to the media empire after they kissed for a second time in public during a late-night stroll in London on Thursday.

Joe, 34, was initially unhappy when his ex-wife – with whom he shares two daughters – was photographed making out with 29-year-old Peregrine in Paris in October, with sources close to the star claiming he felt that it was ‘too early’. after they filed for divorce.

But in an apparent change of heart, an insider told DailyMail.com: ‘Joe supports whatever choices she makes and if she’s happy, he’s happy too. He loves his girls and his time with them and is about to call it quits [the Jonas Brothers] tour tomorrow night in Brooklyn.”

They added that Joe and Sophie are now on ‘good terms’, just three months after their bitter split and custody battle became public.

“He’s doing great,” the source said. “They have come to a point of mutual understanding and they will always have love for each other.”

Sophie and Peregrine were first spotted kissing in the French capital during the World Cup in October, just two months after she confirmed her split from Joe.

A source for the singer told DailyMail.com at the time: ‘What is important to Joe is the well-being of his children and completing the tour he is on with his brothers.

“He would be happy to find love again and do all that, but that’s not even close to what he has in mind as he wants to go through with the divorce and move on with his life.

“And if Sophie wants to flirt and kiss anyone in public, he doesn’t really feel like playing those games.”

The source continued, “Joe believes that keeping his priorities in check and focusing on what is now and what is important is the way forward, and that is his obligation to his family and work.

“Granted, it feels a little too soon, he has no control over what she does and can only try to figure out the best co-parenting agenda for the both of them.

“If she’s doing this to hurt him, she won’t hurt him any more than she already has, he’ll get through it with his chin up.”

The new couple seemed to confirm their relationship this week as they packed on the PDA again.

They struggled to keep their hands off each other, stopping several times for hugs and kisses.

Sophie was bundled up in a gray hoodie, black jacket and green hat, while Peregrine kept warm in a fur-trimmed jacket and wool scarf and hat.

The actress’s new love interest is the eldest son and heir of Michael Pearson, the 4th Viscount Cowdray – a former film producer who owns a significant part of the Pearson media empire.

Although Sophie is said to be worth as much as ten million dollars, this pales in comparison to Peregrine’s family fortune, which is believed to be more than £224 million ($273 million).

Joe filed for divorce from Sophie in September after four years of marriage.

The actress, who was living in Taylor Swift’s New York apartment with their two daughters Willa, three, and Delphine, one, at the time, claimed to have discovered through the media that Joe was filing for divorce – and accused him of refusing hand over their children’s passports.

The pair reached a temporary detention agreement in October, which they announced in a joint statement.

“After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend equal time in loving homes in both the US and Britain,” they said.

“We look forward to being great co-parents.”

DailyMail.com previously obtained court documents showing that the new custody arrangement will give each parent two weeks at a time with their daughters and allow the girls to travel back and forth between the US and Britain, where Sophie is from.

While Jonas takes the girls on tour with his band The Jonas Brothers, Turner will spend Christmas with them in Britain with her family.

Peregrine previously dated King Charles’ goddaughter, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, a 27-year-old model.

However, in September it emerged that they had gone their separate ways after ‘growing apart’.

All it took, she later said, was a smile. ‘I walked into the bar. He looked up and smiled at me – it was the weirdest thing. It was the most ridiculous thing.’

By the end of the evening, at Las Vegas’s Hard Rock Hotel, actress AJ Langer, who was out celebrating a friend’s hen night, fully believed she had met her future husband in the handsome, friendly Brit, who was on tour in the U.S. with his rugby team. And two years later, in 2004, when she was 30 and he 29, they were indeed married.

Which is how Allison Joy Langer, the forceful, Californian feminist who appeared in a few Baywatch episodes before finding stardom in the cult teen TV drama My So-Called Life, found herself living a life she couldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams – as Countess and chatelaine of a 100-room castle dating back to the 14th century.

For the man in the bar was Charlie Courtenay, then merely Lord Courtenay, but later the 19th Earl of Devon, a floppy-haired Old Etonian – and at 6 ft 5 in a foot-and-a-half taller than AJ – whose life of privilege, a world away from hers, was to prove rather less welcoming than it had first seemed.

This week, sadly, it emerged that the 19-year-marriage between AJ, dubbed ‘Devon’s Meghan Markle’ by the local newspaper, and her aristocrat beau with the winning smile, is over.

On Monday, a statement was released: ‘After much care and consideration, Charles Courtenay, the Earl of Devon, and Countess of Devon, Allison Joy Courtenay, have made the decision to separate and to divorce. Charlie would like to express his gratitude for his partnership with AJ and all that they have created together as parents, friends and partners, both in Los Angeles and at Powderham.

‘The well-being of their wonderful children is the highest priority, as he and AJ focus upon co-parenting in the years ahead.’

It may have been a fairy-tale first meeting, but there was nothing romantic about the attitude of Charlie’s late father towards his future daughter-in-law.

‘I don’t see the point of it – she hasn’t got any money,’ Hugh, the 18th Earl, apparently told a friend in a muttered aside when the couple married.

Langer, who is serious and self-analytical, would say in a podcast in 2020: ‘The romance is just a ridiculous story. We thought: “This is the most ridiculous romance, let’s just milk it for all it’s worth!” You meet in Vegas, for God’s sake – and yet here we are, together years later.’

After the wedding, with Charlie’s father still struggling to accept AJ, the couple settled in the boho Californian enclave of Topanga, which had been home to the folk movement in the 1970s.

Charlie worked as a lawyer, and they had two children, Joscelyn, now 16, and Jack, 14.

But later, when the 18th Earl fell ill, they returned to the supposed splendour of the family seat – Powderham, near Exeter, which had opened to the public in 1959.

In 2015, on the death of his father, Charlie Courtenay inherited both the title and castle, a place Langer subsequently described as ‘dirty’ and ‘scary’ for their children.

Friends said this week that the demands of keeping the Grade I-listed estate going – costs were never less than £500,000 a year and sometimes more than £1 million -had proved to be a considerable strain on the couple.

Indeed, earlier this year they sold the castle’s farm shop.

The Earl and Countess and their children lived in a modest, eight-roomed flat to the right of the magnificent front door – Downton Abbey it was not.

Initially, there wasn’t even a tumble drier – Charlie apparently told his wife that there was no need for one.

She tested his assertion by dumping a load of damp laundry by his side of the bed and offering him the chance to use the 1950s spin drier, which was the only available appliance. She won that particular argument.

During her years as chatelaine, the family kitchen was a converted pantry with a small electric stove – the main kitchen being open to the public (after restoration with Heritage Lottery money) and thus out of bounds for most of the year.

When the pandemic struck and Powderham was forced to close, AJ broadcast Tai Chi and yoga, from the castle on Zoom; Charlie, meanwhile, grew a long beard.

AJ sounded lonely, lamenting the lack of ‘connection’ and ‘community’ resulting from the ‘global mental trauma’ of Covid.

That trauma was something she could easily understand: ever since her teens, she has suffered from fibromyalgia, a debilitating condition that causes pain all over the body and can interfere with sleep, leaving its sufferers exhausted.

It has very likely made her believe in the link between emotional issues and physical suffering. Was this a factor in the collapse of the marriage? No one knows.

Legal papers reveal that the Earl, now 48, has brought the divorce action, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason for the split. He lists the date of separation as September 30 and is requesting joint custody of their children. He has asked the court for permission to determine spousal support for the Countess, 49, at a later date.

It’s understood both the Earl and AJ are in California – living separately – as the castle is closed to the public until November 27.

Sources indicate that the split came as early as this April. ‘He went into an estate meeting and said: “You will see that I’m not wearing my wedding ring,”‘ said a source. ‘That was how the announcement was made.

‘The reason for the split seems to be cultural and geographical,’ I’m told. ‘The children will continue to be raised in [their mother’s] Jewish faith back in California.’

Indeed, perhaps a Happy Ever After was always destined to be just out of reach for the couple, who were separated by differences on many levels.

AJ’s reception by Charlie’s father seems to have especially rankled. At their first meeting, her prospective father-in-law ‘took fright’ because she had moles on her face, the couple later declared in an interview. ‘Well, it was that and the fact that we had met in a bar in Vegas,’ explained AJ.

She added: ‘It’s no different from any family who isn’t sure about their child’s choice. I don’t think it was malicious. We had an awkward stage, but a lot of families have that. They love their son. They want to make sure. It would have been hard, I guess, for anyone to take seriously their kid who ran off with a chick they just met.

‘We gave them space. We spent time in Topanga – they would come to visit and saw what we created there. And enjoyed it.

‘And we saw that they enjoyed having their space and being able to keep things [at Powderham] the way that they needed them to be.

‘They spent so much time and energy on this house and this estate. This was their home. We learnt a mutual respect that grew over the years.’

Yet, even the announcement that they were to marry was overshadowed – by the death of the family tortoise, Timmy, who was an astonishing 165 years old.

‘We shrieked: “We’re engaged!” and they said: “Oh. Have you heard? Timmy died,”‘ AJ recalled.

In 2008, Powderham’s licence to hold weddings on the premises was revoked after Charlie’s father declined to permit gay marriages there ‘on religious grounds’. (This was deeply ironic given the castle’s history. Much of the interior was done under William ‘Kitty’ Courtenay, the 9th Earl, who was also known as ‘the flamboyant 3rd Viscount’. He was found in bed with a famous architect, William Beckford, when he was only 14 and was later hounded out of England due to his homosexuality.)

The decision, however, was among several reasons the couple opted to give Charlie’s parents ‘space’. AJ said: ‘We felt we couldn’t be involved in a business that was discriminatory.’

The 18th Earl later changed his views and the licence was restored to Powderham in 2013.

By the time of his death in 2015, the family estate had shrunk to 3,500 acres (from about 50,000 in the early 20th century). The family had been reduced to selling off parcels of land to meet death duties including, disastrously, one which is now a lucrative car park. But despite the challenges, the castle receives more than 40,000 visitors a year and still includes four farms, 33 houses and three miles of foreshore.

Charlie scaled back his legal work to devote himself to ‘rescuing’ Powderham. AJ also left behind her acting career to concentrate on the ‘day by day’ requirements of her young family.

But problems came thick and fast. Within a year of inheriting the estate, a crack in the incinerator tower cost more than £100,000 to put right.

In a podcast interview in 2020, AJ recalled: ‘When we moved in… it was dirty and scary. My Californian kids were like: “Argh!”‘

In another interview, she said: ‘Everything is falling apart. My husband won’t let us fix the door, because it has always been broken and he finds it sweet.

‘[The castle is] hard for keeping track of people. Our kids could not stand it because they just kept losing us, but it’s really good for hide and seek.’

The couple have since opened the grounds to festivals, including Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Michael Bublé and Coldplay have performed there, and Bear Grylls also hosted a festival. Weddings remain a crucial revenue stream.

Sources say Charlie – described as ‘very grand but not pompous’ – has ambitions to make Powderham ‘Devon’s premier castle’.

Under the guidance of AJ, there have been yoga classes, education programmes and sensory garden experiences for locals, as well as charitable ventures – including a project aimed at mentoring local musicians aged 13 to 19.

During her time at Powderham, AJ became acutely aware that any attempts at modernisation would mean butting heads with tradition. ‘The English have a really good sense of humour,’ she mused three years ago. ‘But it can be a bit much and it can be a bit subjugating of women.’

Among the first people she met when they moved were the Fulfords, of The F***ing Fulfords reality TV fame, who live just up the road.

In their Channel 4 documentary, the Fulfords were shown struggling to keep their dilapidated mansion from falling apart, with Francis Fulford frequently turning the air blue amid the chaos of his unconventional family.

The viewing public found it hilarious – AJ much less so.

‘They were my welcoming committee, and it was just extraordinary,’ she told The Times in 2016. ‘They swear all the time. The shows were about them swearing at each other, the kids swearing at the parents, the parents swearing at the kids, and at the dogs. Dog poo on the floor: them proud that they’re not going to clean it up. Dogs on the table.

‘They provide all the reasons why people don’t like that class of people with big houses.

‘Although other [aristocrats] I know loved it – for us, it’s a little close to home.’

The incessant boozing was another aspect of British life she found peculiar: ‘We barely drank in California. I’m not that good with alcohol and we had a totally healthy lifestyle. But it’s very difficult not to drink here. Everyone is like ‘Drink! Drink! Drink!’

‘I end up holding something all evening and pretending. And you can’t let your glass get low because they’ll fill it. And if you say no they get angry.’

MUSING on the move to Devon, she said in 2020: ‘I have learned a lot over the years, but I think I underestimated the step [of relocating].

‘I was a completely independent person from the age of 15. I lived alone and travelled alone a lot and always went to the beat of my own drum. And then here I was in the middle of really intense and very, very deep-rooted patriarchy. It has been really fascinating.

‘The focus went on grounding our family. I underestimated the realities for myself. It was the same for my husband, who had been a hippy, feminist husband for ten years and I’m like “where did he go?” because, all of a sudden, these patriotic things started coming out of his mouth and I’m like: “Who are you?”‘

Now it seems, she may return to the acting career, along with a relocation back to Topanga.

Indeed, she seemed to predict as much back in 2020. ‘I have a feeling it will happen in some way,’ she said then.

It’s an instinct for change that served her well when she first set eyes on Charlie Courtenay’s smile in that Las Vegas bar. But you wouldn’t blame her now, perhaps, for choosing sunny California over another chilly winter in Devon.

On a warm evening in 2000, the fountain in the centre of the circular swimming-pool was shooting water high into the air, creating a spectacular setting for my niece’s 18th birthday party.

One of the guests was Prince Harry, 16 at the time, who’d come over from Highgrove — about five miles from Badminton, our family estate in Gloucestershire. Initially he seemed to blend in quite well, but he suddenly became possessed, lifted a girl over his shoulder, walked over to the swimming pool and hurled her in.

There was a predictable outburst of laughter from the other guests and Harry, pleased with this reaction, continued to indulge himself by repeating the performance with several other girls, one after another.

There seemed to be a law of diminishing returns in terms of audience response, but relentlessly he kept on with his mission; he rather reminded me of a man picking up sacks of coal and chucking them on to the back of a lorry.

The problem was that none of the girls had brought other clothes to change into and, had Harry’s performance continued, the party would have been ruined.

A bit overawed by his royal status, I was rather slow to stop him, so it was lucky that Steve — butler to my father, the Duke of Beaufort — was also at the party. In no uncertain terms, Steve told Harry to stop at once.

As the soaking girls were taken up to the house to borrow some clothes, my younger brother Johnson came up to me.

Imitating the voice of J. R. Ewing from the American soap, Dallas, he said: ‘We gotta be real careful that nothin’ happens to that boy’s older brother … real careful.’

My father died in 2017 and I’m now the unlikely 12th Duke of Beaufort. Unlikely, because my father, the 11th Duke, was the first cousin twice removed of the 10th Duke. (It’s only because the 10th was childless that he inherited the title and estate.)

Unlikely, too, because, while I inhabit the slowly dying world of aristocratic privilege, my interests lie in the worlds of music and popular culture, resulting in a life lived in contrast to previous generations.

The Royal Family have been regular guests at Badminton House, where I now live with my second wife, but rock royalty such as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton have also stayed here. We know how to give a good party, and — without wishing to boast — people always seem to have a very good time.

I’m sure my godmother, Queen Mary, would have been shocked to the core if she’d witnessed my raucous 21st birthday party in 1973, let alone some of the shenanigans the house has witnessed since.

From 1984, when my father became Duke, the house was rarely without young guests.

One of these was Imran Khan, then a bit of a playboy and probably the greatest cricketer Pakistan has ever produced.

During his second visit to Badminton, my mother was lying in bed one morning when there was a knock on the door. The housekeeper came in and said: ‘Excuse me, Your Grace, but the dark-skinned gentleman is in bed with one of the young ladies.’

My mother mildly reprimanded her for this unnecessary indiscretion, but half an hour later the housekeeper returned. ‘Your Grace, I thought I should tell you that the dark-skinned gentleman is now in bed with another of the young ladies.’

Later, in 1995, Imran married Jemima Goldsmith, who arranged some invaluable publicity for a cancer hospital he established in Pakistan by persuading Princess Diana to pay them a visit. Imran told me that Diana displayed an astonishing lack of knowledge about what was going on in the world. But when she sat down with the patients, he said, it was extraordinary how they reacted to her, seeming to discover a sort of inner peace.

This was not the side of Diana witnessed by my family and me. When Prince William and Harry were boys, they used to attend the Badminton Horse Trials. My father, who once spent all day with Diana, later said that he’d found it quite hard-going, as she was like a child. When she joined up with my friends and me, however, that childishness seemed very much part of her charm. She fell into hysterics when one friend described someone as having ‘a bush like a burst sofa’, and then again when another pointed at an aeroplane overhead and said: ‘Hey, Ma’am, let’s hope they don’t let the toilets out on us.’

One weekend during the Eighties, a friend, Philip Dunne, was staying at Badminton and said that his friend Princess Diana was all alone at Highgrove and would like to come to lunch.

My mother, who was knowledgeable about the history of the house, was delighted when the princess arrived and requested a quick tour. The rest of us followed behind.

All went well until we reached the ballroom, which my brother Eddie had been using to record some of his musical compositions on to cassettes, whose plastic containers he then decorated with artwork and silly titles.

As I walked in, I noticed one of these sitting on top of the grand piano and was concerned to see the title he’d chosen for his masterpiece: ‘C***s I Have Known’. I quickly removed the cassette but my mother, now in full cry, saw I was hiding something and thought I might be depriving her audience of her words of wisdom on a key artefact. Defying my protests, she extracted the cassette from my hand and showed it to everyone.

Of course, she quickly realised it was inappropriate, but it was too late. So she launched into a desperate piece of damage limitation by telling a story about some friend of her father’s. I can’t remember the lead-up, but I will never forget the punchline, bellowed at the top of her voice, ‘. . . and she had a c*** like a carthorse!’

Everyone in the room was a bit stunned, but the first person to start laughing was Diana, who seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed this display of eccentricity.

The princess and I shared many mutual friends, so sometimes our paths would cross — such as when she took her boys to lunch with Annabel Goldsmith at her house by Richmond Park.

On one occasion, Annabel’s daughter Jemima and niece Sophia were playing with Prince William, who was about 11 years old, when one of them rugby-tackled him to the ground.

At this moment, Diana came around a corner and said in a mock-nanny voice: ‘Hey, be careful of the future King of England’s goolies.’ There was something about her use of the word ‘goolies’ that carried a naïve charm.

The Queen was the 10th Duke’s guest each year for 30 years, for the Badminton Horse Trials.

She always stayed in the same room, which was joined to Prince Philip’s, with her protection officer always sitting on the same velvet chair outside the door. Philip and the Queen were often accompanied by their children, plus the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, all of whom would attend church services with the Duke and then go for rides in the park.

Watching the cross-country from farm trailers or on rugs beside the lake, the Royal Family would mingle with spectators — something I think, sadly, would no longer be possible these days.

After the 10th Duke’s death, as a token of respect, my parents were asked in 1984 to stay at Windsor for Ascot.

Much to my mother’s annoyance, my father politely declined the invitation on the grounds that he didn’t like racing. It was therefore rather a pleasant surprise when I received a call from an equerry asking me to deputise.

I was issued with detailed instructions about exactly what time I should arrive, but disaster struck when my car broke down on the elevated section of the Windsor bypass, about a mile from the castle. It was a boiling hot day and I was wearing a top hat and tails.

To have any chance of arriving on time, I had to leave my car and run, trying to hitch a lift at the same time. I was pouring with sweat by the time a good Samaritan stopped and he was most surprised when I asked him to take me to the private entrance to Windsor Castle.

I arrived looking extremely dishevelled, but the smooth machinery of the royal entourage took over, first with the discreet suggestion that I might like to clean up before heading to the races. Then arrangements were made for my car to be picked up.

I didn’t quite know what to expect, staying at Windsor, but my main fear was that all conversation would be stilted and formal. This turned out not to be the case: there was quite a lot of laughter.

During one meal, I sat on the Queen’s left, and conversation flowed easily enough — although, as the monarchy is meant to have no political views, there was a limitation on subject matter.

Perhaps the most touching moment was when the Queen took her guests out on to the battlements after dinner, from where we could observe human life below, going about its business on the streets of Windsor unaware of us watching them.

Her Majesty seemed quite excited about this covert viewing. There was something decidedly girlish about her enthusiasm, allowing a charming and unexpected glimpse of her character. On another occasion, the Queen came to lunch at Badminton on her birthday, and everyone staying in the house stood in a circle to bow and shake hands with her.

When she reached Guy Knight, an old Army friend of my father’s, he laid on his famously suave charm and said something along the lines of, ‘Ma’am, may I wish you a very happy birthday, and many more of them’. She must have been surprised by the aside of another guest, the rotund racehorse trainer Jeremy Tree. ‘Oily f***er,’ he said, very audibly.

Embarrassed mutterings ensued. The Queen must have left Badminton with some doubts about us and our friends — although such was her professionalism that nobody could ever be sure what she was thinking.

Among those we entertained at Badminton was actress Elizabeth Hurley, who had rented a house about five miles away. I somehow contrived to invite her to dinner, and it was noticeable how many of my friends suddenly found they too were available.

I was struck by how Elizabeth cultivated her inner Sloane rather than street cred. She spoke more like a dormitory captain at a girls’ boarding school than a film star, sprinkling about phrases like ‘goody gumdrops’.

These characteristics were again in evidence when we attended a cricket match where rain stopped play. Elizabeth insisted everyone played rounders instead, then galloped around like an attractive, but demented, gym mistress.

A more frequent guest was my father’s friend, Sunny Blandford, who became the 11th Duke of Marlborough, and my father became obsessed with Sunny’s father Bert (as everyone called him) on visits to Blenheim Palace.

Bert was a man of legendary rudeness combined with a modest element of wit and whenever he mumbled what he regarded as a humorous insult, he used to follow it up with a derisory high-pitched snort, just to make sure everyone got the joke. Strangely, the modern branches of the Churchill family share this snorting trait, so it may be hereditary.

On one occasion, Bert was sitting next to a society beauty at dinner, and after the first course she lit up a cigarette. He asked her why, and she replied defensively that she liked smoking. Quick as a flash Bert retorted: ‘Well I like f***ing, but I don’t do it in the middle of dinner,’ followed by the inevitable snort.

Another time, a Greek, who was courting Bert’s daughter, Sarah, requested an audience with him and asked very formally for her hand in marriage. Bert replied: ‘Well, you’ve had just about everything else, you might as well have her hand.’ The snort was perhaps extra loud this time.

He was also not beyond being caddish. One day, out shooting, he pointed to a cottage by the woods saying he used to keep a mistress there and pop in to see to her in the middle of a day’s sport. By way of explanation, he added: ‘There was never much to shoot in that drive anyway.’

When I was young, rarely a week went by without me attending at least one party. Those at the Berkshire manor house of my friend William Astor, then in his twenties, featured much unruly behaviour.

One of the regulars there was Mark Shand, the late brother of Queen Camilla. He was a charismatic character, loved by girls but never totally reliable.

Just after John Lennon was shot, I was staying with William for a shooting weekend. He was furious that Mark had failed to turn up that Friday, and not bothered to send a message. The next day, we were getting ready to climb into the Land Rovers when Mark appeared in a taxi from Heathrow. He apologised profusely, saying he’d meant to come back from New York three days before, but every time he walked past the Dakota Building — where Lennon had been killed — he’d been accosted by girls asking if he knew the ex-Beatle.

Each time, Mark couldn’t resist weaving a story around the pretence that he did, which invariably meant that he ended up in bed with the girl, thus further delaying his departure.

Another friend I met at a house party at Hever Castle was Gerald Grosvenor. In the 1970s, he was a rumbustious character who liked nothing more than a good scrap, so the very long corridors at Hever were ideal for him to charge mindlessly about, looking for someone to pummel.

At the end of one such passage stood a full-length mirror, and Gerald — approaching it at full gallop — mistook his image for a man speeding towards him for a friendly fight.

He was then surprised to crash into the glass at full speed, and ended up spending the night in casualty.

Shortly afterwards, his father died and, on becoming the 6th Duke of Westminster, Gerald became much more responsible and adopted the life of a more conventional rich aristocrat.

Years later, I saw him at the wedding party of David and Samantha Cameron. I was a bit out of it, swaying gently to the pounding techno music, when he came up to me and said: ‘Parties. Can’t stand ’em. Can’t wait to get back at the grouse, don’t you agree?’

In my slightly euphoric state, I couldn’t land on a single area of agreement, and he drifted away slightly disappointed.

At the other end of the scale was Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, who used to be a fellow-guest at a friend’s house during the racing at Cheltenham.

Ronnie is now totally clean, but at this time he was still prone to casually tapping lines of cocaine on to the mantelpiece mid-conversation, until one year this prompted his 20-year-old son to complain despairingly, ‘Dad, please! Not in the living room.’

Ronnie’s charm lay partly in his enthusiasm for whatever he was doing. Once, having just bought a new house, he couldn’t quite find the words to explain why he liked it so much. Suddenly it came to him.

It was, he said, ‘like a health farm’, and it was rather touching that this represented his ideal of domesticity.

ADAPTED from The Unlikely Duke by Harry Beaufort (Hodder & Stoughton, £25) to be published November 16. © Harry Beaufort 2023. To order a copy for £22.50 (offer valid to 13/11/23: UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.

Sophie Turner’s passionate PDA with Peregrine Pearson looks ‘one-sided’ and ‘all the kissing efforts’ come from the aristocrat, a body language expert has said.

The pair were spotted cuddling in Paris on Saturday, just weeks after the Game of Thrones star, 27, announced her split from husband Joe Jonas.

But body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL the amorous exchange is “less convincing” on Sophie’s part.

“She’s wearing a cap with a large peak and sunglasses, but she doesn’t seem to make an effort to tilt her head at a reciprocal angle, as you would during a romantic kiss,” the expert explained.

“She smiles as Peregrine approaches, but that could be embarrassing and if this looked anything like a romantic kiss response from her, she would have to tilt her head to compensate for the peak of the cap and the sunglasses barrier.”

Meanwhile, Peregrine seems to be much more alive. “All the kissing efforts come from Peregrine,” Judi said. ‘His feet are spread and planted and it appears as if his right hand is holding Sophie’s upper arm quite tightly as he leans forward.’

His head is also tilted to the side, as he appears to be planting a kiss on her chin or mouth.

The differences can also be seen in their holds. Sophie’s left arm is extended in ‘what looks like a hug’, while Peregrine ‘holds’ her.

“Her own hand doesn’t seem to be touching him at all here,” the expert continued. ‘It looks like a greeting or farewell ritual where one of them has given a full mouth kiss while Sophie’s response only looks polite.

“If you see that in other photos she tilts her head and returns the hug with a hand touching her, the message may be different, but in these photos the effort seems one-sided.”

Judi also thinks the kiss looks ‘contrived’. “This should be a very big and important body language statement from Peregrine and Sophie, given her high-profile breakup with Joe,” she said.

‘A PDA that is so public and looks so contrived would normally be seen as some kind of disgust against the ex, as in the non-verbal statement ‘I have moved on’, but a close examination of Peregrine’s role here and Sophie’s body language responses indicate something completely different.’

The couple enjoyed their passionate kiss near the Gare du Nord station.

Sophie’s new friend Peregrine comes from an aristocratic family that did a net value of more than €224 million.

In the photo, Sophie cut a smart figure in an all-black ensemble and a red baseball cap.

Peregrine, who recently split from King Charles’ goddaughter, kept it casual in gray jeans and a dark jacket as he leaned in for a hug.

The pair then parted ways in chauffeur-driven cars before later reuniting at the city’s Stade de France, where Sophie unveiled the trophy.

According to The sun, an onlooker said: ‘They arrived together at the driver pick-up location outside the station. It looked like they had both come from London on the Eurostar.

‘They stood there for a few minutes and were chatting and laughing a lot. Then he took off his hat and leaned forward to give her a big kiss. After the kiss they broke up.’

Just hours after the kiss, Sophie was seen smiling as she and Peregrine both arrived ahead of the Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and South Africa.

Sophie walked a few steps ahead of the aristocrat – dubbed Britain’s ‘most eligible bachelor’ – before taking to the pitch to unveil the World Cup trophy.

Their kiss comes a month after Sophie’s ex-husband Joe Jonas filed for divorce and the pair reached a temporary custody agreement.

Peregrine is the eldest son and heir of Michael Pearson, the 4th Viscount Cowdray – a former film producer who owns a significant portion of the Pearson media empire.

He has a £5 million home in Chelsea, while his father owns a sprawling mansion in West Sussex with 22 bedrooms and 16,500 hectares of land with 10 polo fields.

His ancestral estate is home to Cowdray Park Polo Club, which has 10 fields and hosts more than 450 matches every year.

The prestigious club organizes the annual Gold Cup, where both Prince William and Prince Harry have played. The Gold Cup is the most prestigious European polo event.

Peregrine was dating Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, a 27-year-old model, but in September it emerged that they had gone their separate ways after ‘growing apart’.

“They grew apart,” a source told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden at the time.

“Their friends and family hoped their union would lead to marriage, but that was not to be.”

With a brave face admitting the sadness, the princess enjoyed a meal to celebrate socialite Alexia Mavroleon’s birthday in London, according to reports The sun.

Earlier last month, Sophie and Joe spoke out after reaching a temporary custody agreement.

The former couple shared a statement announcing their new arrangement after undergoing mediation during their brutal divorce battle last week.

DailyMail.com previously obtained court documents showing that the new custody arrangement gives each parent two weeks at a time with their daughters and allows the girls to travel back and forth between the US and Britain.

“After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend equal time in loving homes in both the US and Britain,” Joe and Sophie said in a joint statement.

“We look forward to being great co-parents,” the couple added.

While Jonas takes the girls on tour with his band The Jonas Brothers, Turner will spend Christmas with them in Britain with her family.

She’s grown up around royalty, even serving as a bridesmaid to the late Princess Diana.

But India Hicks, who is goddaughter and second cousin of King Charles, is far from the pomp and circumstance of the stereotypical British aristocrat.

The granddaughter of Earl Mountbatten, and former bridesmaid to Princess Diana, has spent most of her adult life in the Bahamas with her husband David Flint Wood and their five children.

Which means her average day is a far cry from society walks in the countryside, with her Instagram page showing pictures of her relaxing on the beach while dedicating most of her life to philanthropy.

Perhaps though, her free spirited nature has been obvious from a young age.

The daughter of Lady Pamela Mountbatten – who was a bridesmaid to the Queen – and interior designer David Hicks, was educated at £40,000-a-year Gordonstoun, near Elgin, Scotland, until she was expelled for inviting boys to her room.

Here, FEMAIL looks at how she’s become the archetype of a modern, progressive, royal. 

Loving mother-of-five 

India married her long-term partner David Flint Wood in 2021. The pair had moved to the Caribbean together in 1996. 

So far is she from the stiff rules of British society, India was with her partner for 26 years before she wed last year at the age of 54, after having five children together.

While in many ways her wedding was a typical society affair, it was certainly scaled down affair at the small Brightwell Baldwin Parish Church in Oxfordshire.

Few aristocrats and royalty was there, just her mother Lady Pamela, was among the 30-or-so guests at the ceremony. Charles was no invited in a bid to keep it small, with only her children’s godparents in attendance.

Despite her family and royal connections, the socialite has worked to earn her keep. 

Originally a model, she became a designer and businesswoman, launching a luxury lifestyle business before closing it down in 2022 to spend more time with her children: –  Wesley, 26, Felix, 24, Amory, 22, Conrad, 18, and Domino, 13.

Wesley was adopted after his waitress mother died of cancer. The rest are her biological children. 

In 2022 the aristocrat paid tribute to her adopted son’s birth mother, who passed away in 2010 away after losing her battle with cancer. 

India first met Lynne while she was a working as a waitress at a local restaurant and the pair became friends.

Lynne, a single mother, raised Wesley and her other children on a low waitressing wage, and lost both her younger and older sister to breast cancer, before she too passed away from the disease. 

India posted a photo of the family visiting Lynne’s grave on Christmas Day with a caption saying it ‘never gets easier’.

India first befriended Lynne during pregnancy, and when the children were born, India offered to help look after both of them.

‘Lynne had other children and many different jobs,’ she previously told MailOnline. ‘I was lucky enough to have the space for an extra child.

‘I had care in the home. It was easy for Wes to be dropped off at our home, which was better than him going to childcare.’

She remembered Wesley as a spirited child, climbing on roofs with her own son, Felix, becoming close friends from a young age.

In 2008, Wesley’s mother moved the family some 50 miles away from Harbour Island over the water to Nassau.

It meant India didn’t see much of him until 2010 when, by chance, she found herself sitting beside him on a tiny inter-island plane. His mother was ill and he was shuttled between family members – two days later, Lynne died.

India took Wesley in and often shares happy family pictures of the whole family enjoying time together.

Early life in royal circles

The newlywed was one of the five bridesmaids at the 1981 wedding of Diana and Charles, who is her godfather and second cousin.

As the daughter of famed interior decorator David Hicks and Lady Pamela Hicks, one of the late Queen’s former ladies-in-waiting and the daughter of the last Viceroy of India, India was exposed to the design world as well as royal circles

She had been on holiday in the Bahamas aged 13 when the prince phoned and personally asked her to take on the role.

‘I had to practise,’ she later recalled. ‘It was during these rehearsals I got to know Diana, whom I first met at a dress fitting. She always seemed more like a head girl than a princess-in-waiting, with never a shy moment in private.’

India has kept her bridesmaid’s wreath from the ceremony at St Paul’s in its original box.

In November she posted a photograph of her dress – still in perfect condition – on social media. 

Remarkably it was on a hanger on her stairs alongside another royal bridesmaid dress, that worn by Lady Pamela, 91. 

Charity work

India has dedicated a lot of her life to charity, recently visiting Ukraine to help refugees and even putting her house on the market for charity.  

She serves her godfather’s charity, the Prince’s Trust, as a patron for Women Supporting Women.

After attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last year, India revealed that she would be undertaking a bicycle ride from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle in a bid to raise money for the monarch’s charity.

India wrote on Instagram that she would be joining thousands of others for the ride, during which she would be part of the Women Supporting Women team.

In the post, she said: ‘Tomorrow I am biking from Buckingham Place to Windsor Castle, along with several thousand other people, in the hopes of raising awareness and funds to help transform the lives of youngsters who are facing a frankly s***** future.

‘King Charles (still feels strange saying that) set up the charity in 1976 with a few thousand pounds of his severance pay from the Navy, to tackle high youth unemployment which he feared would leave young people marginalised.

‘The Prince’s Trust has now helped over a million people, believing that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or challenges they are facing.’

India’s work for her godfather’s charity exists alongside her support for Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit that provides assistance in the wake of international disasters.

In May last year, she visited Ukraine alongside her son in support of the organisation, transporting clothing and spending time in a therapy shelter helping Ukrainian children.

Bahamas lifestyle 

She has recently put her Bahamas holiday home up for rent over the summer, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the Prince’s Trust. 

The Harbour Island getaway comes with a hefty price tag of £18,000 a week but India told The Times that the island is a coveted destination 

Sharing details of the property on Instagram, she wrote: ‘Our guest house is set in a grove of palm trees, on the crest of the dunes.

‘Designed to look as though it has always been there. Following tropical traditions we built the house on four pylons, to remain as cool as possible throughout the year.

‘The sitting room and two large guest rooms are upstairs, leaving the dining room, kitchen, and remaining bedrooms downstairs.

‘Late morning you might want to wander down the private path to three miles of pink sand beach and lie under our thatched cabanas on the sunbeds, or else there is a hammock slung between two trees, in the garden, somewhere for a siesta after a long lunch.

‘Facing south you have the chance to sit idling with a rum cocktail in hand, on the upper verandah, as the sun sets and watch the light changing over both the bay and the Atlantic.

‘From up here you can hear the breeze in the casuarina trees and the rustling of palms below and spot a stray guest or an escaping child.’

Pictures of the property, designed by India and her husband, David Flint Wood, show comfortable furnishings and white walls and window panes.

Speaking to The Times , India said that the house and furniture was built by local carpenters and focused on making sure the property did not disrupt the ambience of the island.

She added: ‘It’s got a private part of the beach with beach cabanas, so it’s a very beautiful, lovely property and we thought [renting it more widely] would be another way of raising some funding for a cause that I’m very, very involved with.’

While she has rented the property previously on a small scale, the King’s goddaughter felt that she would carry out her new project before the hurricane season takes hold. 

Respectful royal

Despite being detached from the stuffiness that comes with royal life, India has frequently visited the UK and praised the royal family.

On the eve of the coronation she said her godfather was  ‘considerate’ and ‘patient’ –  despite not receiving an invitation.

India posted photos on her Instagram story showing herself outside Buckingham Palace and she also appeared on Australian TV to discuss all things royal ahead of the ceremony in Westminster Abbey during his Coronation.

The designer tagged The Prince’s Trust, the charity her godfather founded, in a video of herself speaking, with the words: ‘Inclusivity, equality, diversity’.

Her visit to the UK came after she posted a photo of herself on Instagram with a caption praising King Charles’s invitations to the coronation which are based on ‘meritocracy’ as she failed to make the list.

Her mother, who was the late Queen’s bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, was also snubbed for an invite.

Devoted daughter 

The devoted daughter even launched a podcast recording conversations with her mother, called The India Hicks Podcast.

India’s mother Lady Pamela is the daughter of Earl Mountbatten, the brother of Prince Philip’s mother.

Earl Mountbatten, was affectionately known as ‘Uncle Dickie’ by Prince Philip and the Queen, and was seen as hugely influential in the early life of both royals. 

Lady Pamela has previously shared insight into Prince Philip’s family life. 

Lady Pamela recalled in a podcast interview last year how the Queen was always ‘patient’ and ‘kind’ to her mother-in-law Princess Alice of Battenberg, who could be ‘very sharp and difficult

‘I remember, she was staying at Windsor and we were waiting to go into lunch,’ Lady Pamela recalled. ‘The equerry had come to collect her for lunch with the Queen.

‘He was a new equerry, a young man of about 20, and thought he must entertain Princess Alice and talk to her.

‘He unwisely asked, ‘and what have you been doing this morning, Ma’am,’ to which Princess Alice replied: ‘And what has that got to do with you?”

Lady Pamela also explained that, despite living under the same roof as her son, Princess Alice and Prince Philip led very separate lives.

‘She was in a dressing gown, by choice, in the attic,’ Lady Pamela said. ‘While Prince Philip was very busy down below.’