Free A Brief History of the Private Life of Elizabeth II by Michael Paterson

son would one day study it in turn. Elizabeth, always diligent, took copious
notes on the green-covered exercise books that were used by the schoolboys while her governess was invited by the affable Marten to relax with a novel.
    These sessions may not sound much like a formal education, but they were of immense value. The heir to the throne received, through them, one-to-one tuition specifically
tailored to her own circumstances and future from a man who was perhaps the most gifted history teacher of his generation. She studied Trevelyan’s English Social History and G. R.
Elton’s Imperial Commonwealth . Her tutor discoursed on disparate aspects of law, on the role of Parliament and on economics. To teach her about international affairs he produced
an umbrella that opened into a map of the world. To deal with constitutional matters he invented a sort of jigsaw, each piece of which represented some office-holder or aspect of the state, and
made the whole subject comprehensible. He must have won her affection not only for his endearing battiness but because he was a great admirer of her heroine Queen Victoria. With her powerful
memory, the Princess retained a lot of what she was taught and she was set homework, which, if it was not good enough, might be marked ‘N’, for nonsense.
    The lessons continued for years. When the Princess was at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate, he posted her lessons to her. Once she was at Windsor after the war had begun, he carried his books up
to the Castle and taught her there. Princess Margaret was not offered the opportunity to have tutorials with Marten. It was, she was told, ‘not necessary’. With the return of peace, he
was to be knighted for his services. The ceremony took place in School Yard, Eton’s imposing quadrangle, in front of the assembled boys. He deserved this accolade, for he had done his job
well. As Queen Elizabeth, his pupil has genuinely impressed advisors and politicians with her absolute command of constitutional matters. She was thoroughly grounded in the things she needed to
know.
    Elizabeth was aged 13 when, in the summer of 1939 and a matter of weeks away from war, she experienced one of the most significant moments in her life. On 22 June she visited Britannia Royal
Naval College at Dartmouth with her parentsand sister. They arrived aboard the Royal Yacht, Victoria and Albert. The King was a former cadet and, although he had not
shone there, he was happy to show his family around the buildings and grounds, where his elder daughter was to plant a tree. Elizabeth and Margaret were not allowed to visit the College itself,
owing to an outbreak of mumps, and were instead sent to the home of the Captain (Commanding Officer) where they had somehow to be entertained for several hours. A young cadet, Prince Philip of
Greece, who was the nephew of the king’s cousin, ‘Dickie’ Countbatten, was given the task, and he did not relish the company of two small girls. They played for a short while with
the train set of the Captain’s son, and then Philip suggested they go to a nearby tennis court, where he showed off by jumping over the net. After a tea at which he put away a gargantuan
amount of shrimps, the visit came to an end. Victoria and Albert steamed out of Dartmouth Harbour accompanied by a fleet of small craft manned by members of the College. Most turned back
once in the choppier waters of the open sea, but a single boat continued relentlessly to follow until the King became annoyed at the danger in which its occupant was placing himself. Philip –
for it was he – had to be ordered by loud-hailer to return.
    This story has passed into legend. It was first recounted by Miss Crawford, who was present. Elizabeth was deeply impressed by Philip’s handsome appearance, his athletic ability and his
brash self-confidence, so much at odds with her own more reserved nature. Whether or not the details are correct, there can be no doubt that at some