There were plenties of parties too, to keep Philip and Elizabeth entertained.
Seward quotes another Lady Abel Smith, one of Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting: “There were some very wild parties with spoons and buns being thrown, though luckily not butter. She was amazed by the spoons though.”
The author added: “Apparently when the games became too boisterous, Philip would lift his wife on to the piano together with ladies-in-waiting to keep them out of the firing line.”
Unfortunately, these halcyon days were not to last. Elizabeth’s father was becoming sicker and Philip and Elizbeth had to return to England.
Philip retired from active naval appointments in July 1951, leaving the Royal Navy “on indefinite leave.”
