When I was a child, we used to spend Christmases and summers at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, only 12 miles from Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret would come to visit, and Princess Margaret and I got on terribly well. She was absolutely my type of friend – quite naughty and full of mischief, and she and I used to have a wonderful time racing around Holkham on our tricycles. We were not allowed to tricycle in the marble halls but we did, of course, and I always remember the Queen, who was a bit older, standing on the steps saying “that’s very naughty both of you, what are you doing?” We shot off through another door screaming with laughter.
The Queen was always looking out for Princess Margaret, she was a wonderful big sister. She was quite correct, she knew we shouldn’t be there. I remember her enjoying these tin horses we had, that you could sit on and if you moved, the horse went along. She was always keen on horses, and she loved my mother’s dogs, too.
