William Shawcross is the author of a biography of Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother, so-called because her daughter is the present Queen. He was just the person to give the address at the memorial service for Mary Soames, the daughter of Winston Churchill – a sort of royalty in her way. Over a thousand people attended the service in Westminster Abbey, and will have heard William Shawcross describing the successes of her life in private and in public. He concluded by quoting from a letter she wrote to her father that captures her spirit. “In addition to all the feelings a daughter has for a loving and generous father, I owe you what every English man, woman and child does – Liberty itself.”