A Three Dog Problem

Acknowledgements

Thank you, once again, to Queen Elizabeth II for remaining a constant source of inspiration, both literary and otherwise. And to the late Duke of Edinburgh for providing the Queen with a lifetime of support and encouragement, and these books with a favourite character.

Charlie Campbell continues to be the best agent in the business. I’m eternally grateful to Grainne Fox and the team at Fletcher & Company, Nicki Kennedy, Sam Edenborough and the team at ILA. I’m extremely lucky to have Ben Willis in the UK and David Highfill in the US as my editors. Their teams at Zaffre Books, William Morrow and HarperCollins have worked tirelessly to perfect and promote the series in the most challenging of times, so huge thanks to everyone who has pulled out all the stops.

For their generous friendship and help, thanks to Alice Young, Lucy Van Hove, Annie Maw, Michael Hallowes, Rupert Featherstone, Fran Lana, Oyinda Bamgbose, Lili Danniell, Abimbola Fashola, and those who prefer to remain anonymous. Any mistakes or deliberate deviations from fact in this story are entirely my own.

Thanks to the girls: the Place, the Sisterhood, the Masterminds and the Book Club, who are about so much more than reading good books together.

Thank you to my parents for a lifetime of stories, and to Emily, Sophie, Freddie and Tom, who still aren’t really sure which royal family member is which, but make our family my favourite place to be. And to Alex, my strength and stay, for everything.