Kate Quinn makes real people characters in the book. Were you surprised by the role Prince Philip played in the story? What did you think about how he was portrayed? Do you think his romance with Osla would have continued if she had told him about her work? Was there another real life figure you were surprised to see in the novel?

Kate Quinn shares in her author’s notes that Osla is based on the real-life Canadian Osla Benning who was the girlfriend of Prince Philip during the war. I didn’t know that! Quinn says she made changes (of course) but said “the broad strokes of her life” are accurate so that is pretty intriguing. She does mention that the real-life Osla was married before Philip married Elizabeth and that Philip was the godfather to her eldest son and that the pair remained friends for life!
I think Quinn does a good job balancing Osla’s romance with the future prince consort. I think she had to be more, shall I say, diplomatic, with writing their relationship so as to not imply any improprieties (no actually hanky panky) went on between the unmarried couple.

I was also surprised to learn that Beth was an amalgamation of two real BP women, one being Mavis Lever. The one real life figure who I was surprised to see in the novel was Churchill. But it turns out that he actually did visit BP during wartime. The other person was princess Elizabeth. I didn’t think we’d meet her in the book, but we did!