I was standing in the committee chamber when Lord Beckett called my work a private favor.
The hearing had been open to the public. I sat at the witness table beneath a brass plaque bearing the names of former prime ministers. Rook occupied the center chair. The finance committee members sat beside her, their folders open.
Adrian sat in the second row behind the king's legal adviser. He had not looked at me once.
Beckett testified first. He explained that the Crown Trust needed "a clear firewall between ceremonial duties and political influence." He described my council seat as a temporary arrangement and said the palace had only proposed a clarification.
A committee member asked whether the Crown Trust had demanded that clarification.
"No," Beckett said. "The proposal came from the Cr
