Monday September 10, 1979

_.Frantic day at the office. Just Carol J and I in. Carol never exerts herself. Eileen is in hospital having a lump removed. ____.

 In the columns of the Daily Telegraph I see a poignant piece of news which nobody else will have noticed. The infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn was baptised yesterday with the names Nicholas Edward Claud. The duchess is a god-daughter and kinswoman of the late Lord Mountbatten, and we of course know that the late earl had Nicholas among his Christian names, after his own godfather Tsar Nicholas II. And of course Mountbatten's grandson, murdered with him last month, was Nicholas Knatchbull.

Maria , JPH and Catherine came this evening. The baby has changed since I last saw her and is obviously thriving. Her hair is slightly rust coloured. Doctors say her heart is healing naturally,  and by next month she will be quite normal and free from her condition. John, in Scotland, phoned Maria here.

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