Edward Agius was no ordinary man. Although he was not an official diplomat, he played an important role in his unofficial capacity, shuttling between England and the continent at the turn of the century. He spoke an impressive 19 languages. Josephine Burns Debono says it was he who apparently coined the phrase entente cordiale over a brandy with the French president of the time. She is clearly proud of her grandfather but the story she told would give him an even more important role in history – that of helping to convert the British king, Edward VII, to Roman Catholicism. Josephine’s story is regarded with understandable scepticism, even by her own family, but she is still remarkably sprightly for her age and her memory has certainly not been affected by time. This is the story she told me.