Lancastergate

How many 91-year-olds know what is being done with their money? But the people to whom that responsibility has been entrusted are answerable for it. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is The Right Honourable Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP. He is an old UDM stalwart, and that lot has a history of trouble keeping the books in order. More to the point, he is now the Chairman of the Conservative Party. In fact, let that sink in: the man with overall responsibility for the Queen's private and personal wealth is the Chairman of a political party.

Now that she is rarely seen, the focus of public affection and reassurance in the midst of everything has passed from "Oh, well, at least there's always the Queen," to "Oh, well, at least there's always Jeremy Corbyn," who is a mere stripling of 68. Inadvertently, Corbyn may thus have saved the monarchy. But this latest trouble is very serious: the Sovereign Grant from the State has increased at a rate higher than that of inflation during every year of its existence, which has been the period of austerity for everyone else, while the Duchy of Lancaster, the Queen's private and personal wealth, has been investing in offshore tax havens.