A new direction from an ancient institution. The King has become the first monarch to disclose his tax bill. Some £12.9m for 2024/25, since you ask. He and the Queen have also declared that they will not live in Buckingham Palace after its decade-long restoration. Instead, they will slum it in Clarence House.

But some things stay steadfast. The King will open the new session of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood this weekend, in keeping with the long-standing concern of the palace to maintain devolved governance within the regal ambit.

With a little nod to Lewis Carroll, the Royal opening will immediately be followed by closure for the summer recess. Ach, enough, Brian. You know perfectly well that the King is initiating the entire post-election Parliament.

The King has also played his formal, constitutional role in the transition to a new Prime Minister. Sir Keir Starmer informed the sovereign before his Downing Street declaration – where he set out his own virtues at considerable length before succumbing reluctantly to the verdict of his party.

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And – again constitutionally – it is the Crown which pre-empts a General Election to decide the Starmer successor. We have not lost a head of state: that is King Charles. We are changing his chief adviser, somewhat grudgingly on the part of the incumbent.

We do not have Presidential elections. The King........

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