The Queen Mother’s official biographer, William Shawcross, is in line for the same role with the Prince of Wales, suggests diarist Ephraim Hardcastle.

Shawcross, who occasionally dines with the Prince and Camilla at Highgrove, has been staunchly supporting Prince Charles on the radio following this week’s public relations disaster in the High Court. He also seems to have replaced Norman St John Stevas, now Lord St John of Fawsley, as the loyal talking head on television and radio.

Honours are clearly afoot, if not book deals, for Willie.