Peter Fincham, the Controller of BBC1, is likely to be sacked by the BBC on Wednesday after a meeting of the BBC Trust — the Corporation’s regulator. That is, if he doesn’t go sooner of his own accord.

It emerged last night that Fincham knew about the misleading editing of the autumn launch tape on Wednesday night, but failed to make a statement until lunchtime on Thursday, allowing the press to publish damaging headline stories about the Queen on Thursday morning. For a journalist, that’s an unforgiveable breach of trust.

The true story of the photoshoot was told by the photographer Annie Leibovitz in the June issue of Vanity Fair a month ago : “She entered the room at a surprisingly fast pace — as fast as the regalia would allow her — and muttered, ‘Why am I wearing these heavy robes in the middle of the day?’. She doesn’t really want to get dressed up anymore. She just couldn’t be bothered and I admire her for that.”

No mention of a walk-out or a tantrum by HM, or any bad feeling. Yet on Thursday the press had a field day, and Her Majesty is said to be livid.

Peter Fincham’s almost inevitable demise will not leave him short of cash. He picked up a cool £62m ($125m) when he sold his own production company to work fulltime for the BBC.

Lucky for some. In days of yore he would be incarcerated in the Tower by now, having been rowed in through Traitors’ Gate.