The Queen has acted promptly to head off a constitutional crisis following Gordon Brown’s inept attempt to win over a few Catholic votes in Scotland by threatening to butcher the 1701 Act of Settlement.

The Act of Settlement 1701

Buckingham Palace has indicated that the Queen will not even consider consenting to any carve up of the constitution until all Dominion Parliaments have agreed to it. That could take years, by which time Brown will just be an unpleasant memory in recent history.

Brown’s party politicking with the Monarchy reveals the depths of this man’s chicanery. Set to be comprehensively bundled out of office by the electorate, any device is now fair game to him. He is a dangerous, out-of-control head of government who could do even more damage to the country before he is sacked by the people.

Some months ago I called for him to be impeached. Today, Simon Heffer in the Telegraph makes the same demand.

The Queen can no longer cry, “Off with his head!”, but a constutional equivalent is available to her. Such is the state of the country’s finances, with even the Governor of the Bank of England making the short journey to the Palace to confer with her last week, it should not be difficult for Brown to be sacked, or for Parliament to be dissolved pending a swift General Election.

A republican constitution is the last thing the public wishes for. As historian Andrew Roberts puts it: “… the Act of Settlement is not the bigoted, irrelevant and obsolete law that Downing Street presents it as – it is one of the key pieces of legislation that has defined what Britain was and still is. … Britain is a Protestant country today largely because of the Act of Settlement. It secured the Hanoverian succession 13 years after the Glorious Revolution replaced the Catholic King James II with the Protestant William III (of Orange) and Mary II.” — Link to article.

Any politician who thinks that the Constitution can be made a political football should be dismissed from his post, no matter how lofty it is.

The Queen clears her diary
An inside source is saying that the Queen has cleared her diary of engagements for the holiday season at Balmoral in case Prime Minister Gordon Brown falls on his sword and resigns from office.

Such is his plight — poll ratings dropping like a brick, conspirators plotting against him from all sections of his party — that the Queen reportedly feels she should be prepared for any eventuality. It’s the convention that a Prime Minister resigns directly before the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

A courtier is quoted as saying, “The Queen is spending most of the summer at Balmoral but we aren’t putting any visits to far-flung tropical islands in her diary. If Brown comes a cropper, she must be able to get to Buckingham Palace sharpish.”

The source does not mention the PM’s annual pilgrimage to Balmoral when the Sovereign entertains her chief minister and spouse while being briefed on all the latest Westminster gossip.

According to various reports, on these occasions the Royal Family serve their guests and even clear away the dishes themselves after dinner. Cherie Blair was said to be speechless when this happened to her.

Perhaps that’s why the Queen does it.

Is Kate Middleton receiving free designer dresses?

A weekend newspaper report suggested that Kate Middleton was being gifted free or heavily-discounted outfits from the Brazilian couturier, Issa.

The haul included the astonishing coral pink number (pictured) that she wore to the Boodles Ball, on which we commented fulsomely here at Royal Anecdotes. The implication of the piece was that Kate may be using her Royal connections to obtain freebies.

However, the designer herself said that Kate is a “private client” and that was all there was to it.

I don’t know how these things work so can’t really make much sense of it. It may be that the designer “lent” her a dress or two for a big occasion because of her patronage in the past.

Kate’s signature “look” seems to come from this talented designer. But she must beware of any hint of free-loading. Once that hits the headlines, the public and press will never let go and every transaction she makes will be examined for the slightest discount or favouritism. The Duchess of York is a salutary example — and I won’t even mention the Blairs.

Judging by the style this Brazilian lady has given Kate, would I be amiss in suggesting she might be perfect to design her wedding dress?

But for Kate’s sake it should be paid for in full … plus a generous tip!

Are Royals infiltrating politics?

We know that some senior politicians, especially in the Labour Party, secretly covert the Crown. Their attitude is, “why should they get all the glory while we do all the work?”

But are the Royals hitting back — in the best traditions of Tudor skulduggery?

It seems the new Mayor of London, former Tory Minister, Boris Johnson, is a direct descendant of King George II and a distant cousin to the Queen. Having displaced Red Ken Livingstone in the May elections, Boris is perfectly placed to turn City Hall into a minor Royal Palace.

The revelation comes in that excellent BBC programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, which examines famous people’s family trees.

Amusingly, the show was held back during the election in case it dented Boris’s man-of-the-people image. As an Old Etonian with the poshest accent on record, that might have been water off a coot’s back.

And if you think that’s a one-off, think again. Conservative leader and the next Prime Minister after a general election, David Cameron, is a direct descendant of King William IV. The Royals are on the march.

Of course, the Labour Party could hit back by encouraging some of its young bloods to marry into Royalty.

Watch out Beatrice and Eugenie!

The Boris edition of Who Do You Think You Are? will be shown on BBC1 on August 20.

Anyone who has seen the Oscar-winning film The Queen, with Helen Mirren in the title role, will remember the amusing scene in which Tony Blair is appointed HM’s 10th Prime Minister.

Today, that process was reversed when Tony Blair went to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation.

Dour Scot, Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was then appointed Prime Minister — the 11th of the Queen’s reign.

I mention this because, here in Britain, it seems such a momentous occasion. Blair has been in office for 10 long years and the public was yearning for a change.

But also because the film got it wrong. Nowadays, the incoming PM doesn’t have to kneel, nor kiss the Queen’s hand. It’s all done with just a brief exchange of words. Unlike in America, it’s the Queen who takes the oath, at her Coronation, and simply appoints the Prime Minister by asking him/her to form a Government.

However, the incident in the film pin-pointed a trait in Blair’s character : his lack of grasp of the detail. It’s a case of art casting light on reality.

The Queen appeared to get along well with Brown as he spent an hour in her company. In the movie, Blair was only there for a few minutes.

It’s at moments like these that the constitutional nature of the Monarchy is apparent to all.

No-one does it better than Elizabeth II.