Richard Kay is reporting that the Queen and Prince Charles have referred the ongoing train wreck of Sarah, Duchess of York’s financial position to 10 Downing Street. He writes:

For weeks, they have watched the catastrophic unravelling of the Duchess of York’s life with a dispassionate dismay. But as stories of her mounting debts and legal liabilities show no sign of slowing, I understand Downing Street has been consulted.

According to well-placed sources, [Prime Minister] David Cameron has had discussions about the chaos surrounding the Duchess with representatives of the Queen and of Prince Charles. ‘It has simply become too big an issue to ignore,’ I am told.

While sympathetic, I understand the Prime Minister’s view is that the matter is one for the royals.

In May, it emerged that Fergie was struggling with £2million [$3m+] of debts after she was trapped by an undercover reporter, posing as a businessman, into asking for £500,000 in return for access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.

Astonishingly, she is reported to owe £65,000 ($100,000) to her fitness instructor. Doesn’t it occur to her that it’s a vast sum to pay for what could be attained more simply: jogging and press-ups, for example?

She has now sacked her eleven-strong contingent of staff, who are all said to have been paid in full, presumably by her ever-loyal ex-husband.

A “senior figure” is quoted as saying, “There is a wider feeling within the Palace about the Duchess’s long-term situation. They can’t afford to cast her totally adrift, but at the same time they can hardly welcome her back into the bosom of the family. They all feel Andrew has been magnificent towards her over the years.”

David Cameron is believed to have been a good listener, but he can’t pay her debts out of public funds in a time of severe austerity.

In the meantime, Fergie has been on trips to the U.S., Italy and the Caribbean. In August she’s off on a holiday to Spain.

If you’ve never seen a walking disaster, the Duchess is your gal.

The Crown Estates, now generating £226 million annually for the Treasury, could partly be used to fund the Monarchy and its annual expenditure.

The Estates were ceded to Parliament in 1760 by George III, in what must be one of the worst business deals in history.

Nominally, the Queen now pays 96.5% tax on the Estate, receiving just 3.5% of its income as a grudging Civil List award.

The Civil List is currently £7.9 million and has been frozen for 20 years. In real terms, the Palace now receives only 20% of the revenue granted in 1991. No wonder bits are beginning to fall from the roof of Buckingham Palace.

Thirteen years of a Labour government have deliberately worn down the Queen’s annual income, even during the years of a wildly booming economy. The spite of Gordon Brown against the Monarchy is fully revealed in his treatment of the Queen during his long years in office.

Sir Alan Reid, the Queen’s treasurer, is reported to have informed Government officials that the Monarch’s expenditure is now running at around £7 million more than the annual allowance, despite hefty savings over the years.

Conservative MP Edward Leigh, former Chairman of the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises the Royal finances, said, “The Queen needs substantially more money to carry out her duties and responsibilities.”

In Tuesday’s Emergency Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, once again froze the Civil List at £7.9 million for one year, driven by his own injunction that “everyone will suffer equally”.

He could hardly excuse the Queen. However, a rider was carefully added. The Civil List is to be scrapped and a new mode of funding the Monarchy to be introduced.

There is some speculation that the Palace could be funded directly out of the Royal Estates, now known as the Crown Estate, subject to review by the National Audit Office.

This leaves the way open for a dramatic increase in revenues for the Royal Family and the Palaces.

Not before time.

ROLLING POST

David Cameron being appointed Prime Minister by the Queen

Hail to the Chief.

[7.30pm GMT 11 May] David Cameron is the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is the Queen’s 12th Prime Minister of her Reign, the youngest since Lord Liverpool in 1812.

[7pm GMT 11 May] David Cameron is heading towards Buckingham Palace to kiss hands with the Queen on appointment as Britain’s new Prime Minister.

[6.43pm GMT 11 May] Gordon Brown has left the Palace and is no longer Prime Minister. Britain as of now has no PM. The Queen herself holds that power until, in 15 minutes, David Cameron is expected to arrive and relieve his Monarch of that burden.

[6.20pm GMT 11 May] Gordon Brown announced he has resigned both as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party. He is currently on the way to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to the Queen. David Cameron is expected to go to the Palace soon. Nick Clegg is expected to be Deputy Prime Minister in the new Government.

[5pm GMT 11 May] The Queen is in Buckingham Palace as a deal is very close between the Conservatives and Lib Dems. Her Private Secretary is reported to be in the Cabinet Office. Brown is expected to resign tonight to take up a career of writing and charity.

[4.17pm GMT 11 May] The BBC’s Nick Robinson is reporting that fixed, four-year Parliaments part of deal with Lib Dems.

[4pm GMT 11 May] Gordon Brown will resign his seat and leave politics altogether.

[3.45pm GMT 11 May] Staff assembling in 10 Downing Street to say goodbye to the Browns.

[3.35 GMT 11 May] Meeting of the Privy Council in Buckingham Palace in 25 minutes. Although a routine one, it could become involved with the fast-moving events.

[3.15 GMT 11 May] The Evening Standard is reporting that Gordon Brown is about to resign. He will go to the Palace this evening or tomorrow morning. The Queen will then send for David Cameron.

It also looks as if the Conservatives will form a pact with the Lib Dems later today — “The only deal in town” (Lib Dems).

Could David Cameron go to the Palace this evening?

We await the Queen’s helicopter from Windsor imminently.

Apotheosis of George Washington, The Capitol, Washington DC

We wish all our contributors and readers a splendid Christmas, followed by a very successful New Year.

John Evans