Boris Johnson not only wants to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union against the present wishes, according to a string of recent opinion polls, of a majority of the British people. He appears to be willing to do so regardless of the harm he does in the process to long-standing political conventions. One of these conventions, ultimately fundamental to the functioning of a constitutional monarchy, is that the Crown must be kept out of party politics.

This Mr Johnson has clearly failed to do. He has twice used his power to “advise” the Queen – in reality, to tell her what she has to do – to pursue his partisan aims. His unlawful attempt to shut Parliament down for five weeks and his shameless use of a Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament to make a party political broadcast are only the beginnings of a constitutional nightmare. While 45 votes short of a majority in the House of Commons, the government cannot pass any of his promised legislation. But a much more dangerous minefield lies ahead as Mr Johnson seeks to escape from this predicament.