Unlike Prince Charles, the Queen usually avoids making political interventions, but she lapsed while visiting the cabinet today. Walking along the line of ministers inside No. 10, she reached George Osborne (see video above) and, in a reference to her recent visit to the Bank of England, remarked, "I saw all the gold bars, which regrettably somebody said don't belong to us."

An amused Osborne replied: "Some of them were sold, but we've still got some left." The politically-minded Chancellor resisted the temptation to add "sold by Gordon Brown". Between 1999 and 2002, Brown sold 60 per cent of the UK's gold reserves (395 tonnes) for an average of $275.6 an ounce, only to see prices subsequently rise to above $1,600 (£986).

In 2010, Osborne declared: "Gordon Brown's decision to sell off our gold reserves at the bottom of the market cost the British taxpayer billions of pounds. It was one of the worst economic judgements ever made by a chancellor." At a time when his own strategy has failed dramatically, Osborne will no doubt be pleased to discover that the Queen appears to agree.