There have been several reports over the last couple of days that the Queen is seeking an increase in the annual £7.9 million civil list payments.
These payments have, according to the BBC, been frozen since 2000 "to compensate for 10 years of over-generous payments", but have not been sufficient to run the Royal household for several years, meaning that reserves have been dipped into to plug the shortfall.
Given the spending cuts on which the Government is embarking, it is unfortunate that the request for more funds from the Queen's Treasurer is coming now.
However, it should be pointed out that the timing is out of the Royal Family's hands - it is simply a fact that the ten-yearly civil list review is due by the first week of July.
I am an ardent monarchist and would not want the institution to be harmed, and trust that the Royal household too are mindful of the need to be reasonable in making a case for an increase in funding.
However, I also trust that Conservative MP Edward Leigh, the outgoing chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, knows more than me about the facts and figures on this matter. He says:
"The Queen, without any shadow of a doubt, needs substantially more money to carry out her duties and responsibilities. There is a lot of catching up to do. The Queen and the Royal Family do a fantastic job considering their very small resources.
"The boost to tourism, to tradition and to the country is enormous. They should be given a lot more money so they can do their job properly. The Queen's [financial] operations and the royal palaces are - compared with the rest of the public sector - exceptionally well run."
