“If people feel worried or unsure or concerned about the state of the monarchy, I think that does have an impact on sentiment about the governing party, and generally the way people feel,” they said. “Rishi — and the top of government — will want things to be as stable as possible.
“Particularly for Tory voters, part of feeling good about the country, and the direction of the country, is having stability in the royal household,” they added.
The presence of Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, a former aide to Prince William who is now Sunak’s most powerful civil service official, may also be useful, the former aide added.
Case is part of a so-called “golden triangle” of officials, along with the prime minister’s principal private secretary Elizabeth Perelman and the monarch’s private secretary Clive Alderton, who spring into action at times of royal crisis. Case himself has only recently returned to work after a leave of absence.
“Simon [Case] was superb, and borderline invaluable, when the queen died, and became a very close adviser to [then-Prime Minister] Liz Truss during the whole process,” the former aide added.
His advice may come in handy in the royals’ current spell of malaise.