Surprising, really, that Mr Tony Blair should bother himself with Dr Mo Mowlam's latest mutterings about the monarchy as he prepares for tonight's "showdown" with the German Chancellor in Berlin.
Whether or not the Prime Minister plans to sack his wayward but still popular colleague this year or next, Dr Mowlam gives every appearance of being already semi-detatched within the cabinet office. The former Northern Ireland secretary has probably never recovered from being found more popular even than Mr Blair - although close observers never thought her hopes for the Foreign Office were sustained by her performance.
Plainly she annoyed the Prime Minister by openly resisting her move from Belfast last summer, and by seeming to think she might after all like to be mayor of London only after Downing Street had committed to Mr Frank Dobson. And for all her protests that she is happy, Dr Mowlam's performance in her present job does not suggest a cabinet career on an upward trajectory.
Moreover her views hardly seemed to carry shock-horror headline value. Certainly we did not need her to tell us that her proposal to move Queen Elizabeth out of Buckingham Palace and into "a good modern building" was not government policy.
Any dark fears that New Labour's enthusiasm for constitutional reform and the abolition of the hereditary peerage would light a republican fire, which might engulf the House of Windsor itself, have long since been laid to rest by Mr Blair. As for the Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, we may be sure the man who steadfastly refused to cough up for a new royal yacht wouldn't have the funds for a modern residence, or people's palace, as advocated by Dr Mowlam.
So what, then, when she confirms she is "no great fan of the monarchy" and thinks it will have to modernise to survive? Dr Mowlam was hardly putting herself at the head of a brave new republican campaign. Rather vaguely she said "in terms of constitution, I would support a change" before adding: "The public aren't of a like mind yet, so it won't happen yet. But it will come. It will evolve. I think the queen realises this. That is why Prince Charles is becoming a potential leader of the people."
Dr Mowlam let it be known that her meetings with the monarch had been friendly, and that she likes Prince Charles and Princess Anne. And as news of her remarks first surfaced it seemed a safe bet that none of the three of them would be likely to take Dr Mowlam's comments under their royal notice.
Wrong. A succession of cabinet ministers weighed in on back of Mr Blair's instant rebuke on Tuesday night. There was the ritual affirmation of support for the beleaguered minister before number 10 distanced Mr Blair from Dr Mowlam's comments. An "ardent supporter" of the monarchy, Mr Blair would not be suggesting an evacuation of Buckingham Palace during his weekly audience with the queen.
Extraordinarily, the queen, or at any rate her advisers, refused to leave the errant minister to Mr Blair and maintain their customary silence. "Palace Fury at Mowlam" screamed yesterday's headline in the Daily Mail, confirming an unprecedented royal rebuke for a minister of the crown. Plainly incensed by Dr Mowlam's remarks, a palace spokesman said: "Buckingham Palace is a working building, not just a family home. Much of the palace is made up of offices and it is the working headquarters of the British monarchy." As such, it was explained, two million paying members of the public visit the palace each year.
By lunchtime Dr Mowlam was eating humble pie, apologising for "any hurt" her remarks may have caused, and acknowledging that the question of implications, if any, for her career was for Mr Blair to decide. Believing herself (justifiably) the victim of an internal "whispering campaign" last year, Dr Mowlam was probably left wondering when, rather than if, that campaign would be resumed by colleagues gleeful at her apparent fall from grace.
One colleague, Mr Peter Mandelson, may have been watching all this for other than the obvious reasons. There is no obvious or necessary linkage between Mr Blair's spat with Dr Mowlam and Mr Mandelson's big European project.
One piece of New Labour "spin" which we can apparently believe is that Mr Blair relies on Mr Mandelson to a very considerable extent. That gives Mr Mandelson pre-eminence in the gang of three (alongside Foreign Secretary Mr Robin Cook and Trade Secretary Mr Stephen Byers) urging Mr Blair to give an assessment of Britain's readiness to join the euro before the general election.
There is speculation that Mr Cook will today carry the battle to Mr Brown with a speech including the pro-euro indicators which (depending on which "spin" you believe) Mr Cook himself excised, or Mr Brown forced him to delete, from a statement in the Commons last week. The battle has also been rejoined by the Sun newspaper, which is demanding to know before the election the terms of the question Mr Blair would put in any subsequent referendum on British membership of the euro. And the debate which Mr Brown seems to think can be silenced until after the election has been inflamed by the renewal of the Franco/German axis and the threat of a two-speed Europe.
So who will triumph in the battle for Tony's ear? Mr Mandelson or Mr Brown? There is no doubt that Labour ministers will look shifty if they try to stonewall on the euro during an election campaign. The latest surveys show a large section of the British people open to serious debate and persuasion. That said, there is no doubt which constituency Mr Blair is addressing as he distances himself from the once mighty Dr Mowlam. And even with an 11-point lead in the latest polls, the "ardent" monarchist may not think this the time to conclude on an issue many in that same constituency think spells the end for Her Majesty's Kingdom.