Downing Street sought to distance itself yesterday from a report recommending a radical overhaul of the monarchy in which the public could vote to keep the Prince of Wales off the throne.
Although not a demand to abolish the monarchy, the report - Modernising the Monarchy - by the left-wing think-tank Demos, calls for Queen Elizabeth to be stripped of all her existing political and religious functions.
A year after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales sparked widespread criticism of the royal family, the report suggests a modernisation programme which goes far beyond their royal highnesses donning baseball caps or going to pubs.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The report has nothing to do with the government and doesn't reflect government views. No one in the government was involved in drawing it up."
The think-tank has published new poll data showing that a large majority of the public want the monarchy to modernise. More people, too, believe the monarch's political powers should be removed, the report concludes.
The report does not stop at calling for Queen Elizabeth to relinquish her powers or at giving the next monarch public legitimacy in an "affirmative referendum", which, if negative, would open the way for people to vote in favour of Britain becoming a republic.
It also calls for the royals to reject privilege and use national institutions. The royal family would be told to send their children to state schools.
The Act of Supremacy of 1559, which makes the monarch the head of the Church of England, should be repealed, the report suggests.
Demos's thinking could have a strong influence on the Blair government. One of the think-tank's founders works in the Downing Street policy unit.