Reports of Sunak’s foul mood in No 10 echo the final days of other dying administrations

Rishi Sunak has found it impossibly hard to turn around a sea change in public opinion. Photograph: Daniel Leal/PA

If Rishi Sunak was able to set aside four hours to see the 84-year-old Sir Ian McKellen playing Falstaff in London’s West End, he would have a powerful reminder not just of the longevity of some careers but also how uneasily some wear the crown.

By many accounts, Sunak is struggling with the prospect that his brief stint wearing the Conservative crown will come to a shuddering halt this autumn.