March 15 is the Ides of March, the day when Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44BC. It had been pencilled in as a possible date for triggering Article 50 – before its fateful symbolism gave the Government pause.

Ministers were also anxious not to overshadow the Dutch election; otherwise, why did we not just get on with it after Parliament had given its approval on Monday to the Bill allowing the Government to start the Brexit process?

And, if not now why not next week? Well, as the rest of Europe will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome on March 25 we did not want to be a party pooper. So the end of the month it is.

Theresa May can justifiably say that she is sticking to the timetable set out at the Tory conference last October. That in itself is a considerable achievement given the intervening court case which had not been factored into the original plans. Delaying a few more weeks to avoid offending our European friends or risk conjuring up ancient, doom-laden auguries makes no practical difference.

Yet sometimes it is necessary to react to the unexpected; and the best response to Nicola Sturgeon’s Bute House bombshell on Monday announcing a second Scottish independence referendum would have been to send the Article 50 notification letter to the European Council straight away. Waiting until the end of March, even if it was planned, looks hesitant.