The Queen will receive her new Prime Minister at Balmoral for the first time in her 70 year reign.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Her Majesty will remain at her Scottish retreat for the transition of power from Boris Johnson to his successor.
Earlier this summer, as Mr Johnson confirmed he would be resigning as Prime Minister, it had been indicated that The Queen would make a 1,000 mile round trip from Balmoral to Buckingham Palace and back again to be in London to receive him for a final time before asking the new Conservative leader to form a government.
However, it’s just been announced that the outgoing Prime Minister and his successor – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – will make the trip to the Scottish Highlands for the brief meetings which signal a change of power.
After bidding her fourteenth Prime Minister farewell, The Queen will ask the person chosen by the Conservative party to form a government and the traditional ”kissing of hands” will take place, although only symbolically. Photos of the meetings will be released afterwards.
It’s not the first time that a new Prime Minister has been appointed away from London. The Queen’s great grandfather, King Edward VII, was on holiday when Herbert Henry Asquith unexpectedly found himself as Prime Minister. He travelled to Biarritz in the south of France to meet the king there so that the transition of power wasn’t held up.
The Conservative Party will announce the results of its leadership ballot on September 5th 2022 and the new Prime Minister will be at Balmoral on September 5th 2022.
