Queen breaks 114-year-old royal tradition
Queen Elizabeth II will be greeting outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his successor at the Balmoral estate, as being unable to travel down to London will see her breaking a royal tradition that predates her reign.
Since 1908, it has been a royal tradition that the sovereign greets the outgoing and incoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at Buckingham Palace in London.
The leaving PM will visit the monarch after resigning or losing an election to advise her on who commands a majority of MPs in the House of Commons, as well as who should lead the country next.
Then, the incoming leader will meet the Queen and “kisses hands” with her. While this previously required the new PM to actually kiss the sovereign’s hands, it now just refers to the meeting between the Queen and the PM.
The shock development will mean that Boris Johnson - who resigned from the top job in early July - will be travelling 1600 kilometres to Balmoral to take part in the royal tradition.
He will also be joined by the next Prime Minister, who will be announced on Monday evening.
Currently, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is the frontrunner to take on the role, with Rishi Sunak, the former Chief Secretary of the Treasury, following up behind.
The decision comes amid growing concerns about the 96-year-old monarch’s health, after it was reported last week that Prince Charles is making “regular, daily” visits to his mother.
Charles doesn’t typically make unplanned visits to see his mother, with most meetings planned by palace officials.
He has been staying with the Queen at the estate in Aberdeenshire, which is where she spends most of her summers.
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