The Queen and Her Prime Ministers


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Theresa May will visit The Queen around 2pm today to formally resign as Prime Minister, a short time after that The Queen will (presumably) call Boris Johnson to an audience to formally become her new Prime Minister.

Interestingly all media outlets are saying the audiences will take place at Buckingham Palace, even though the Summer Opening is currently underway.
 
tommy100 said:
I imagine for most Prime Minister's the Queen simply saying in private she doesn't think its a good idea is enough. The Queen appears to have an effect on most Prime Ministers so hopefully, if he does become the next PM, Mr Johnson won't be any different.
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I don't quite see that. the queen has the rigt ot warn but the PM is not obliged to take her advice
 
The Queen could technically sack her Prime Minister, the way it works is all really one big circle
 
tommy100 said:
Theresa May will visit The Queen around 2pm today to formally resign as Prime Minister, a short time after that The Queen will (presumably) call Boris Johnson to an audience to formally become her new Prime Minister.
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As far as I understand, before submitting his (or her) resignation, the departing Prime Minister advises the Queen on who she should appoint as the next PM. The Queen then follows the advice.


Some Tory rebels according to the papers were apparently hoping that the Queen could be persuaded not to appoint Boris Johnson on the grounds that he would be unlikely to command a majority in the House of Commons. That is not up to the Queen to decide a priori though (at least IMHO) and I am 100 % sure that she won't be dragged into that kind of speculation.



After the enactment of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, there is a proper procedure for the House of Commons to topple Boris Johnson and none of it involves the Queen making political calls. First, the House has to pass, by a plurality only, a motion of no confidence in Her Majesty's government. There is a period then of 14 days for the House to pass a motion of confidence in Her Majesty's government, again by a plurality only. Presumably, that period exists to attempt the formation of an alternative government.



If the 14-day period expires without a motion of confidence being passed, then a general election has to be held on a date appointed by the Queen by proclamation on recommendation of the PM (that is also explicitly mentioned in the law). Parliament is then automatically dissolved 25 working days before the date set for the election.



Note that the former royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament has now been legally abolished in the UK, so the Queen's involvement in the process, which was already minor, is now minimal. In fact, as explained above, it reduces to calling a legally mandated election on a date set by the PM in the cases when an early election is required by law to be held.
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Buckingham Palace: "The Right Honourable Theresa May MP had an Audience of The Queen this afternoon and tendered her resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept."
 
Boris Johnson has left Buckingham Palace having been appointed as Prime Minister by HM, her 14th Prime Minister.

Although its "job done" for HM, there is a strong possibility she will stay around until tomorrow to allow new Secretaries of State etc to official take office during a special meeting of the Privy Council.

The convoy carrying Boris Johnson to the Palace was briefly delayed by Greenpeace protestors on the Mall but it was cleared by the police outriders.

Then HM can go and enjoy her holiday. She will host Prime Minister Johnson during the first weekend in September when he will be invited to attend the traditional PM weekend to Balmoral.

A super day for those who booked the right tickets to visit Buckingham Palace's summer opening, a number of them were able to stand and watch the arrivals/departures of the outgoing and new PM from inside the Quadrangle.
 
Buckingham Palace: The Queen received in Audience The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP this afternoon and requested him to form a new Administration. Mr Johnson accepted Her Majesty's offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.


* Pic *
 
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Great to see how the constitution works and how the Queen stays above partisan politics.

I don’t know if PM Johnson will last long ( nobody knows really), but, if he does, I suspect he will get along very well with the Queen and, hopefully, she will be able to impart some of her wisdom and experience on him.
 
tommy100 said:
A super day for those who booked the right tickets to visit Buckingham Palace's summer opening, a number of them were able to stand and watch the arrivals/departures of the outgoing and new PM from inside the Quadrangle.
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I thought BP was only open for August and September?
 
Mirabel said:
I thought BP was only open for August and September?
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It’s open from 20th July, The Queen should be in Balmoral by now but the PM debacle has caused fine delay.
 
Mbruno said:
I don’t know if PM Johnson will last long ( nobody knows really), but, if he does, I suspect he will get along very well with the Queen
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The Queen ensures that everybody thinks they get along very well with her. :cool:
 
The Palace opens for 10 weeks of the summer, once the Queen leaves for Balmoral in July. The Summer opening finishes towards the end of September so it can be prepped ready for HM and Court's return in October.

This year it is open 20th July -29th Sep.

The Queen has in fact been staying at Windsor since 20th July, allowing the tourists to visit Buckingham Palace as planned but saving her going to Balmoral then having to return for today's political events. She is expected to head to Balmoral tomorrow or soon after once all these new Privy council members and Secretaries of State have been officially installed. That may take some time as there has been a massive cull of cabinet members by Johnson.

Oh well that didn't take long.

Apparently the new PM's staff have given him a ticking off for revealing the Queen's comments to him upon his appointment as PM - apparently HM said "I don't know why anyone would want the job" and Mr Johnson told staff upon his arrival at Downing Street, who then told him not to repeat it.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-scolded-staff-sharing-18770110

Take it with a pinch of salt
 
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Boris' girlfriend Carrie Symonds was standing in the crowd while he gave his speech at No 10. Is Boris's divorce final yet because 21st century or not it looks unseamly. If there is a wedding I expect Boris to pay on his dime.
 
No I don't believe the divorce is final yet, I think there was some comment on the BBC about how it will be interesting to see what happens when Boris undertakes the traditional visit to Balmoral, will he take his girlfriend with him? If so, will she be allowed to stay with him at Balmoral?

Time will tell
 
Madame Verseau said:
Boris' girlfriend Carrie Symonds was standing in the crowd while he gave his speech at No 10. Is Boris's divorce final yet because 21st century or not it looks unseamly. If there is a wedding I expect Boris to pay on his dime.
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There's no way tax payers will be contributing to any wedding of any PM, except any extra security costs perhaps.
 
Dalriada said:
Boris broke royal protocol shortly after meeting the Queen and becoming Prime Minister, according to reports.


Boris Johnson told off for breaking royal protocol just minutes after stepping into No10 http://shr.gs/aJKj67K


Boris Johnson ‘broke protocol by revealing what was said in audience with Queen’
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Bet my last piece of brown bread with apple butter on it that Mr. Johnson will be quivering in his shoes the next time he needs to meet with the Queen. Perhaps she'll give him "the look" which can bring down the greatest of men. :whistling:
 
Apparently Carrie is not going to Balmoral with Boris

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ex...arrie-Symonds-Queen-Elizabeth-ii-Balmoral/amp

So far Carrie wasn't received by the queen at Buckingham Palace and she couldn't go through the front door of No 10. It seems odd given the queen relaxed the conjugal rules for her family and she accepted Camilla. These moves make her look like the PM's official mistress. I said in a previous post her being at No. 10 was unseemly mainly because of the circumstances of their union. But the cat's out of the bag since 2018 and it still looks like they're sneaking around.
 
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Madame Verseau said:
Apparently Carrie is not going to Balmoral with Boris

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ex...arrie-Symonds-Queen-Elizabeth-ii-Balmoral/amp

So far Carrie wasn't received by the queen at Buckingham Palace and she couldn't go through the front door of No 10. It seems odd given the queen relaxed the conjugal rules for her family and she accepted Camilla. These moves make her look like the PR's official mistress. I said in a previous post her being at No. 10 was unseemly mainly because of the circumstances of their union. But the cat's out of the bag since 2018 and it still looks like they're sneaking around.
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I think it would be somewhat different if Boris's divorce were final. She is currently his mistress.
 
It makes sense to me. I believe that at this time, Mr. Johnson's divorce is still pending and therefore, in the eyes of the law, the government and even the Queen, Mr. Johnson is still married. It might had been a bit different if they were both single or engaged to be married and out in the open as a couple but as long as Boris is still married, its a no go.
 
It appears, IMO, that they are trying to downplay their relationship, "officially" at least. The fact that Carrie didn't walk into Downing Street with Johnson suggests to me that this is nothing to do with the Palace or HM but what they as a couple want (or what their advisors are suggesting)
 
O-H Anglophile said:
I think it would be somewhat different if Boris's divorce were final. She is currently his mistress.
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In the case of the German's former president his mistress was accepted by each and everyone -including the queen - while he is still married to his wife of 60 years (although separated since 1991).

But yes, I think that's the main difference (he is married to someone else; not just living together instead of being married to her) in this case - and rightly so imo. Camilla was surely not accepted by the queen as Charles' partner while Charles and Diana were married. Many years went by for that to happen.
 
How long does a divorce process in the UK? Is Boris' wife suing on grounds of adultery? I imagine Boris and his advisers are concerned if the wife goes on in court as the wronged party, especially after 25 years of marriage, this could get messy and potentially damaging politically for Boris. He didn't become PM by general election. If Carrie is being sidelined in areas I think the aides are concerned she has a scarlet letter on her in the eyes of the public. That means not attending Rememberance Day services too. Carrie may to go on image and reputation rehab like Camilla did; but apparently there is a bigger problem about Carrie

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-fought-save-partners-17859061

I don't know if this is being investigated in any way but an accusation of financial fraud is pretty bad, especially if you are personally tied to the PM. This could have a bigger impact on the relationship than anything else.
 
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/queen-our-politicians-cant-govern-twjmp657f

The Queen has privately expressed her disappointment in the current political class and its “inability to govern”, The Sunday Times can reveal.

The monarch’s views have emerged as MPs threaten to drag her into the escalating Brexit crisis.

It is among the starkest political statements the Queen is known to have made during a 67-year reign, when her views on the political climate have rarely been exposed.

The remarks underline her exasperation with the explosive political fallout from the 2016 referendum, which continues to divide the country and parliament.

The Queen made the comments at a private event shortly after David Cameron’s resignation following the referendum, but an impeccable royal source said her frustration had since grown.

Personally I feel this is less news and more stating the obvious from HM ;-)

Senior figures in Whitehall and royal circles say extensive talks have taken place between Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, and Peter Hill, the prime minister’s principal private secretary, about protecting the monarch’s independence. The trio, known as the “golden triangle”, will “bust its gut to keep her out of any decision”, a source close to the Queen and Young said.

“The royal household wants to manage this in a way that doesn’t damage the ongoing, long-term position of the crown,” said a senior Whitehall source. It is understood that the constitutional unit in the Cabinet Office has been providing advice about the Queen’s possible role in Brexit.

Her aides are privately emphasising that parliament must decide who can form a government in the event that Johnson loses a confidence vote, and only then should the Queen be asked to see the new prime minister.
 
Absolutely stating the obvious from the Queen. She must be very frustrated at the mess that Brexit has caused her government and her country.
She must be very concerned about the whole thing.
 
Thank you so much for the precis Tommy, I think there is nothing worse than reading a really good post and hitting a paywall when reading linked articles.

I don't know what to say about the leaked comments. True or not, it is much worse than Boris "I've met the Queen and she talked to me!" gaffe. Comments about lack of confidence in the duly elected government and opposition sends a dreadful message to the country during a time of instability.
 
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