During its 70-year run, it appointed 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. The meeting with the latter was to be written in history, since their handshake was the official swan song of a queen who lived almost a century.
Queen Elizabeth met Liz Truss just two days before her death. and asked her to form a new government. He had won the battle for the leadership of the Conservatives and was asked to replace Boris Johnson.
Breaking with tradition, Truss visited Balmoral Castle in Scotland to meet her. It was the queen’s last constitutional action.
As her 70-year reign drew to a close, Elizabeth took it upon herself to guide the country through the transition from one prime minister to another. After accepting Boris Johnson’s resignation at Balmoral, he welcomed Liz Truss shortly after midday on 6 September 2022.
Truss would be the 15th and last prime minister of her reign.
Photo Credits: Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP
Queen Elizabeth was weak at the time, weak enough to break with tradition and change prime ministers from Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace, but she was determined to carry out her duty with the dignity she felt the occasion required. Smiling in front of the fireplace, cane in hand, he posed for a photo.
“She rose to welcome me,” Truss told royal biographer Robert Hardman of the forthcoming biography of Queen Elizabeth II.
“It was obvious he wasn’t feeling too well physically, but we talked for about 20 minutes. He was alert. I would say he was relieved that the matter had finally been resolved and that we were now moving forward.”
Photo Credits: Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP
That night, Boris Johnson returned to London, where he reportedly told friends how frail Elizabeth looked.
“He said what really upset him was that he would no longer be prime minister to give the Queen the farewell she deserved,” a close Johnson ally told Hardman. “He just said, ‘She looked terribly, terribly weak’.”
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth was hosting an early evening drinks reception with her daughter Princess Anne (Princess Royal), recalling the impressive number of prime ministers who had sought her advice during their time in office, including Sir Winston Churchill.
She was said to be in great spirits, but decided to dine alone that night.
The next day, Queen Elizabeth announced that she would remain in bed – an unusual decision, even in her third decade of life.
Photo Credits: Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP
The local doctor, Douglas Glass, was called in and the Queen’s planned teleconference with the Privy Council meeting that evening was canceled on “medical advice”.
Princess Anne informed then-Prince Charles of the situation, who flew to Balmoral by helicopter with his wife, Camilla, the following morning. To avoid reporters and photographers, the couple landed at Birkhall and drove up to the castle in a Land Rover.
Shortly after midday on September 8, Buckingham Palace issued a statement informing the public that the Queen was “under medical observation” and remained “in good condition at Balmoral”.
The situation did not require immediate intervention and Charles and Camila decided to remove themselves from her side to allow her to rest.
The monarch was constantly surrounded by loved ones, including her personal assistant, Angela Kelly, and the Reverend Kenneth Mackenzie, who read passages from the Bible to Queen Elizabeth.
Shortly after 3pm, 96-year-old Elizabeth stopped breathing. Anne, who was the only member of the royal family who never left her side, called Charles to tell him to return as soon as possible.
As Hardman relates, it was on the South Deeside Road that Charles was informed that his mother had died. Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary, Sir Edward Young, contacted Charles, addressing him as ‘Your Majesty’ for the first time.
Sir Edward wrote a handwritten note to summarize the historic events of that evening, as a consolation for the queen’s loved ones.
It read: “Dougie (Glass) arrived at 3.25. Very calm. In her sleep. He left quietly. Old age. The death must be declared in Scotland. I agree, 3.10pm He wouldn’t have realized anything. No pain.”
With information from Tatler.
