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Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth had been informed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his intention to resign before he publicly announced it last Thursday. The monarch, who is currently at Windsor Castle, had a telephone conversation with the 55-year-old British prime minister on Wednesday night as part of the weekly briefing that the resident of Downing Street usually gives to the queen.
Although the palace would not confirm whether the British, now acting prime minister informed the monarch of his intention to resign before he publicly announced it, the Independent claims that the queen is one of the first people to know about Johnson's resignation before he publicly announced it. According to the website, the Downing Street resident made a "courtesy call" on Thursday morning to the "evergreen" monarch, who celebrated 70 years on the throne last month, informing her of his intention to resign. In fact, the Independent reports that Johnson telephoned the Queen at around 9.10am on Thursday morning to inform her of his decision to step down.
In the UK it is customary for the queen and all members of the royal family to remain politically neutral, which is why neither the monarch nor the other blue bloods vote in national elections or in a referendum, such as the Brexit referendum. Also, telephone communications between the Prime Minister of the day and the Queen are considered confidential, but Boris Johnson has leaked information from his telephone communications with Elizabeth.
In July 2019, hours after he succeeded Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, he publicly revealed the dialogue he had with the Queen when he visited her at the palace to receive the mandate to form a government. A Euronews NBC correspondent reported that Johnson revealed that the Queen told him: "I can't understand why anyone would want this job."[BR]Later that year, after the audience with the Queen, Johnson, 55, revealed of Elizabeth that "She always asks the best questions."
As caretaker prime minister, Johnson will continue to have telephone contact with Elizabeth as part of his weekly briefing and when his replacement is elected, probably in September, Johnson will have to visit Elizabeth to tender his resignation. It is customary for the Prime Minister's resignation to the monarch to take place at Buckingham Palace, but given the Queen's mobility problems in recent months, Boris Johnson may have to travel to Scotland, where the Queen spends the summer months at Balmoral Castle, to tender his resignation. Johnson is Britain's 14th prime minister in the 70 years of Elizabeth's reign.
Source: Proto Thema
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