Queen will receive Boris Johnson and next prime minister next Tuesday at Balmoral

The Queen will not be able to travel to London to receive Boris Johnson and his successor at Buckingham Palace next Tuesday, royal officials confirmed today as they said the politicians will visit her at Balmoral instead.

Palace aides revealed that the 96-year-old monarch will receive Mr Johnson along with either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak at her residence in the Scottish Highlands, where she is on her traditional summer break.

The Queen traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming premiers at Buckingham Palace – but Mr Johnson and the new Conservative leader, who will be asked to form a government, will travel to Balmoral instead.

The ceremony on September 6 will mark the first time a prime minister has officially resigned or been appointed away from Buckingham Palace during the 70-year reign of Her Majesty, who has faced ongoing mobility issues.

The decision to hold the meeting in Scotland rather than in London or at Windsor Castle is said to have been taken now to provide certainty for Mr Johnson’s diary. Royal aides want to avoid having to make any last-minute alternative arrangements if the Queen were to be suffering from mobility issues on the day next week.

The Queen is seen leaving Windsor Castle on July 21 to head to her Balmoral estate in Scotland for her summer break

Queen Elizabeth II attends an Armed Forces Act of Loyalty Parade at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on June 28

There is precedent for a prime minister being appointed away from Buckingham Palace more than a century ago, with King Edward VII being in Biarritz when Herbert Henry Asquith succeeded Henry Campbell-Bannerman.

This meant Mr Asquith, who was often referred to as HH, had to travel to the seaside town on France’s Basque coast in 1908 for the official ‘kissing-hands’ with the monarch.

The winner of the contest to succeed Mr Johnson as prime minister is set to be announced next Monday. 

The Sun reported at the weekend that the Prince of Wales has been making regular morning visits to see his mother as she continues to struggle with her mobility, with the unplanned visits considered highly unusual.

Buckingham Palace declined to give an ongoing commentary on the monarch’s health.

The Queen welcomes Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Buckingham Palace in London in July 2019 after he was elected

The Queen will not travel to London to receive Mr Johnson along with Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak (pictured together on July 25)

Balmoral Castle, where the Queen will receive Boris Johnson and the new prime minister on Tuesday next week

During her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Queen only travelled to Buckingham Palace twice, first for her Trooping the Colour balcony appearance and then for a finale after the pageant.

She spends most of her time at Windsor Castle, 22 miles from central London, living there during the pandemic and while major renovations take place at Buckingham Palace, and for her comfort.

As head of state, it is the Queen’s duty to appoint the prime minister who leads Her Majesty’s Government.

The Royal Encyclopedia states that the appointment of a prime minister is ‘one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign’.

The monarch does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before calling upon the leader with an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons to form a government.