Boris Johnson Has Already Breached Royal Protocol After Meeting The Queen

What's the worst first-week blunder you've ever made?

Boris Johnson and the Queen

by Sofia Tindall |
Updated on

Whatever your feelings about our new Prime Minister, there is no doubt that there have been some entertaining reactions to Boris Johnson's win (not least of which was Ivanka Trump's congratulatory Tweet to Boris, the new PM of the United 'Kingston').

Now, barely a few days into his new job, now Boris has already managed to get a telling-off from Downing Street staff for revealing that the Queen told him in a private conversation 'I don't know why anyone would want the job'.

According to EuroNews Journalist Vincent McAviney, during a tour of number 10 Boris said that the Queen made the remark to him in a their private audience following Theresa May's official resignation. As is tradition, Theresa May visited Buckingham Palace on the 24th of July to formally resign and advise the Queen that Boris Johnson will takeover as Prime Minister of the UK.

Royal family are bound by constitutional convention to follow the advice. As the Head of State, the Queen then officially appoints the Prime Minister and will then sometimes hold a short private audience with them where she is rumoured to give advice - or in this instance, just throw unadulterated shade.

Now I think we can all agree that we all feel brighter for knowing that our monarch has a dry sense of humour at 93. However Downing Street staff don't feel quite the same: according to McAviney, they quickly remonstrated the new PM, telling him to 'not repeat those things so loudly' as these interactions between The Monarch and Prime Minister are usually treated with discretion.

After meeting the Queen, Boris Johnson gave his first speech as Prime Minister in the UK. He pledged to put 20,000 extra police officers on the street, upgrade 20 NHS hospitals and increase per-pupil funding in school. Some controversial appointments have already been made: including Jacob Rees-Mogg as Leader of the Commons, Dominic Raabs return as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State and Priti Patel, who has been appointed as Home Secretary.

There's nothing quite like making a blunder on the first week of your new job, is there Boris? While we can all empathise with the new PM when it comes to that toe-curlingly humiliating first-week mishap, it is a tad concerning that the new Prime Minister doesn't seem to know when - to put it bluntly - to keep his mouth shut.

Still, with the next general election not happening until 2022 (unless Boris calls for an earlier one) he's got three years to learn?

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