BecauseQueen Elizabeth IIhas been on the throne for almost 70 years, it’s not surprising that she’s had 14 prime ministers (via theEvening Standard) and enjoyed different relationships with them.
She was awe-struck by one (Winston Churchill), related to another (David Cameron), and leaned on a third when times were tough (John Major).
The ones that served her longest (Margaret Thatcherand Tony Blair), may not have been her favorites (viaCNN) but none triggered a constitutional crisis in the way Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson did in his quest to putBrexitin the bag.
In 2019, Johnson had advised the queen that parliament should be prorogued or shut down for five weeks before the United Kingdom was scheduled to exit the European Union (viaBBC).
The advice brought the queen, who is aconstitutional monarch, into the middle of the Brexit controversy, since she is the only person with the authority to shut parliament down this way, since prorogation is usually carried out before the queen’s speech, where she outlines the government’s priorities.
The British Supreme Court decided that the suspension was unconstitutional, and parliament returned to work (viaThe Guardian).
The queen and Boris Johnson are publicly cordial
Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth have appeared to move on from that incident, and little has been said about their working relationship since that time.
We know that the queen had “sent her warm wishes” to the prime minister and his partner Carrie Symonds after the birth of their son in April of 2020 (viaTown & Country).
We know that during the controversy that erupted afterPrince Harry and Meghan Marklespoke with Oprah Winfrey, Johnson refused to weigh in onallegations that the royal family is racist, saying instead that he had “the highest admiration for the queen and the unifying role that she plays in our country and across the Commonwealth” (viaPolitico).
We also know thatJohnson was gracious in his tribute to the queen’s husband Prince Philipduring the time of his death, saying that he had “earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world” (viaThe New York Times).
We don’t know if the queen has gotten over the potential constitutional kerfuffle Johnson had exposed her to, or indeedif she holds grudges like that.
What we do know is at the very least, there is mutual respect and civility between Her Majesty and her prime minister.
