“Churchill came out in tears”: how British prime ministers surprised Queen Elizabeth II

The common formula says: in the UK, kings reign, but do not rule. However, it is impossible to be isolated from the world of politics.

During her seven decades on the throne, Elizabeth II held weekly audiences with prime ministers. The latest of these was Liz Truss, who was approved by the head of government on Tuesday. The photograph of the Queen with her at Balmoral Castle was the last to capture Her Majesty in the line of duty. Evil tongues joke that the queen could not survive the appearance of Truss in such a high position.

It is difficult to judge how the relationship between the head of the monarchy and the prime ministers over the past 70 years has evolved in reality – their meetings often took place behind closed doors. But tabloid Daily Mailcomparing court rumors and political secrets, tried to figure out the attitude of Elizabeth II to certain prime ministers.

Winston Churchill (Prime Minister 1951-1955)

Churchill was almost 80 years old when the 25-year-old Elizabeth became queen – and he treated her with grandfatherly love. He proclaimed a new “Elizabethian age” when she became queen, and she offered to make him the Duke of London.

Their weekly meetings often lasted two hours, with the queen and her head of government often laughing and gossiping about horse racing. One courtier confessed that their meetings “were punctuated by outbursts of laughter, and Winston usually came out wiping his eyes.”

Decades later, when asked which of her prime ministers she most enjoyed dating, the Queen reportedly replied, “Winston, of course, because it was always so much fun.” For his part, Churchill made no secret of his admiration for the Queen. He told a friend that “all the filmmakers in the world, if they had traveled all over the globe, could not find anyone who would be so suitable for this role.”

Anthony Eden (premier 1955-1957)

The Queen was known to be close to her second prime minister, Anthony Eden, and used their weekly meetings to discuss everything from the Suez Crisis to her younger sister Princess Margaret’s affair with group captain Peter Townsend, her father’s former equerry and divorced father of two. .

Some were puzzled when it turned out that Eden shared documents with the Queen on the situation around the Suez Canal, the first time she was shown secret government documents, but it was an experience that she used later during her reign, when the Falklands crisis began to unfold under Margaret Thatcher.

Harold Macmillan (premier 1957-1963)

Macmillan claimed that when they first met, Elizabeth II was “gracious but laconic”. At a time when the shock of the Suez crisis had not yet cooled, he told her that his premiership could last only six weeks. In fact, it went on for six years.

The Queen enjoyed listening to his stories of political gossip, and Harold Macmillan wrote in his diary that he found Elizabeth II “not only very charming, but incredibly well informed” and was “amazed by her understanding of the details.”

During this time, most of the British Empire was liquidated – in many ways it was a joint project: Macmillan approved of the departure of the British from the colonies, while the queen completely assumed the role of head of the Commonwealth.

When Macmillan, who was experiencing health problems, resigned in 1963, the Queen was reportedly in tears.

Sir Alec Douglas-Home (Premier 1963–1964)

The appointment of Alec Douglas-Home as Prime Minister was not an easy event for the Queen, as he was highly unpopular and open to attack by the opposition, led by Harold Wilson. Before he was announced as the new prime minister, she distanced herself – both literally and figuratively by going to Windsor – to avoid any speculation about her involvement in the appointment.

Harold Wilson (led government 1964-1970 and 1974-1976)

Labor Prime Minister Wilson got along so well with the Queen that he became one of her favorites. As with Churchill, his audiences often lasted two hours, and on one occasion he was invited to stay for a drink. A committed monarchist, Wilson crushed an attempt by his Labor Party colleague Tony Benn to remove the Queen’s profile from British stamps.

The story goes that Wilson revealed he was about to retire while he and his wife were living in Balmoral. The Queen was reportedly wearing an apron and washing dishes when Wilson leaned on the tabletop and told her of his decision.

The Queen came to Downing Street for the farewell banquet of the outgoing prime minister with his political colleagues in 1976 – an honor previously bestowed only on Winston Churchill.

James Callaghan (premier 1976-1979)

Like Wilson, James Callaghan had a great relationship with the Queen. The Labor Prime Minister kept secret the discussions he had with Elizabeth II. But it is known that when he once asked the Queen’s advice about a particularly difficult political dilemma, Her Majesty good-naturedly said: “That’s what you get paid for!”

As prime minister, Callaghan presided over the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977. When Callaghan asked ministers to offer a Silver Jubilee gift to the Queen, he was shocked by the responses of party members. One offered to give Her Majesty a copy of the Labor constitution, and another offered a vase carved from coal by a miner. In the end, Callaghan persuaded his wife to buy the queen a silver coffee pot.

Margaret Thatcher (head of government 1979-1990)

The first female prime minister of Great Britain was a passionate admirer of the monarchy and crouched so low in front of the queen that the palace assistants had to hide their smirks. But relations between Thatcher and Elizabeth II are said to have been lukewarm, limited to morbid courtesy on Her Majesty’s part. According to palace insiders, the Queen was shocked by rising unemployment and urban unrest in Thatcher’s first term.

And in 1986, The Sunday Times ran a front-page article claiming that the monarch was “alarmed” by her “indifferent” prime minister and worried that Thatcher’s opposition to South African sanctions would destroy her beloved Commonwealth.

However, insiders claim that although Elizabeth II and Thatcher were not friends, they treated each other’s activities with great respect. And when Thatcher went to Buckingham Palace to tender her resignation, the Queen is said to have spoken to her so kindly that the touched Iron Lady left in tears.

Tony Blair (premier 1997-2007)

Relations between the modernizing Labor Party head of the British government and the seventy-year-old queen have never been easy. When Princess Diana died in 1997, Tony Blair insisted that the royal family return from Balmoral to appear before the public.

And at New Year’s Eve in 1999, the Queen was appalled by Blair’s behavior when he tried to join hands with her to sing the Scottish New Year’s song Auld Lang Syne with lyrics by Robert Burns.

David Cameron (premier 2010-2016)

During Cameron’s premiership, the British monarchy became embroiled in two major political and constitutional disputes. When the Scots voted in a referendum to stay in the UK in 2014 – after being urged by Elizabeth II to “think carefully about the future” – Cameron, in a conversation that turned out to be recorded, said the Queen was “purring with joy”. For these words, the politician later had to apologize. Then, in 2016, newspapers claimed that the Queen supported the UK’s exit from the EU, stating: “I don’t see why we can’t just leave.”

Theresa May (Prime Minister 2017-2019)

One of the royal butlers told the Daily Star that the queen, who was in her 90s at the time, had a special fondness for Theresa May. According to the source, “The queen gets along so well with the people, no matter what the prime minister is, whoever they are. But with Tony Blair, you could say that there was no connection, and the same with Gordon Brown and even with David Cameron, although he is a conservative. However, with Theresa May – and a lot of people say so – you can really see that connection.”

Boris Johnson (led government from 2019 until 6 September 2022)

With his tumultuous personal life and erratic behavior, Boris Johnson has never been a Palace favorite. His relationship with the Queen was marred by controversy from the start, as he advised her to suspend parliament for more than a month to allow him to carry out his Brexit plans.

On Tuesday of this week, much earlier than he had expected, Boris flew with his wife Carrie to Balmoral and formally stepped down as the Queen’s penultimate prime minister.

Liz Truss (premier since September 6, 2022)

The last prime minister under Elizabeth II, Liz Truss, flew to Balmoral – breaking tradition – to kiss the Queen’s hand on Tuesday. Photograph of Trusse’s audience with the queen was the last in history when the monarch performed her official duties

Ironically, the new head of the British government at a young age was a supporter of the republic, but with age realized the importance of the monarchy. Perhaps never in recent political history has there been a more obvious contrast between generations, the press notes, recalling that Truss, who was born in 1975, is almost half a century younger than Elizabeth II.

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