THE Queen will not appoint the next prime minister in London but will instead stay at Balmoral, Buckingham Palace has said.
The new prime minister and Boris Johnson will need to come to Aberdeenshire instead, in a break from tradition for the September 6 event, the BBC reports.
For all previous prime ministers during her 70-year reign, the Queen has appointed the leader of the country at Buckingham Palace.
Either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will be announced as the next leader of the Tory party on September 5.
Johnson is expected to resign to the Queen the next day, and his successor will be appointed by her shortly after.
It was previously believed that the Queen would interrupt her summer stay at Balmoral to meet with the new PM.
However, the Queen is known to have struggled with mobility issues in recent months.
Johnson said arrangements for the handover to the new prime minister would be down to the Queen and “fit totally around her and whatever she wants”.
The PM and his successor are expected to travel to Balmoral for the change in leadership.
“I don’t talk about my conversations with the Queen, no prime minister ever does,” Johnson told reporters during a visit to Barrow-in-Furness.
“But I can tell you we will certainly make sure that the arrangements for the handover will fit totally around her and whatever she wants.”
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said: “The fact officials can’t be sure the Queen will be well enough to travel next week is yet another reminder of her advanced age and increasing frailty.
“Despite this, the Queen remains determined to carry out her core duties.
“Appointing a new prime minister is not something that can easily be passed to Prince Charles, a king-in-waiting.”
It is understood the decision was taken at this stage in order to provide certainty for the Prime Minister’s diary.
If the Queen had experienced an episodic mobility issue next week and the plan had been to travel to London or Windsor, it would have led to alternative arrangements at the last minute.
The monarch usually takes a summer break in Scotland at her estate between August and October.
Buckingham Palace declined to give an ongoing commentary on the monarch’s health.
The Queen will also hold a virtual Privy Council the following day.
During her 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.
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.
Either Truss or Sunak will be the 15th prime minister of the Queen’s reign.
After a new premier has been appointed, the Court Circular will record that “the Prime Minister kissed hands on appointment”.
This is not literally the case, and it is usually a handshake.
