‘Sympathetic’ Queen bids Theresa May — her 13th PM — goodbye
THE Queen is not given to displays of emotion, but I hear that she held a poignant final formal meeting with Theresa May this week.
She invited the PM to Buckingham Palace for her last private tete-a-tete on Wednesday and a courtier tells me: ‘Her Majesty will be sad to see Mrs May step down. She is, of course, only her second woman Prime Minister and the Queen is very respectful of her efforts on behalf of the country.
‘Her Majesty knows that the premier tried her hardest to secure a Brexit deal and is sympathetic that she was unable to achieve her aims.’
The PM wore a pair of her trademark kitten heels for the meeting. They were red to match the palace carpet and her ministerial red boxes. Insiders say the Queen has bonded with vicar’s daughter Mrs May
over their shared Christian faith and frugal values. ‘The Queen really warmed to Mrs May’s quiet understatedness,’ an insider tells me. ‘It will be fascinating to see how she reacts to the next PM.’
The Queen is likely to be irritated by the Conservative Party, which has caused her to delay her summer holidays. HM was due to set off yesterday for her Scottish retreat, Balmoral, but she decided to remain so she could greet the new prime minister next Tuesday after the winner of the Tory leadership election is announced.
‘The Queen will not go to Balmoral before meeting her 14th prime minister,’ a royal source told the Diary last Saturday.
She usually leaves London before tourists arrive at Buckingham Palace for its summer opening, which begins this Saturday. The source added: ‘She does not want to travel 500 miles to the Highlands and back just for the meeting. She will stay at Windsor, so as not to bump into any visitors at the palace, and the new PM will be driven there.’
There will be one more, brief encounter next week when Mrs May stands down and ‘recommends’ her successor. She will be accompanied on that occasion by her loyal husband, Philip.