Queen Elizabeth II’s final engagement, carried out one year ago today, was one of huge political and historical importance. On 6 September 2022, the Queen invited the then Prime Minister-elect to Balmoral, her beloved Aberdeenshire estate. It was there, in the cosy surrounds of Her Majesty’s drawing room, that Truss formally became Britain’s Prime Minister.
Earlier that day, the Queen had received Boris Johnson, who had travelled to Scotland from Downing Street to formally tender his resignation. ‘The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP had an Audience of The Queen this morning and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept,’ a statement released on the day announced.
Then came the news of Truss's own audience: ‘The Queen received in Audience The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new Administration. Ms Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.’ (The reference to ‘kissed hands’ is not literal, but rather denotes the official handshake that takes place between the monarch and the new PM.)
The appointment of a new Prime Minister always makes headlines – both in Britain and around the world. But no one could have anticipated just how important this meeting between the Queen and Truss (or ‘Liz and Liz’) would become. The photos of the monarch welcoming Truss to her Scottish home became the final official pictured to be released of Her Majesty during her lifetime.
The images were striking. Not only did they capture the appointment of a new prime minister (albeit one who would resign just 45 days later), but they also captured the Queen in a light that was rarely seen. Dressed in a cardigan and tartan skirt, walking stick in hand, the majestic Queen, then 96, looked a little more human than usual. Even (some whispered) a little frail.
Little did the public know what was going on behind the scenes. It would seem the Queen required an extraordinary amount of strength, dignity and royal fortitude (the same qualities that had stood Her Majesty in excellent stead throughout her record-breaking reign) in order to carry out her last official engagements. Just two days later, the Queen passed away.
On 8 September 2023, the Royal Family will mark the anniversary of Her Majesty’s death. King Charles III is expected to follow his mother’s example and spend the day privately (the late Queen used to observe the anniversary of her father King George VI’s death at Sandringham). The King will be, fittingly, in Balmoral, where he is in residence. The role of publicly leading the royal remembrance is instead expected to fall to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Although it is difficult to believe it has been a year since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her final photographs are one to treasure: they show Her Majesty smiling, at home, surrounded by personal photographs and family heirlooms. Most of all, they show her doing her duty, which is surely how she would like to be remembered.
