Queen to appoint prime minister in Scotland for first time, Buckingham Palace confirms

The UK’s next prime minister will be appointed by the Queen while she is in Scotland for the first time in her reign.

By Royal tradition, the Queen has historically called would-be prime ministers to Buckingham Palace for their appointments.

However, in a first, Boris Johnson, who will tender his resignation, and the new Conservative Party leader who will be asked to form a government – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – will travel to Balmoral Castle – a 1,000-mile round trip – for the key audiences on Tuesday September 6 instead.

They will become the fifteenth prime ministers during her reign.

A Palace spokesman on Wednesday confirmed the decision to receive the Prime Minister and his successor at Balmoral.

It is believed to be the first time in the monarch’s 70 years on the throne that she has conducted the historic duty away from Buckingham Palace.

The Queen, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this year, is on her traditional summer break in the Scottish Highlands, but has faced health issues since last autumn.

She now regularly uses a walking stick, and her traditional welcome to Balmoral Castle earlier in August was held privately for her “comfort”.

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.