Why is the Queen at Balmoral Castle?

The Queen is set to appoint the next Prime Minister Liz Truss from Balmoral, breaking with tradition. Her Majesty has been dealing with mobility issues since last autumn.

In normal circumstances the Queen would appoint the next prime minister from Buckingham Palace or Windsor. Today (September 6) Boris Johnson will travel to Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, where the Queen will hold an audience with the outgoing Prime Minister before receiving Liz Truss.

The 96-year-old monarch has been advised to stay at her summer residence in the Scottish Highlands to appoint her 15th British Prime Minister. A source told The Sun around two weeks ahead of the planned ceremony that “the Queen has now been advised not to travel”.

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It is thought that this decision was made in advance to ensure no disruptions to the Prime Minister’s diary if plans needed to change at the last minute, Sky News reports. The Queen’s mobility issues saw her miss out on the majority of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in February and a number of official engagements throughout the year.

In a typical year the Queen remains at Balmoral from July until October. The Queen will avoid having to break up her holiday with the 1,000-mile round trip back to Buckingham Palace, with Boris Johnson and Liz Truss expected to fly separately to see her.

The “kissing of the hands” sees a new leader invited to form a government by the queen, but no hands are kissed in the modern day ceremony. This will take place in Balmoral, with a virtual Privy Council meeting expected to take place the next day, MailOnline reports.

Despite mobility issues that have seen her regularly use a walking stick over the past year, the Queen has been seen looking “remarkably well”, Sky News reported. The monarch was left feeling “very tired and exhausted” after testing positive for coronavirus in February.

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