Boris Johnson has dismissed claims Queen Elizabeth II once referred to him as an “idiot” just days before her death, calling the allegations “highly unlikely”.
According to the book, titled ‘Out’ by Tim Shipman, the late Queen allegedly made the harsh comment during a family gathering at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Appearing on GB News, Boris denied the claims and told the host: “I think it’s highly unlikely that she said that.”
He added: “Because, of course, no prime minister organises the funeral. It’s done by DCMS.
“I think it’s possible that it’s malicious tittle-tattle and what I can say, as I do say by my book ‘Unleashed’, I only mention her for the second time in a very decorous way. What I do try to give a picture of what it was like to meet her and the truth about the relationship.”
In his new book, Tim Shipman, claims Queen Elizabeth II joked, “At least I won’t have that idiot organising my funeral now” after accepting Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister.
In an additional quip about his personality, the author also claims the late Queen added that Boris was “perhaps better suited to the stage” and made the quip with “mischief in her eye”.
The incident allegedly occurred when the late Queen appointed Liz Truss as her 15th prime minister in one of the final official acts of her reign.
Further dismissing the claims on GB News, Boris questioned the source: “I’d like to know who the source of that is. I’m told by Shippers that it was a courtier to a Tory cabinet minister, which is three removed and I think it’s highly unlikely to be accurate.”
The author also notes the final few days of Queen Elizabeth II’s life had been “happy ones”. He penned: “She had enjoyed a gathering of her family and treasured staff two evenings before her death. The late Queen passed away on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral, which is where she had been staying for the summer.
Liz Truss, who was Prime Minister at the time of the late monarch’s death, has shared details from her final meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Queen had welcomed Ms Truss to her home in the Scottish Highlands on September 6, 2022, to appoint her prime minister, and because of her health issues she was not able to travel to London to do so.
According to Ms Truss, The late Queen told the former prime minister they would be “meeting again soon” at her final official engagement before her death.
The politician described the late monarch, who was 96 when she died, as appearing “frail”, but she said she was “mentally alert”, “absolutely on top of” the proceedings and reassured Ms Truss they would meet again soon.
She said: “In the meeting at Balmoral, she was absolutely on top of what was happening.
“She was very, very keen to reassure me that we’d be meeting again soon. It was very important to her.”
The book ‘Out’ by Tim Shipman is published by HarperCollins and is published on November 21.
