After Boris Johnson resigned as British Prime Minister, Liz Truss was named in his place just two days before Queen Elizabeth II passed away.
In an official portrait, the 47-year-old former foreign secretary Liz Truss can be seen shaking hands with the monarch as she accepts her invitation to form a new government and become the monarch’s 15th prime minister in her 70-year reign.
The queen, 96, was thought too unwell to travel back to London, so the symbolic ceremony was held at the sovereign’s isolated Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands.
According to a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Monday, “The queen welcomed in audience the right honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and urged her to establish a new cabinet.”
When Ms. Truss was appointed prime minister, she “accepted Her Majesty’s invitation and kissed hands.”
At Balmoral, the transfer of authority last occurred in 1885, during the reign of Queen Victoria.
At central London’s Buckingham Palace, the outgoing and new prime ministers often have brief meetings with the monarch.
Since the death of her father, monarch George VI, in 1952, it has only been held once outside of London, when Winston Churchill greeted the new queen at Heathrow Airport.
After a long election that started in July, Liz Truss was declared the winner on Monday by a vote among Conservative Party members.
Task list
With the UK experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, double-digit inflation, and skyrocketing gas and energy prices, Liz Truss has a hefty to-do list.
Even though there have been concerns that more borrowing might worsen inflation, Truss, who describes herself as a free-market liberal, has pledged tax cuts to spur development.
The British media on Tuesday claimed that she will freeze energy costs for struggling businesses and households, which may cost up to 100 billion pounds.
The Conservative Party, already fractured by Boris Johnson’s exit, has become even more splintered as a result of the contrast between her aggressive stance and that of her defeated leadership candidate Rishi Sunak.
Recent surveys indicate that a sizable portion of the British populace lacks confidence in her capacity to address the cost-of-living problem.
Only 14% of people, according to a recent YouGov survey, think that Truss, the fourth Tory prime minister in six years, will perform better than Boris Johnson.
In his parting address in Downing Street, Johnson, whose term was overshadowed by Brexit and Covid and ended in a slew of scandals, had already pledged to Truss his unwavering support.
He declared, “I will be behind Liz Truss and the new administration at every turn.
He pleaded with the Tories to set aside their ideological differences, which have caused them to quarrel bitterly over how to effectively address the energy issue.
He said, “If Dilyn (his dog) and Larry (the cat from Downing Street) can move past their sporadic struggles, then the Conservative party can, too.”
Liz Truss had ruled out seeking the public’s approval at an early general election in her acceptance address on Monday, promising triumph in 2024.
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