She was known for her mischievous sense of humour and even in her final days, Elizabeth II was raising chuckles in the most unlikely of circumstances.
A new book, focused on the politics of the last years of her reign, has an unexpected revelation about the late Queen's attitude to her final farewell. Tim Shipman, Chief Political Correspondent of The Sunday Times, shares that she was making jokes about her funeral just ahead of her death.
The last days of her historic reign were busy as the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was about to officially resign. The last constitutional act of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II would be her acceptance of his decision and her audience with his successor, Liz Truss, in which Her Late Majesty asked her to form a government.
It was a solemn and important event and one seen, widely, as a evidence of Elizabeth II's unwavering dedication to duty. Even as she knew her life was coming to an end, she remained at the service of her people. But she also intended to raise a smile from it.
Tim Shipman says that, following her death, a close aide revealed that as Boris Johnson departed, Elizabeth II told those around her that ''at least I won't have that idiot organising my funeral now.'' In reality, the plans were long standing and most had been made by her. But the end of his premiership meant that, at Elizabeth II's funeral, it was Liz Truss who gave a reading rather than Mr Johnson.
The story is shared in Tim Shipman's new book ''No Way Out: How Brexit Got Done and the Tories Were Undone'', published on November 21st 2024.
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