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Queen Elizabeth II and British ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson at an audience in 2021
Photo: Dominic Lipinski/AP
When she last met Boris Johnson two days before her death, Queen Elizabeth II made a mentally excellent impression on him, according to the British ex-Prime Minister.
"One of the reasons it was so shocking to hear of her death on the 8th (September) was because she was totally up to speed in that audience," Johnson told the BBC on Monday.
'She was very focused on geopolitics, on British politics, quoted statesmen from the 1950s, that was quite extraordinary.
She seemed very alert, very focused.”
Johnson stressed that the Queen was obviously not doing well.
When he heard of her death, Johnson said he thought how incredible it was that her sense of duty drove the Queen to the end of her life.
Like every Prime Minister, Johnson had been in weekly audience with the Queen to brief her on matters of national importance.
When Johnson was asked in the BBC interview if he's ever been too busy to attend the weekly audience, he replied.
"No, are you kidding?".
He described his regular meetings with the Queen as "a fantastic break from everything else" and a "wonderful moment of calm".
»Amazing competence in matters of history and politics«
How did the monarch deal with it when it became public that parties were being held in Downing Street on the eve of her husband Prince Philip's funeral, which violated the corona rules at the time?
"Because of their strong sense of their constitutional function, those kinds of talks never happened," Johnson said.
“She was really, really focused on what she saw as the important issues.
It's a very trusting environment, the audience with Her Majesty.
So that never came up.”
The ex-PM said the Queen had "amazing knowledge of history and politics" and knew everyone from former US President John F Kennedy to former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
When asked how he reacted to the Queen's death, Johnson - now a Conservative backbencher - said he felt "this slightly inexplicable excess of emotion.
Personally speaking, it was a huge thing for me,” he said.
He met the Queen on September 6 at her Scottish country estate, Balmoral Castle.
He was formally dismissed from office, after which the Queen appointed his successor, Liz Truss, as Prime Minister.
On September 8th, Elizabeth II died on Balmoral.
jso/dpa