Former prime minister Lord Salisbury referred to Balmoral Castle as “Siberia”.
Another, Benjamin Disraeli, complained that “carrying on the government of the country 600 miles from the metropolis doubles the labour”.
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Tony Blair described his annual go to as “a vivid combination of the intriguing, the surreal and the utterly freaky” – and mentioned he solely survived the weekend with the assistance of robust alcoholic drinks.
His youngest baby, Leo, was conceived on the dwelling after Cherie Blair left her contraception in London because of the “sheer embarrassment” of the employees unpacking her wash bag the earlier 12 months.
And David Cameron, in distinction, remembers the “bliss” of leaving his shut safety staff behind as he walked the hills along with his spouse Samantha.
“The Queen is keen that you should have complete solitude,” he wrote.
But Liz Truss won’t meet the monarch for a relaxed summer season break, as her predecessors have accomplished.
Instead, the brand new Conservative chief will fly to Aberdeenshire to be formally appointed prime minister – an occasion which often takes place at Buckingham Palace.
This is known as the “kissing of hands”, and in latest instances entails solely a bow or curtsy and a handshake.
The viewers is anticipated to final half an hour, though Gordon Brown’s appointment in 2007 was adopted by a “congenial and business-like” dialogue lasting 58 minutes.
Clement Attlee’s assembly with King George VI in 1945 was reasonably extra transient because of the shyness of each males. After a clumsy silence, Mr Atlee opened the dialog saying: “I won the election.”
“I know,” the monarch replied. “I heard it on the six o’clock news.”
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Prime ministers’ visits to the personal citadel within the Scottish Highlands date again to Queen Victoria’s reign and usually happen over a weekend in early September.
Balmoral property was purchased by Prince Albert for his spouse in 1852, and options monuments to Victoria’s consort, youngsters and her shut pal and servant John Brown.
The present Queen invitations company to make use of her highland ponies to discover the hills and glens. Grouse capturing, deer stalking and salmon fishing are additionally on supply.
The climax of a primary ministerial vacation is the “Bothy Barbeque”, beforehand presided over by the Duke of Edinburgh and held in a stone hut initially constructed for shepherds.
“The Queen drives you at breakneck speed across the moor to a bothy,” David Cameron wrote in his autobiography.
“The Duke of Edinburgh is outside, tongs in hand, smoke rising from a row of sizzling grouse. And then the two of them cook and serve you dinner.
“Literally, the Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms topping up your drinks, clearing up your plates and washing up.”
Historian Ben Pimlott described Margaret Thatcher’s presence at such a gathering as: “Monarch and consort cooking sausages for the disconcerted premier and her husband on a windswept hillside – each couple trying desperately to be informal.”
Ms Truss will doubtless have to survive in workplace till subsequent September if she is to obtain such an invite.
Her go to to Balmoral is, nonetheless, a possibility to start a relationship that a few of her predecessors have discovered instructive and invaluable.
Ben Pimlott describes the Queen’s function as that of “constitutionally sanctioned counsellor and therapist… the only person a prime minister talks to whose confidence he knows will not be abused”.
Source: information.sky.com”