Why Queen Elizabeth receives her new Prime Minister at Balmoral Castle in Scotland – Evening edition Ouest-France – 06/09/2022 – Evening edition

By Nicolas HASSON-FAURÉ Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson went to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the summer residence of Elizabeth II, on Tuesday September 6, 2022, to officially submit his resignation to the Queen. It is also there that the sovereign received Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, to ask her to form a government. Here’s everything you need to know about Her Gracious Majesty’s iconic property. (Map: Ouest-France) The large castle bristling with towers is dominated by an imposing keep, which faces a huge park. The wooded hills of North East Scotland rise in the background. This decor is that of Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Boris Johnson, the outgoing Prime Minister, went there on Tuesday September 6, 2022, to present his resignation to the sovereign. She was then to receive the new head of the British government, Liz Truss, to ask her to form a government. A first: the fourteen Prime Ministers who have so far served under the reign of Elizabeth II have all been appointed in London, the capital, indicates the BBC, the British radio and television. But at 96, the Queen suffers from mobility problems and so she will not leave her iconic Scottish residence. “Sanctuary for the Royal Family” September 9, 1960. Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral, with Prince Philip, and three of their four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew. (File photo: AFP) Balmoral has been in the British royal family since 1852. That year, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, acquired the property. There is a “small” castle there, says the Encyclopedia Britannica. But the prince decides to build a new residence: the one where the queen spends her summers today. The work was completed in 1856, the old property was demolished. On the death of the queen in 1901, the castle remained in the royal family, and was passed down through the various successions, up to Queen Elizabeth II. Today, Balmoral is the place where the queen spends her summers, the one that is considered her favorite residence, says the American magazine Town & Country. It is not only a castle: it is also a huge property that stretches over more than 20,000 hectares, twice the area of ​​the department of Paris! Here there are farmlands, moors full of grouse, the Scottish cock of heather, herds of ponies, cattle or deer… This is indicated by the Guinness Book of World Records, which considers the places as the largest inhabited estate surrounding a castle in the world. Traditionally, Elizabeth II spent her summers there, in what is a “sanctuary for the royal family”, as the BBC put it. that grandma is happiest” Balmoral Castle, March 30, 2022. (Photo: Andrew Milligan / Pool / AFP) “I think this is where grandma is happiest,” said the princess Eugenie, one of the Queen’s granddaughters, in 2016 in remarks reported by The Telegraph daily. And “she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else between August and October,” according to journalist Camilla Tominey. But Balmoral isn’t just a vacation spot. It is also, traditionally, the place where the queen “really got to know the Prime Ministers” during weekends spent together, further indicates The Telegraph. And not all heads of government enjoyed these visits to Scotland. Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, compared stays at the property to “purgatory”, in the words of Queen’s biographer Ben Pimlott, quoted by The Guardian newspaper. Which specifies: “The autumn weekend in the Highlands [les hautes terres du nord du territoire, NdlR] Scotland is a non-negotiable appointment on the Prime Minister’s political agenda. “According to the American magazine Vanity Fair, the Queen would take a “Balmoral test” there, which would allow the sovereign to determine whether these distinguished guests, politicians like others, “are able to adapt to her routine. both regal and informal. A test that stages several episodes of the series The Crown, on Netflix, with Princess Diana or Margaret Thatcher, precisely…