Sir Winston Churchill opening the door of Queen Elizabeth’s car, as she and the Duke of Edinburgh leave after dining with him and other guests in April 1955 (PA Wire/PA Images)
(Picture: PA Wire)She was a mentor to a record 15 prime ministers — and never breathed a word about the secrets that they divulged to her.
From Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, successive premiers valued the counsel of a stateswoman whose decades of experience were unmatched in the world.
Typically, the Queen made light of her influence at the heart of Britain’s constitution, calling herself “a sort of sponge … everybody can come and tell me things”. But she admitted: “Occasionally, you can be able to put one’s point of view, which perhaps they hadn’t seen from that angle.”
The Queen had favourites among her premiers. The doting, elderly Churchill and the younger, easygoing Labour leader Harold Wilson were particularly welcome visitors. With others, including Margaret Thatcher, relations were sometimes frosty. Churchill, the PM in 1952 when George VI died, adored the young Queen. From their private meetings were heard “peals of laughter”. Years later, asked who her favourite PM was, the Queen replied: “Winston, of course, because it was always such fun.”
The Queen’s grasp of state affairs rapidly increased. During the Suez crisis in 1956, Sir Anthony Eden sent all relevant papers to her, including secret documents. Harold Macmillan, her third prime minister, shared political gossip, which the Queen loved. Every PM knew that she was a major asset on the international stage. Theresa May used the bait of royal hospitality to win the ear of the vain Donald Trump. Labour’s James Callaghan recorded that during big summits the Queen “seemed to thrive on the constant procession of visitors”.
Sir John Major’s earnest advice during and after the divorce of Charles and Diana was warmly appreciated. However, Mrs Thatcher dismayed the Queen in 1986 by wrecking Commonwealth unity over sanctions on South Africa. Some PMs angered the Palace by being indiscreet. Notoriously, David Cameron boasted that the Queen “purred down the phone” when he told her the result of the Scottish independence vote.
Boris Johnson holds the record for having to apologise to the Queen — for advising her to suspend Parliament, later ruled unlawful, and for a party held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. Only the Queen could have quipped at a dinner with five past and present prime ministers: “Isn’t it wonderful not to have to be introduced to anyone?”
