British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth, chat at a party for the Heads of State gathered here for the Commonwealth Conference. (Getty Images)
It was only two days after meeting her 14th appointed prime minister that Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday evening. Liz Truss is the 15th prime minister under the queen’s reign.
Truss took over from Boris Johnson this week after two months of campaigning. Johnson resigned in July after several party members resigned from the Conservative Party refusing to be led by him following scandal after scandal.
According to NPR Johnson also led the Tories to a historic landslide election in 2019, leaving the party with an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons. It was the largest victory since prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s win in 1987.
Truss, however, has a long list of matters to urgently deal with, including the energy crisis precipitated by the Russian war against Ukraine and an economy hammered by a Brexit her predecessor championed.
Truss took office on Tuesday afternoon in Scotland at the Balmoral castle. British media then flagged that the queen’s health was ailing. However, the queen smiled as she appointed the last prime minister of her reign.
Truss is the third woman to become prime minister under Queen Elizabeth. Theresa May held office for three years, from 2016 to 2019. And very few can forget Thatcher, also known as the Iron Lady, who led the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the prime minister of the UK from 1979 to 1990 — the longest service under the queen.
The queen died “peacefully” at Balmoral on Thursday. Buckingham Palace released a statement from now King Charles: “The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
