Boris Johnson is the new Prime Minister in all but name now, as voting closes and the new Tory leader awaits the official announcement. If the expected result manifests, Mr Johnson will move into Downing Street on Wednesday evening, followed by Ms Symonds over the weekend. They will become the first non-married couple to live together in Number 10 – but this might prove a little tricky for the Queen and her attempts to uphold royal protocol.
Prime Ministers and their partners traditionally visit the Queen in the late summer at her Balmoral retreat in Scotland.
The visit usually comes September before Commons returns after recess.
It is believed Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds plan to uphold this tradition but their marital status might prove tricky.
According to royal protocol, unmarried couples who are guests of the Queen in any of her six residences do not stay overnight.
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This Victorian rule was even applied to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry when they visited the Queen over Christmas in 2017, despite being engaged.
Meghan and Harry stayed nearby at Anmer Hall, until 2018 when they were allowed to sleep at Sandringham as a married couple.
So unless Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds get married before September, it’s likely the Queen will be forced to decide how to proceed.
The couple might be offered to stay in a lodge on the estate rather than the main castle, but some think that might be viewed as a snub given Balmoral has 52 bedrooms.
Or perhaps the Queen will loosen the rules somewhat, given they are slightly outdated in modern Britain.
This isn’t the only inconvenience Boris Johnson is presenting the Queen with: she has also had to alter her summer plans to accommodate the leadership race.
Her Majesty was supposed to leave London and travel to Balmoral in Scotland for her annual summer break last week, but has had to postpone it.
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Her team felt it wouldn’t make sense for the 93-year-old Queen to travel 500 miles to the Highlands and back again in such a short space of time.
So instead, she remains in London, while her husband, Prince Philip, is thought to have gone ahead to Balmoral.
Mr Johnson is widely expected to be announced Tory leader on Tuesday around 11.45am.
On Wednesday, Theresa May will travel to Buckingham Palace to officially tender her resignation to the Queen, followed by mr Johnson one hour later.
