The former Prime Minister Liz Truss was one of the last people to see the late Queen before her death in September 2022 – and now she has revealed what the monarch said to her after she left her only official meeting with her as PM
The late Queen’s heartbreaking last words to Liz Truss just days before she died have been revealed by the former PM.
Ms Truss was appointed Prime Minister by the former monarch just two days before her death on September 6, 2022, and had travelled to Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands to meet the ailing Queen. Pictures from the day showed a frail Elizabeth shaking hands with Ms Truss, who was the 15th Prime Minster of the Queen’s incredible 70-year reign. However, just two days later on September 8, it was announced that the Queen had passed away peacefully at her Scottish summer retreat and King Charles ascended to the throne.
And Ms Truss has now revealed what the former monarch’s final words to her were – and it seems they gave no indication of what was about to happen. In an interview with the Sun newspaper’s Never Mind the Ballots programme, Ms Truss said the Queen told her: “I’ll see you next week.” However, another meeting never came and instead, the short-lived prime minister had to oversee the period of national mourning which followed the monarch’s death, before she resigned seven weeks into the job amid the economic fallout of her mini-budget.
Meanwhile, the ex-prime minister also revealed some of what she discussed with the Queen during their meeting. She said: “She was an extremely wise woman and so, so on the ball. She talked a lot about all of the issues that were going on, all of the issues in the PM’s inbox.”
Ms Truss is doing the media rounds ahead of the publication of her book Ten Years To Save The West, where she also talks about her experiences with the late Queen. Describing their meeting in 2022, she said the 96-year-old monarch “seemed to have grown frailer” since she had last been in the public eye.
“We spent around 20 minutes discussing politics,” Ms Truss writes. “She was completely attuned to everything that was happening, as well as being typically sharp and witty. Towards the end of our discussion, she warned me that being Prime Minister is incredibly ageing. She also gave me two words of advice: ‘Pace yourself.’ Maybe I should have listened.”
Despite her ill health, the late Queen wanted to spend her last summer at Balmoral, which is located in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire. When she boarded a private helicopter in late July 2022, she had been expected to spend some time away from royal duties before returning to England in early October. Another visitor she received in her final days was the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields – Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly – who joined the late Queen, King Charles and Princess Anne for dinner and lunch.
The clergyman, who had stayed with the Queen following a sermon at Braemar and Crathie Parish Church, said she was ‘the life and soul of things’ before her passing. Describing Her Majesty in the days leading up to her death, he told The Times: “It was a fantastic visit. Her memory was absolutely amazing and she was really full of fun.”
He also told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme that she was in ‘great form’. “She was in really good spirits – obviously frail, you can see that, but absolutely on the ball,” Dr Greenshields added. “She was talking about her past, her love for Balmoral, her father, her mother, Prince Philip, horses, very much very engaged with what was happening in the church and what was happening in the nation too.
“This frail lady came in but there was still that sense of who she was and that real sense of making you feel immediately at ease, engaging with you immediately in conversation, a nice bright smile, everything you would expect of your monarch.”
