Liz Truss 'hugely honoured' to have met with Queen in her final days
Liz Truss has spoken of her huge honour at being invited to form a government by the Queen in one of her final acts as Monarch - as well as already having two audiences with the new King.
The prime minister said she felt it was a critical part of her role to ensure that this “important moment in our nation’s history” was properly marked.
Asked how she felt about the first two whirlwind weeks of her premiership, Truss said: “First of all it’s been a momentous period and a period of great grief and sadness in the UK and I think we’ve seen a huge outpouring of love and affection for her late Majesty as well as a huge amount of warmth toward Charles III.”
She described seeing the streets lined as she travelled to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well as from London to Windsor for yesterday’s funeral.
“From my own point of view I am hugely honoured to have be invited to form a Government by Her Majesty the Queen in one of her last acts and since then I’ve had two audiences with His Majesty. And I have seen a huge outpouring of public warmth and support for him and the royal family.”
She also spoke of the “unprecedented” number of world leaders who had come to London for the funeral.
Asked about her personal reflections, she began with the officials in Whitehall who had organised so much since the Queen passed away.
“First of all I have had tremendous support from civil servants the bridges, the secretariat, just want to praise the work they have done; the Royal household has done, the Armed forces as well,” she said.
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She added that while she had only just stepped into the role of prime minister, many of her Cabinet members were also new to their roles too - including the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Nadhim Zahawi - who has been heavily involved in the organisation behind the scenes.
Asked if she fell daunted, Truss added: “Since I was appointed - how many days ago? - I’ve been spending my time really really focused. We as a nation adored her late majesty.”
She said she hoped her visit to the UN General Assembly would ensure that the UK can continue to play a critical role on the global stage.