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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Queen may be forced to cut short annual holiday because of Boris Johnson

Almost every year without the fail the Queen heads to the Scottish Highlands for her annual summer holiday.

She stays at her vast Balmoral estate with most of her close relatives making the trip north to spend time with her.

However, there are fears that this year her Balmoral trip could be cut short - and it's all down to the Conservative party leadership contest.

Boris Johnson's resignation last week triggered a leadership contest in the Conservative party - with the winner not only becoming party leader but Prime Minister.

Once the winner is declared, they will then have to meet the Queen for their first audience - where she formally asks them to form a government.

The Queen heads to Balmoral nearly every summer (Getty Images)

However, the new PM will not be announced until September 5 - meaning it will clash with her Balmoral break.

This means that the new leader of the country could be forced to make an 800-mile trip to Scotland the Queen.

However, it is reportedly more likely that the monarch would return to London or Windsor to greet the new PM.

The Queen invites Boris Johnson to form a government in June 2019 (Getty Images)

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And a source told the Daily Mail : "There seems to have been no thought given to the Queen's circumstances.

"Do the politicians seriously expect a 96-year-old woman to make an 800-mile round-trip for a ten‑minute audience?"

In the latest round of voting yesterday, the number of candidates vying to be the next Tory leader was whittled down to five.

The Queen on a visit to Thames Hospice today (PA)

This means the next PM will either be Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mourdant, Kemi Badenoch or Tom Tugendhat.

Meanwhile today, the Queen made a surprise visit to a hospice to open its new centre along with her daughter Princess Anne.

Amid high temperatures in the UK, the monarch travelled the short distance from her Windsor Castle home to Maidenhead to tour the Thames Hospice to meet staff, volunteers and patients.

She used her walking stick to tour the building where she signed the visitors book and unveiled a plaque to officially open the new centre.

On Tuesday, the Queen celebrated the achievements of the NHS across the decades by awarding the institution the George Cross during a ceremony she hosted at Windsor.

The 96-year-old head of state was joined by Prince Charles for event where health leaders from the four home nations were each awarded the medal.

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