Next week

Next week should be interesting. 

Assuming all goes to plan, a new Prime Minister will be appointed by HM The Queen. 

The Queen is currently at Balmoral in Scotland and it is reported that Boris Johnson will go there to tender his resignation. After that, his successor will attend Balmoral to be duly appointed.

Traditionally, there is always a face-to-face meeting and this has usually required just a short trip from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace.  Occasionally, a longer journey has been required. Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928) became PM in April 1908 and was summoned by King Edward VII to Biarritz where the King was on holiday. 

The full detail

of what actually happens at the meeting between the Monarch and the individual to be appointed appears to be known only to "insiders." It is said that the outgoing PM returns the "seals of office" and the new PM receives them. The term "Kissing of Hands" is also used as a description of these events -  'Kissing hands': The arcane traditions when Britain changes its Prime Minister | Stuff.co.nz

Boris Johnson became Prime Minister on 24 July 2019. The following day there was a Privy Council meeting at Buckingham Palace at which Johnson was sworn as First Lord of the Treasury - see Privy Council Minutes 25 July 2019

Johnson is 58 years of age and there is certainly time for him to make some sort of "return" to politics and there has already been speculation about this - e.g. Boris Johnson planning Downing Street return.

He was elected in 2019 as Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and will presumably continue as MP until the next general election. Of course, he could either resign as MP or he might receive a life peerage and become a member of the House of Lords.

As things stand, Johnson faces a Committee of Privileges investigation into whether he was in contempt of the House of Commons when he spoke about the parties held at Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic. The detail of this may be seen at Committee of Privileges - Summary - Committees - UK Parliament

There seems to be little doubt that many in politics would prefer the investigation to be closed down. At the time of writing, it is reported that Lord Pannick QC is to publish a legal opinion about certain aspects of the investigation - PM and allies launch legal fightback against 'witch-hunt' over partygate | Politics News | Sky News

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