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Boris Johnson admitted that the late Queen was more clued up than he was on government matters in embarrassing extracts from his soon-to-be-published memoir.
The former prime minister’s royal revelations have garnered a lot of attention after he revealed he was called upon to give Prince Harry a “manly pep talk” to convince him not to step away from royal duties in January 2020.
He claims in his new book Unleashed that officials from the palace and Downing Street had asked him to intervene, which he described as “totally hopeless”.
However, sources familiar with these meetings have told The Telegraph that no such request was made.
Elsewhere in the book, Johnson details his engagements with the Queen, saying the late monarch offered him some wise words of wisdom.
She gave me at least two bits of crucial advice. Without offending convention, I think I can pass them on. She was surprised by my general lack of bitterness, given what had happened in Westminster, but she approved.
‘There’s no point in bitterness’, she said, and amen to that. If everyone in politics – and life – could see that as clearly as she did, the world would be a much, much happier place.
Johnson also revealed it was the Queen who broke it to him that an RAF F-35 fighter jet had crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff.
The crash in question occurred in November 2021, when an RAF F-35B Lightning II jet operating from HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff.
The aircraft was part of the UK’s cutting-edge fleet, designed for stealth operations and equipped with advanced technology. Fortunately, the pilot was able to eject safely and was rescued shortly after the incident.
The UK Defence Journal and other outlets reported extensively on the crash at the time, noting that it marked the first loss of an F-35 jet from the UK’s fleet. The incident raised concerns over operational safety and procedures aboard the carrier, particularly regarding the cause, which was later revealed to be a plastic rain cover accidentally left on the aircraft’s intake during takeoff.
The recovery operation to retrieve the jet, valued at around £100 million, was a high-profile event that involved significant international cooperation.
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