The Queen Called Boris Johnson an Idiot Before She Died

Queen Elizabeth laughs while wearing a turquoise floral embroidered jacket while Boris Johnson looks pensive in a black suit — (Image credit: Alastair Grant - Pool/Getty Images/MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

It seems as though Queen Elizabeth got up to plenty of mischief throughout her life. For instance, she once trolled American tourists by pretending she wasn't the Queen. She also didn't mince her words, and reportedly called one photographer "a horrible little man." Now, a new book alleges that Queen Elizabeth said some pretty brutal words about former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In his new book Out: How Brexit Got Done and the Tories Were Undone, Tim Shipman revealed that the Queen made a very dark joke about Johnson. According to Shipman, following Johnson's resignation, the monarch allegedly quipped, (via the Express), "At least I won't have that idiot organizing my funeral now."

Elizabeth also reportedly said of the former politician and TV personality, "[he's] perhaps better suited to the stage."

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Boris Johnson wears a suit and shakes hands with Queen Elizabeth II, who is wearing a turquoise dress — Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth on July 24, 2019.

Shipman shared that the monarch made her comments about Johnson during the final days of her life.

"She had enjoyed a gathering of her family and treasured staff two evenings before her death," he wrote. "The courtier confided that when Boris Johnson was mentioned, the Queen, mischief in her eye, had said: 'Well at least I won't have that idiot organizing my funeral now.'"

Evidently, the Queen enjoyed making people laugh, with Shipman writing, "This, it seems, was said to amuse but it was a widely shared sentiment in the royal household."

Queen Elizabeth smiling in a green coat while talking to Boris Johnson

Shipman's book also discussed Johnson's alleged beef with King Charles, whom he thought was "too woke." According to the author, Johnson disagreed with Charles' views regarding the U.K.'s approach to making reparations for colonialism and slavery.

Per the book (via GB News), "[Charles] revealed that he wanted to respond to the widespread fury about colonialism unleashed by the Black Lives Matter campaign, by acknowledging the evils of slavery."

However, the then-Prime Minister reportedly had other thoughts. "Johnson, despairing that even the monarchy had been captured by woke ideology, was blunt," Shipman explained.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.