Boris Johnson Says Queen Elizabeth Was 'Bright and Focused' in Last Meeting 2 Days Before Her Death

Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth

Boris Johnson is recalling his final meeting with Queen Elizabeth, just two days before her death.

Speaking with the BBC, the former U.K. prime minister, 58, said the Queen — who died Thursday at age 96 — was "absolutely on it" Tuesday, as he tendered his resignation and the Queen appointed Liz Truss as her 15th prime minster in Scotland.

"Given how ill she obviously was, how amazing it was that she be so bright and focused," Johnson told the BBC of their final meeting. "It was a pretty emotional time."

He also said the Queen's death "was a colossal thing" for him personally, and that he felt "this slightly inexplicable excess of emotion" upon hearing the news.

Of his weekly meetings with the Queen, Johnson told the BBC that they were "a wonderful moment of tranquility" and "a fantastic break from everything else."

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Jane Barlow/AP/Shutterstock Queen Elizabeth and Liz Truss

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Foreign Secretary Truss, 47, was elected by the British Conservative Party on September 5. She beat out former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, becoming the third and youngest female prime minister of the United Kingdom.

"I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country," Truss said in a statement following the race against Sunak, 42. "I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom's potential."

Johnson announced he was stepping down as prime minister in July after losing the confidence of his cabinet. However, he opted to continue as caretaker prime minister until the party could find a replacement.

"The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP had an Audience of The Queen this morning and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept," Buckingham Palace said in a release on Tuesday.

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In a lengthy statement following the Queen's death, Johnson said in part that the late monarch — who was immediately succeeded by her son, the now-King Charles III — "seemed so timeless and so wonderful that I am afraid we had come to believe, like children, that she would just go on and on."

"This is our country's saddest day because she had a unique and simple power to make us happy," he continued. "That is why we loved her. That is why we grieve for Elizabeth the Great, the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history."

In her official statement, Truss wrote, "Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service."

"It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy," she said in closing. "God save the King."