Queen Elizabeth to receive new UK prime minister at Scottish retreat

London: Queen Elizabeth II will receive the new UK prime minister at her Scottish Balmoral retreat instead of Buckingham Palace next Tuesday due to ongoing "mobility issues", the palace said Wednesday.

It will be the first so-called "kissing of the hands" ceremony to take place away from central London since Winston Churchill met the queen at Heathrow Airport in 1952 after she came to the throne.

The 96-year-old monarch will also first receive outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the remote estate in northeast Scotland as he tenders his resignation.

Traditionally, the new prime minister arrives soon afterwards and the queen, as head of state, asks them to form a government.

The queen is on her traditional summer break in the Scottish Highlands, which usually lasts until October.

She was due to return to London to carry out the ceremony.

However, she has been dogged by mobility problems since October, when she required an overnight stay in hospital for an unspecified condition.

On medical advice, she has since cut back drastically on her public appearances, and has complained of difficulties standing and walking.

She admitted to being left "exhausted" by a bout of Covid earlier this year, and on the rare occasions she has been seen, has walked with a stick.

Earlier this month, she cancelled her traditional official "Welcome to Balmoral" and instead hosted a small private event.