The Queen’s last photo becomes an enduring tribute to her life of service

The Queen kept her promise to the end, fulfilling a pledge to dedicate her life to service with a last act of duty immortalised in her final photo with new Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The Queen pledged “my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service,” and that’s exactly what she did – working right until the end.

The Queen, who passed away in Balmoral on Thursday, was last photographed receiving the new British Prime Minister, at her home in Scotland on Tuesday.

Liz Truss – the Queen’s 15th Prime Minister – had flown to Balmoral Castle to be formally asked to form a new administration by the monarch.

The Queen was photographed greeting her in her summer holiday home, clad in her royal tweed, shirt and cardigan, reaching out to shake the new – and what would be her last – PM’s hand.

The smiling monarch looked in good spirits and the only sign she was ailing, was a large bruise on her right hand.

Queen Elizabeth greets newly elected leader of the Conservative party Liz Truss as she arrives at Balmoral Castle for an audience where she will be invited to become Prime Minister and form a new government on September 6. She died just two days later. Picture: Getty

Liz Truss was the last in a long line of Prime Ministers to meet the Queen.

Her first was Winston Churchill and her most memorable, according to royal insiders, was Margaret Thatcher, about whom she commented, “She stays too long and talks too much.”

The Queen, who was 96, followed up the meeting with a message to the Canadian people, after a stabbing massacre, writing, “I would like to extend my condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that occurred this past weekend in Saskatchewan.

“My thoughts and prayers are with those recovering from injuries and grieving such horrific losses. I mourn with all Canadians at this tragic time.”

Liz Truss was the last in a long line of Prime Ministers to meet the Queen. Picture: Getty

However, she could surely never have known that so soon after this message, the Canadians with the rest of the world – would be mourning the loss of the woman who had been the constant of the Commonwealth for so many generations.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we learned of the passing of … Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Thursday. “A page has not only been turned, but a chapter in our shared history has drawn to a close.”

Liz Truss, the new British Prime Minister said, “She has been a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons – her devotion to duty is an example to us all.”

The sudden passing of the Queen meant she spent her final days at her beloved holiday home, Balmoral Castle. The Queen treasured her time every summer at the estate in Aberdeenshire and it was full of joyful memories for the monarch. It was here in 1946, that Prince Philip proposed to the then Princess Elizabeth, although the engagement wasn’t announced until the following year, after she had turned 21.

It was only in the 72,000-acre estate that the Queen could truly relax, according to her

family. Princess Eugenie revealed in 2016 that “Granny is most happy there” and the Queen

would call the estate the place she could go for “the big rest.”

So, it’s fitting it would prove the place the Queen could finally rest, in peace.

Originally published as The Queen’s last photo becomes an enduring tribute to her life of service