The late Queen Elizabeth II made a harsh joke about former Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a family gathering at Balmoral Castle only two days before her death, according to a new book.

The Queen appointed Liz Truss as her 15th prime minister in one of the final official acts of her reign.

New book ‘Out’, by author Tim Shipman, claims Queen Elizabeth II joked, “At least I won’t have that idiot organising my funeral now” after accepting Boris Johnson’s resignation as Prime Minister.

In an additional quip about his personality, the author also claims the late Queen added that Boris was “perhaps better suited to the stage”.

The author also notes the final few days of Queen Elizabeth II’s life had been “happy ones”. He penned: “She had enjoyed a gathering of her family and treasured staff two evenings before her death.

“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 organising my funeral now.’

“This, it seems, was said to amuse but it was a widely shared sentiment in the royal household.”

As reported in the Telegraph, the author writes there was “undiluted fury among senior members of the royal family and courtiers” about the prime minister’s decision to prorogue Parliament in 2019.

The then-Prince of Wales, was “outraged that Boris should treat the Queen like that”, he claims.

The late Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on September 8, 2022, with her passing at the age of 96 saddening the nation.

At first, Buckingham Palace did not release how the monarch had died but eventually the National Records of Scotland released to the public an extract from Her Majesty’s death certificate.

The late sovereign, the entry in the Register of Deaths read, died of “old age” and the entry also stated the late 96-year-old died at Balmoral Castle at 3.10pm on September 8.

A little more than half an hour after this sad announcement, the new sovereign, King Charles III, released his own statement.

It read: “The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.

“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.

“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.”

The book ‘Out’ by Tim Shipman is published by HarperCollins and is published on November 21.