In seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II has seen 15 British prime ministers come and go, from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher to Boris Johnson to Liz Truss. Here is a list of leaders who served under her and their years in office: — Winston Churchill, 1951-1955. When Elizabeth’s father died in 1952, Churchill initially complained that she was “an only child”. But within days, the leader reportedly gushed over her: “All the film people in the world, if they had scoured the world, they couldn’t have found anyone so suitable for the part.” The couple continued to enjoy a close relationship. — Anthony Eden, 1955-1957. Eden resigned shortly after the Suez Crisis in 1956. — Harold Macmillan, 1957-1963. Macmillan once noted that Elizabeth “means being a queen and not a puppet” and that she had “the heart and stomach of a man”. — Alec Douglas-Home, 1963-1964. Douglas-Home, who was a family friend of the Queen Mother, served for just under a year. — Harold Wilson, 1964-1970, then 1974-76. Wilson, the first Labor prime minister during the Queen’s reign, reportedly enjoyed a relaxed relationship with Elizabeth. —Edward Heath, 1970-1974. The Conservative leader brought Britain into the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union. —James Callaghan, 1976-1979. The years of Callaghan’s administration were dominated by economic depression and problems with unions. — Margaret Thatcher, 1979-1990. Thatcher was Elizabeth’s longest-serving prime minister, but the relationship between the two women was widely reported to be frosty. — John Major, 1990-1997. The Major once said: “One can tell the Queen anything. Even thoughts you might not want to share with the cabinet.” — Tony Blair, 1997-2007. Blair was the first prime minister born during the Queen’s reign – a fact the monarch mentioned when they first met. He recalled telling him: “You are my 10th prime minister. The first was Winston. That was before you were born.” — Gordon Brown, 2007-2010. Brown’s short time in Downing Street ended after a disastrous election performance for Labor in 2010. — David Cameron, 2010-2016. Cameron was the youngest serving Prime Minister during Elizabeth’s reign. He attended Heatherdown School with the Queen’s son, Prince Edward. — Theresa May, 2016-2019. The three-year term of May, Britain’s second female prime minister, has been almost entirely consumed by Brexit. May tried three times to get Parliament to back her Brexit deal and resigned after repeatedly failing. — Boris Johnson, 2019 to 2022. Johnson will go down in history as the prime minister who “got Brexit done,” but his tenure was defined by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and scandals about ruling parties breaking the rules and making mistakes moral judgment. In July 2022 members of his government began resigning en masse, forcing him to announce his resignation. — Liz Truss, September 2022 to date. Truss won a Conservative leadership contest to replace Johnson as leader of the ruling party. The Queen officially appointed her Prime Minister at a ceremony at Balmoral Castle on September 6, two days before the Queen died.
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