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Saturday, December 24, 2016

Theresa May 'kept up her Brexit silence' at a meeting with the Queen

The Queen was left "disappointed" that Theresa May declined to reveal details about her Brexit plans, it is claimed today.

The Times has revelations from a "source close to the monarch" that the Prime Minister stuck rigidly to her message that "Brexit means Brexit", when they spent the weekend together.

Mrs May was invited to Balmoral in September for the first time, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were said to have been looking forward to hearing her private thoughts on the subject.

But the Prime Minister - who visited the Scottish estate with her husband Philip - apparently revealed no more in private than she has during her public appearances.

The account suggests their relationship did not get off to an ideal start, although a newspaper report at the time suggested the two women "got on famously" - and share an interest in outdoor pursuits.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street would comment on the report.

A palace spokeswoman said: "By long-established convention we never disclose details of discussions between the Queen and her prime ministers. Nor would we comment on anonymously sourced conjecture of this kind."

Behind the scenes however is irritation at the report, with one source insisting it was not representative of Mrs May's conversations with the monarch during her two-day stay in Scotland.

The visit - an annual fixture for prime ministers - came just two months after Mrs May entered No 10 following the resignation of David Cameron in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Although she had attended regular weekly audiences with the Queen it was the first occasion the two women had spent an extended period of time together.

Mrs May has frustrated some MPs by refusing to offer "a running commentary" on Brexit. At an appearance before a Commons committee this week she refused to directly answer a string of questions.

The Queen is said to be a keen observer of the political scene, and previous Prime Ministers have spoken of how they confided in her about difficult decisions.

Her private views are a source of fascination, although a report earlier this year the Queen vented her frustration at Brussels during a private lunch with ministers was slapped down by the Palace.

However during the Scottish referendum in 2014 the Queen expressed hopes that Scots would "think very carefully about the future" - a comment which was taken to show her support for the Union.

A biography of the Prime Minister alleged that she and David Cameron had a "strained" breakfast on the morning that a poll put the independence side one point ahead.

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