ROYAL EMBARRASSMENT

Boris Johnson Hangs Head in Shame Over Boozy Party Before Prince Philip’s Funeral

The British prime minister faced a brutal line of questioning over the pre-funeral bash at No. 1.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson bowed in head in shame Tuesday while answering a brutal line of questioning over the lockdown-busting party held at his official residence hours before Queen Elizabeth II was forced to sit alone at her husband’s funeral. Last week, it was reported that Downing Street staff drank and danced into the night on April 16 last year—the day before Prince Philip’s funeral, where pandemic rules put in place by Johnson’s government meant the queen had to sit by herself in her own section of the chapel. Asked if he felt ashamed that he had to apologize to the queen over the reports, Johnson bowed his head and averted eye contact with reporter Beth Rigby. “I deeply and bitterly regret that that happened and I can only renew my apologies both to Her Majesty and the country,” Johnson said. However, Johnson also “categorically” denied claims made by a former top aide this week that he was warned the party was against lockdown rules. “I would have remembered that,” he said.