PM Johnson’s office apologises to Queen

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office apologised to Queen Elizabeth yesterday after it emerged that staff had partied late into the night in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, at a time when mixing indoors was banned.

Johnson is facing the gravest crisis of his premiership after almost daily revelations about a series of social gatherings during Covid-19 lockdowns, some held when ordinary people could not bid farewell in person to dying relatives.

In an extraordinary twist to a saga, the Daily Telegraph said drinks parties were held inside Downing Street on April 16, 2021, the day before Prince Philip's funeral.

"It is deeply regrettable this took place at a time of national mourning and No. 10 (Downing Street) has apologised to the Palace," Johnson's spokesman told reporters. Johnson was at his Chequers country residence that day and was not invited to any gathering, his spokesman said.

Opponents have called for Johnson, 57, to resign, casting him as a charlatan who demanded the British people follow some of the most onerous rules in peacetime history while his own staff partied at the heart of the British state.