The Queen and Boris Johnson have held their first face-to-face meeting since the pandemic began and one of the hot topics was the health secretary.

During their weekly audience at Buckingham Palace, part of which was filmed, the monarch told the prime minister: “I’ve just been talking to your secretary of state for health – poor man. He came for Privy Council. He’s full of…”

Without letting Her Majesty finish her sentence, Mr Johnson jumped in with the reply: “Full of beans.”

Unfazed, the Queen continued on her track, saying: “He thinks that things are getting better.”

The prime minister replied: “They are. In the sense that we’re…”

The Queen and Mr Johnson have been conducting their audiences over the telephone since the UK outbreak began last year.

Before today, they last held a face-to-face weekly audience 15 months ago on 11 March 2020.

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