The Queen is expected to hold her weekly audience with the Prime Minister tonight by telephone from Windsor Palace.
The 96-year-old monarch flew back to her Berkshire residence on Wednesday after spending five days privately in Norfolk.
It followed a trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week when the head of state made an increasingly rare run of official public appearances including attending the historic Ceremony of the Keys in Edinburgh.
The Queen is expected to hold her weekly audience with beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is facing the most serious crisis of his leadership by telephone.
The Queen will speak to the Prime Minister over the phone later this evening
Jane Barlow
Her telephone call will follow the meeting of Conservative Cabinet ministers, who are allegedly urging Mr Johnson to resign.
Previously, Mr Johnson has described his weekly audiences with the Queen as similar to a “very tough interview”.
“She always asks the best questions,” he said in 2019.
He revealed during a Parliamentary tribute to the Queen, in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee, that his regular meetings with the monarch were always “immensely comforting, because she has seen the sweep of it”.
The Queen is hoping to present the George Cross to the NHS during a special audience at Windsor next Tuesday.
Accompanied by her son, the Prince of Wales, she will welcome the chief executives of the National Health Services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and a frontline worker from each of the home nations on July 12.
The 96-year-old Monarch has been suffering from ongoing mobility issues, but is hoping to attend the audience.
The monarch awarded the NHS the prestigious bravery award a year ago for its “courage, compassion and dedication” during the pandemic and throughout the 70-plus years since its foundation.