Boris Johnson’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds arrives in Aberdeen on a BA jet ahead of the couple’s two-day visit to Balmoral with the Queen
- Environmental campaigner Carrie Symonds, 31, arrives at Aberdeen Airport
- She is first unmarried partner to accompany serving PM on the engagement
- Queen goes to Balmoral Castle each summer with other Royal Family members
- She traditionally hosts PM in September, but this year’s visit will be cut short
By Mark Duell and Stephanie Linning for MailOnline and Jack Doyle for the Daily Mail
Published: 09:13 EDT, 6 September 2019 | Updated: 11:16 EDT, 6 September 2019
Carrie Symonds arrives at Aberdeen Airport today ahead of her visit to meet the Queen
Carrie Symonds stepped off a British Airways flight in Aberdeen this afternoon as she meets the Queen for the first time while accompanying her boyfriend Boris Johnson to Balmoral.
The 31-year-old former Tory spin doctor will be the first unmarried partner to accompany a serving prime minister on the traditional engagement.
The environmental campaigner smiled as she was photographed leaving the airport today with a woman said to be Number 10 special adviser Cleo Watson.
Ms Watson has also been seen over the past week with Mr Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings at Downing Street.
The Queen spends every summer at Balmoral Castle where she is joined by other members of the Royal Family.
She traditionally hosts the Prime Minister for a weekend in September, but this year’s visit will be cut short due to political turmoil in Westminster.
Instead of a weekend-long visit, the Prime Minister and Miss Symonds will stay in the castle in Aberdeenshire tonight then return to London tomorrow.
He will have a formal audience with Her Majesty and the couple will attend dinner with the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other royals.
Mr Johnson, who travelled separately, used his visit to Aberdeenshire to reveal Scottish farmers will receive an extra £51.4million over the next two years, in addition to the £160million announced in Wednesday’s spending round.
Mr Johnson was later seen leaving a hotel in Aberdeen in a car accompanied by Miss Symonds this afternoon on their way to see the Queen at Balmoral Castle.
Miss Symonds, who is pictured arriving at Aberdeen Airport today, is a senior adviser at Oceana, a US-based environmental campaign group
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was later seen leaving a hotel in Aberdeen in a car accompanied by Miss Symonds this afternoon on their way to see the Queen at Balmoral Castle
Environmental campaigner Miss Symonds (left) smiled as she left the airport with a woman believed to be Number 10 special adviser Cleo Watson (right) this afternoon
The Prime Minister and Miss Symonds (pictured arriving at Aberdeen Airport with a woman believed to be Ms Watson today) will stay in the castle in Aberdeenshire tonight
A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘The PM has accepted Her Majesty the Queen’s invitation to visit Balmoral.
‘He will have an audience of Her Majesty on Friday followed by dinner, before returning to London on Saturday.’
A No 10 source added: ‘This is a very busy time for the Government’.
Miss Symonds, who lives in Downing Street with Mr Johnson, 55, is a senior adviser at Oceana, a US-based environmental campaign group.
The trip to Balmoral can involve an informal barbecue and picnic but such informal events are likely to be cancelled because of the lack of time.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks a bull during a visit to Darnford Farm in Banchory near Aberdeen today to coincide with the announcement of extra funding for Scottish farmers
Miss Symonds was pictured with a woman believed to be No 10 special adviser Cleo Watson (above, yesterday) who has also been seen with Mr Johnson’s controversial adviser Dominic Cummings at Downing Street over the past week
Miss Symonds, who lives in Downing Street in Westminster with Mr Johnson, is pictured on August 12 helped to host a reception at Number 10 to thank hospice staff for their hard work
The former director of communications at the Conservative Party, who lives in the No 11 flat in Downing Street with Mr Johnson, 55, is now a senior adviser at Oceana, a US-based environmental campaign group.
Baroness Thatcher reportedly found the stay at Balmoral painful, with an observer writing that a ‘weekend in the country with aristocrats who enjoy riding, shooting, sports and games is Thatcher’s idea of torture’.
Former prime minister David Cameron once said there was not much ‘chillaxing’ – chilling out and relaxing – at the castle, with the royals spending their time on outdoor pursuits.
However, Cherie Blair revealed in her autobiography how her son Leo was conceived at Balmoral when she left her contraception at home out of embarrassment during her annual weekend stay there with then-PM husband Tony.
Carrie Symonds is polished in a blue houndstooth dress and knee-high boots as she lands in Aberdeen
Carrie Symonds knew all eyes would be on her as she stepped off the plane at Aberdeen Airport this afternoon, so it is of little surprise she chose an outfit that struck just the right style note.
The 31-year-old looked perfectly polished in a blue houndstooth coat dress as she arrived ahead of her visit to Balmoral, where she and boyfriend Boris Johnson will spend time with the Queen.
Typically refined, Miss Symonds opted for a dress with a sharp collar and modest knee-length hemline.
Polished perfection! Carrie Symonds, 31, was sophisticated yet understated in a houndstooth dress and black knee-high boots as she arrived in Aberdeen today
She paired the dress with semi-sheer tights and knee high black suede boots that feature a practical block heel.
Showing her look isn’t too ‘matchy-matchy’, Miss Symonds wore a leopard print hair tie around her wrist and a sophisticated black suede handbag on her shoulder.
In a nod to one of this season’s biggest hair trends, the PR specialist pulled her blonde locks back from her face with a chic clip.
A pair of simple gold hoop earrings completed the look.
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