Senior government officials spoke to Buckingham Palace at the height of the pandemic to express their concern about Boris Johnson’s conduct in office, the BBC has been told.

Officials even discussed suggesting to the Queen she raise the concerns with Mr Johnson during private audiences.

The revelation comes in episode two of the BBC documentary series, Laura Kuenssberg: State of Chaos.

It explores the turmoil in Westminster and Whitehall over four years.

Based on interviews with key players at the top of government, the series covers the period between 2016 and the departure of Liz Truss as prime minister in 2022.

In May 2020, as the government was grappling with the pandemic, there were significant tensions between Mr Johnson’s political team and the Civil Service.

Now, sources have revealed that senior officials expressed their fears about the former prime minister’s conduct in government to Buckingham Palace.

There were a number of clashes between Dominic Cummings, the former prime minister’s controversial chief of staff, and the head of the Civil Service, who subsequently left, Sir Mark Sedwill.

It’s understood officials expressed their worries to the Palace in the hope the Queen could raise concerns in her private conversations.

It’s understood there were a number of phone calls and communications over and above routine communication between Number 10 and the Palace.

One source said the then-prime minister “had to be reminded of the constitution”.