After the drama of election night, the more serene constitutional formalities will follow on Friday morning. In all probability it will be Sir Keir Starmer who will be driven down the Mall to be invited to form a government by the king.
The so-called “kissing of hands” normally passes off without a hitch. Most prime ministers are appointed at Buckingham Palace, though one notable exception was HH Asquith in 1908, who had to take a boat and train to Biarritz in France, where the king, Edward VII, was on holiday.
