King Charles has held an audience with Rishi Sunak where he has officially appointed him the new Prime Minister.
Mr Sunak is the second PM of the King's reign, which is only just over six weeks old, following the resignation of Liz Truss. As head of state, it is Charles’s duty to appoint the head of His Majesty’s Government - and it is the first time he has carried out the job of appointing a PM. Following a speech outside Downing Street this morning, Ms Truss travelled the short distance to Buckingham Palace where she formally tendered her resignation to the King, which was accepted.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP had an Audience of The King this morning and tendered her resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept."
Immediately afterwards, Mr Sunak also went to the Palace, where the King offered him the opportunity to form a new government and become premier of the UK.
He was welcomed by Sir Clive Alderton, principal private secretary to the King and Queen Consort, the monarch’s Equerry, Lieutenant Colonel Jonny Thompson, and Sir Edward Young, joint principal private secretary to the King before being taken to the palace's 1844 Room.
The King and Mr Sunak were pictured shaking hands as they met and the palace said: "The King received The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP at Buckingham Palace today. His Majesty asked him to form a new Administration. Mr. Sunak accepted His Majesty's offer and was appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury."
After the new leader of the country has been appointed, the Court Circular will record that "the Prime Minister kissed hands on appointment”. This is not literally the case, and it is usually a handshake.
The monarch does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before calling upon a politician to form a government.
But the overriding requirement is to appoint someone who can command the confidence of the House of Commons – which usually means the leader of the party with an overall majority of seats in the Commons.
Last week, Ms Truss announced she was to resign - just 44 days after being appointed PM - and yesterday it was revealed that Mr Sunak had been elected to be the new leader of the Conservative party.
Afterwards in a speech, Mr Sunak said he was "humbled and honoured" to get the backing of Tory MPs, who handed him the keys to No10.
In a televised address, he also pledged to provide "stability and unity" after weeks of Tory-inflicted chaos. He also paid tribute to his crisis-hit predecessor and described her seven-week stint in Downing Street as leading with "dignity and grace through a time of great change".
