On Friday, King Charles III officially appointed Labour leader Keir Starmer as the new Prime Minister during a meeting at Buckingham Palace.
A photograph from the palace showed the monarch shaking hands with Starmer following his party’s landslide election victory.
Earlier, the king had accepted the resignation of Conservative leader Rishi Sunak.
“The King received in Audience The Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer MP today and requested him to form a new Administration,” stated a palace announcement.
“Sir Keir accepted His Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.”
Sunak apologized to the nation after the Conservative Party suffered its worst defeat in parliamentary history.
Sunak acknowledged the voters’ “anger” at his government and accepted responsibility for the loss, stating, “To the country, I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry. I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear message that the government of the UK must change, and yours is the judgement that matters.”
The former UK delivered his concession speech outside Number 10 Downing Street, equipped with an umbrella to avoid a repeat of his rain-soaked election announcement in May.
He announced his intention to step down as party leader, stating this would happen “not immediately but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place.”
The MP for Richmond and Northallerton promised an “orderly transition” and paid tribute to Sir Keir Starmer, calling him “a decent and public-spirited man whom I respect.”
After bidding farewell to his staff, Sunak, accompanied by his wife Akshata, travelled to Buckingham Palace to formally tender his resignation to the king.
In his victory speech in central London, Sir Keir declared, “Change begins now,” and expressed his honest satisfaction with the results. Labour is projected to form the next government with a majority of 174, holding 412 MPs, an increase of 211 from the previous election.
The Conservative Party, on the other hand, has lost 250 seats and currently holds 121, marking the worst result in its history.
