On Friday morning, King Charles III invited Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, to form a government and become prime minister following the party’s historic showing in the UK’s July 4 general elections.
Starmer joined the king in his sitting room in Buckingham Palace and officially assumed the premiership following the ceremonial head bow and handshake. (It’s called “the kissing of the hands” though no kissing actually occurs.) After leaving the palace, Starmer delivered an address to the nation outside at 10 Downing Street before entering the government office to begin his work.
“I have just returned from Buckingham Palace, where I accepted an invitation from His Majesty the King to form the next government of this great nation,” Starmer said. He also thanked his predecessor Rishi Sunak, who also resigned as leader of the Conservative Party following the electoral defeat. “His achievement as the first British-Asian prime minister of our country, the extra effort that that will have required should not be underestimated by anyone. And we pay tribute to that today.”
Starmer is the third prime minister since Charles’s reign began in September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II died during a tumultuous time in British politics, following the resignation of Boris Johnson and days into the short tenure of Liz Truss. Following her death, Truss resigned amid backlash over economic policies, and she was replaced by Sunak after ruling for 44 days.
Though the royals try to remain politically neutral, the king has a constitutional role which includes participating in the handover from one government to another. After Sunak announced the elections on May 24, the palace said that Charles and Prince William would both change their schedules to avoid overshadowing the election as it unfolded.
Though the royals shortened their annual Holyrood Week celebrating the monarchy in Scotland and didn’t undertake any public engagement on Thursday, they did share messages of support for Caribbean communities affected by Hurricane Beryl. The king announced that he made a personal donation to the Red Cross to assist in disaster relief, as did William and Kate Middleton.
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