Britain’s head of state King Charles III officially appointed Labour leader Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on Friday during an audience at Buckingham Palace.
A photograph released by the palace showed the monarch shaking hands with Starmer, whose party won a landslide election victory. The king earlier 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.”
“Sir Keir accepted His Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” a palace statement read.
In a historic political revolution, the opposition Labour Party won the British election, ending 14 years of rule by the Conservative Party.
The party’s victory was confirmed on Friday morning when it secured the 326 seats necessary for a parliamentary majority.
In an early morning speech, Stamer declared: “We did it! You voted for it, and now it has arrived. Change begins now.”
While expressing gratitude to the electorate, he said: “You have changed Britain. A weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation, and now we can look forward again.”
This election result marks a significant change in British politics.
Late Thursday, a reliable exit poll published found Labour on course to win 410 seats — just eight short of its highest-ever total.
