Britain's King Charles III (right) welcomes Britain's incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London on July 5, 2024, a day after Britain held a general election. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)
Labour leader Keir Starmer officially became prime minister of the United Kingdom on Friday.
Starmer received the blessing of King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony known as the "kissing of hands.” A photo of the occasion served as the official announcement of Starmer’s new title.
Earlier on Friday, Rishi Sunak offered his resignation as prime minister to the king.
Voters in the UK cast their ballots on Thursday in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.
After more than a decade in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak’s Conservatives suffered a major defeat.
Keir Starmer arrived in a car with his wife, Victoria Starmer, shortly after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. He is giving a speech outside No. 10 Downing Street.
Downing Street was lined with Labour Party supporters, who cheered his arrival, waving small Union Jack flags.
Earlier in the day, outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered his resignation to the king.
Sunak resigns Rishi Sunak has departed from Buckingham Palace following his resignation as prime minister, after the Conservative Party suffered staggering losses in the general election.
Sunak officially left the post after tendering his resignation to King Charles III in his final audience with the monarch. Sunak was driven to the palace in a chauffeur-driven ministerial car, and left in a private vehicle.
Sunak leaves 10 Downing street after final speech as prime minister Rishi Sunak has left the prime minister’s residence and headed to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to King Charles III.
"This is a difficult day, but I leave this job honored to have been prime minister of the best country in the world,” Sunak said in his final speech outside 10 Downing Street.
Sunak wished his victorious rival, Labour leader Keir Starmer, all the best: "Whatever our differences in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man who I respect.”
Sunak said he had given the job his all.
Sunak conceded defeat earlier in the morning as vote counts confirmed exit polls that had projected a landslide defeat for his Conservatives to the Labour Party.
After Sunak resigns, Starmer will go to the palace to seek the king’s blessing to form a government. After performing the "kissing of hands,” the new prime minister will head to his official residence, where he is expected to speak.
