London--British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived at Buckingham Palace for a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II on Monday that signals the official start of Britain's election campaign.
Cameron will formally ask the 88-year-old monarch to dissolve parliament ahead of a general election on May 7 that will be closely fought between his Conservatives and the opposition Labour party.
The audience is now purely a formality as a law for fixed-term parliaments was passed by Cameron's government, spelling out the dates for when the parliamentary term ends and when elections are held.
Cameron smiled as he left his residence ot 10 Downing Street, while a crowd of tourists watched the traditional daily changing of the guard ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace just before he arrived.
AFP
