Role King Charles will play in appointment of Rishi Sunak as his second PM in WEEKS – including an important gesture
KING Charles will play an important role when appointing Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister including one very important gesture.
Despite only acceding to the throne six weeks ago, Charles is unbelievably onto his second PM as King after Rishi Sunak won the Tory leadership election.
After Penny Mordaunt failed to get 100 MP backers, it meant he was the only one to meet the threshold to stand in the leadership race, and became the last one standing.
It comes as Liz Truss handed in her resignation as Prime Minister after just 44 days in office.
Ms Truss’ six weeks in office made her the shortest serving Prime Minister the UK has ever had.
The outgoing PM will make a statement outside No 10 before travelling to Buckingham Palace today for her final audience with King Charles, where she will formally resign.
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Sunak, the new Tory leader, will then travel to Buckingham Palace for his first audience with the monarch and be invited to form a government.
And Charles will play a big part when he welcomes in Rishi later today.
Rishi’s appointment as PM will be sealed with an unusual gesture.
As head of state, it is the monarch’s duty to appoint the prime minister who leads His Majesty’s Government.
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The Royal Encyclopedia states that the appointment of a prime minister is “one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign”.
When Sunak is called to see the monarch, they will ask them whether they will form a government – with acceptance the most common response.
After a new PM has been appointed, the Court Circular will record the crucial gesture that “the Prime Minister kissed hands on appointment”.
However, this is not literally the case and it is usually a handshake.
Sunak will then give his first speech as Prime Minister outside No10 at 11am today after being sworn in by the King.
In the afternoon, the new PM and his top team will appoint his new Cabinet and start running the country.
Mr Sunak addressed the nation for the first time as PM-in-waiting on Monday – saying he was “humbled and honoured” to be elected leader.
In a brief TV statement, Mr Sunak said: “It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love and to give back to the country I owe so much to.”
The ex-Chancellor hoovered up more than half of Tory MPs in the Conservative leadership race, leaving him with an unassailable lead.
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When picking the new PM, the monarch normally does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before calling upon the leader with an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons to form a government.
The King is guided by constitutional conventions and can seek advice from the outgoing PM, any other political leader, senior Privy Counsellors, or whomever he pleases within the limits of prudence and caution.