LONDON (AP) – The Labor Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But the Labor leader Keir Starmer will not become prime minister until a carefully choreographed ceremony on Friday King Charles III will officially ask him to form a new government.
It was a moment that encapsulated the fact that, technically at least, the right to rule in England still comes from the royal authority, centuries after real political power has been transferred to elected members of Parliament.
The process was swift, if somewhat brutal as it left Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Below is how the ceremony was.
History meets the modern world
While England is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch’s power is strictly limited by law and tradition, much of what happens here has echoes of the past. In this case, the process harkens back to the time when the king exercised the highest power and chose the preeminent minister – the prime minister – to run the government.
Currently, the prime minister is the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Commons, but technically he still has to be offered the position by the monarch, said Anna Whitelock, professor of monarchical history at City University London.
“It reflects the history of our history and reflects the fact that we have a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister and the king work together,” he said. “Both of them have an important role in the Constitution. And we saw that, on the day when the prime minister officially took office.
What happened in the palace?
First, Sunak will go to Buckingham Palace to present his resignation to the king. Then Starmer will come for his first audience with Charles.
“There is a small window between the outgoing prime minister, and the official appointment of the new one, where the technical power is a few minutes with the king,” said Whitelock. “So there was a brief period when there was effectively a kind of vacuum in terms of parliamentary democracy. … But, of course, immediately there was a period when a new prime minister was appointed.”
This happened when the prime minister candidate entered the palace for a ceremony called “Kissing of Hands”, although there was no kissing. After the king asked Starmer to form a government, he would bow and shake Charles’s hand. A photo will be taken to record the moment the power is transferred.
Although there is no record of what was said between the king and the prime minister, dramatic activity will take place outside the palace gates. The news helicopter will follow Starmer and Sunak’s car to the palace and back. Commentators usually note the progress and speculate about what was said behind closed doors.
Typically, the new prime minister then leaves the palace in the prime minister’s car and returns to Downing Street to make a statement, receiving applause from staff members as he enters the famous black door at number 10 and begins the business of government.
How about Sunak?
In England, the verdict of the voters was delivered quickly.
After suffering a crushing defeat at the polls, Sunak will be forced to vacate the prime minister’s official residence before Starmer arrives a few hours later.
The soon-to-be ex-prime minister was brought to the palace in a chauffeur-driven ministerial car. But after preserving the retreat, he would leave in his private vehicle and return to his private residence.
The transition has been so swift that the moving van for the outgoing leader is usually near the back door of Downing Street as the new leader takes a bow at the front.
Why is the ceremony important?
The entire royal choreography shows, if nothing else, that the monarchy remains a symbol of stability and continuity at a time when deep divisions in society fuel furious political debate. Raja, who stands above the political fray, is still putting on a show – albeit ceremonially – and will continue to do so even in this prime minister’s absence.
“Everyone will say, ‘Well, it’s all ceremonial,’ but it’s an important part of the fact that governments can change in England, and we don’t do riots,” said George Gross, a royal expert at King’s College London. “Maybe it doesn’t need to be said before, but in the context of the current political and geopolitical world, I think it’s healthy.”
In her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was served by 15 prime ministers. Charles, who has been on the throne for less than two years, is now third.
“This is the pinnacle of power,” Gross said. “The end of the monarchy is continuity and prime ministers come and go.”
What happens next?
The king holds weekly meetings with the prime minister to discuss governance. While the queen is politically neutral, she still has the right to “advise and warn” the prime minister if she believes it is necessary. The meeting is private and the matters discussed remain confidential.
The king will return to the public stage this month for his next royal event: the opening of the country’s parliament.
Traditionally, the monarch arrives in a horse-drawn carriage, sits on the Throne in the House of Lords and wears the Imperial State Crown.
Then, during a joint sitting of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, he will deliver a speech written for him by the incoming government to set out the legislative programme.
It’s contest time, right. But it describes the role of the monarchy in modern England.
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This article has been amended to correct that Keir Starmer will be the third prime minister, not the second, to have been prime minister during the reign of King Charles III.
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Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
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