The Queen could be about to appoint her distant cousin as the next Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Jeremy Hunt, who is one of two contenders to become the next PM, is Queen Elizabeth II’s 5th cousin.
Alongside Boris Johnson, Mr Hunt will now go head to head in a battle to become Her Majesty’s 14th Prime Minister.
It is not unusual for distant relatives of the monarch to be appointed as PM. In 2010, The Queen’s 4th cousin, David Cameron, was handed the keys to Number 10.
Over the next few weeks, Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt will attend hustings to try and win over around 150,000 Conservative Party members who will vote for their next leader in July.
As the current government is Conservative, the next party leader will become Prime Minister with no general election. This means just 0.25% of the British population will choose who Her Majesty will appoint to take residence in 10 Downing Street.
Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary, is probably one of the UK’s best-known politicians.
With his marmite personality, Mr Johnson has always held leadership ambitions and is the most likely to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister.
Jeremy Hunt also has a history of holding numerous government positions and has continuously served in Cabinet since 2010.
He was first appointed as Minister for the Olympics, and then become Health Secretary in 2012 – a position he held until 2018 when he became Foreign Secretary replacing Mr Johnson.
The new Prime Minister will be tasked with managing the UK’s departure from the European Union. Mr Johnson led the campaign to leave the EU during the 2016 referendum, whereas Mr Hunt campaigned to remain.
Traditionally, the Monarch appoints the Prime Minister after a General Election and asks them to form a government. However, as the new Prime Minister will not be chosen as a result of an election, there is already a government in place.
