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All The King’s Prime Ministers: a trio of politicians who have held the keys to Number Ten in a brand new reign

By
5th July 2024
King Charles III with UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak

King Charles is about to appoint the third Prime Minister of his reign.

Just 22 months after his accession, The King will ask another politician to form a government. It took Queen Elizabeth II five years to reach the same tally of Prime Ministers.

Brand new Prime Minister

Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Buckingham Palace after winning a landslide victory for the Labour party. There, in an audience, The King will ask him to form a government. He will become the third person to hold that post in the reign of King Charles III.

A Prime Minister across two reigns

The first Prime Minister of The King’s reign was Liz Truss who took office on September 6th 2022, just two days before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Liz Truss was the first Prime Minister of King Charles III (i-Images / Pool)

However, the government of Liz Truss lasted just seven weeks.

King Charles III’s first Prime Ministerial appointment

On October 25th 2022, she was replaced by Rishi Sunak who was appointed to lead the incumbent Conservative government following a leadership contest run by the party.

King Charles appointed Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister in October 2022 (ITV still/ fair use)

Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4th 2022 when his Conservative party suffered its worst ever election result. The Labour party was elected in a landslide.

Another first for a new reign

Sir Keir Starmer becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the reign of King Charles.

Sir Keir Starmer is the first Labour Prime Minister of the reign of King Charles III
(Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wiki Commons)

The State Opening of Parliament will take place on July 17th 2024.

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About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.