The King is to dissolve Parliament to allow a snap General Election to take place in early July.
In an unexpected move, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that he has asked His Majesty to begin the process of dissolution which would enable UK voters to go to the polls to elect a new government.
Next week, His Majesty will formally dissolve Parliament which will be followed by five weeks of election campaigning.
Mr Sunak will be hoping to lead the Conservative Party to another election victory, with the Labour Party’s Sir Keir Starmer hoping to claim the keys to Number 10.
Opinion polls suggest that Labour have a large lead, with Mr Sunak’s party appearing to be on the back-foot, despite being the incumbent governing party.
