Indian-origin Rishi Sunak to take charge as UK Prime Minister after meeting King Charles today: Report
Former PM Boris Johnson ruled himself out from the contest over the weekend and Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt conceding defeat just moments before the shortlisting deadline on Monday paved the way for a remarkable political comeback for Sunak, having lost the Tory membership vote to Truss just last month.
FollowRishi Sunak is all set to take charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after an audience with King Charles III on Tuesday, a day after he was elected the new leader of the Conservative Party in a historic leadership run.
According to reports, the outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning before she makes her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch.
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Sunak, 42, will then arrive at the palace for his meeting with the King, who will formally anoint him as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The former chancellor will then make his first prime ministerial address on the steps of 10 Downing Street, expected to be joined by wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka.
In his first address as Prime Minister-elect on Monday, Sunak said, "The UK is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge."
"We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together; because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren," he said.
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"I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in and day out to deliver for the British people," Sunak said.
Sunak, who describes himself as a "proud Hindu", is the UK's first Prime Minister of South Asian heritage and the youngest for more than 200 years at the age of 42.
Former PM Boris Johnson ruled himself out from the contest over the weekend and Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt conceding defeat just moments before the shortlisting deadline on Monday paved the way for a remarkable political comeback for Sunak, having lost the Tory membership vote to Truss just last month.
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However, his popularity as the frontrunner among his party colleagues has been replicated yet again as more than half the Tory MPs came out publicly in his support.
He now faces the enormous challenge of steering the UK economy through massive inflationary turbulence and also uniting the different wings of a divided Conservative Party.
