Labour Party leader Andy Burnham officially assumed the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following successive waves of government leadership turmoil over the past decade.

According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, Burnham formally accepted King Charles III's commission to take over as Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, after a meeting during the ceremony known as 'Kissing Hands', the procedure symbolizing the transfer of power from outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer to his successor Burnham.

The King received Andy Burnham, who was Mayor of Greater Manchester, accompanied by his Dutch-born wife Marie France van Heel.

The new 56-year-old Prime Minister then proceeded to the government headquarters at 10 Downing Street in London, where he will officially take over duties as Keir Starmer's successor, becoming the fourth Prime Minister under Charles since his accession to the throne in September 2022.

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Andy Burnham breaks a record in leading UK governments, as he will be the seventh Prime Minister in just 10 years (since 2016), due to the waves of political turmoil the country has witnessed recently, especially with the start of campaigns for leaving the European Union ('Brexit').

The departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer assumed office in July 2024, after a major victory achieved by the Labour Party at the time, but he announced his resignation last June, due to several political, economic, and media pressures and problems.

Starmer said in a speech delivered surrounded by his aides and several ministers, 'I leave smiling, proud of everything we have achieved.' Stating that the United Kingdom today is 'stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.'