King Charles III makes history with momentous meeting with new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

King Charles III makes history as he meets with the newly appointed Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at Buckingham Palace.

• King Charles III made history today on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
• The King met with Rishi Sunak at the monarch's London residence, Buckingham Palace.
• In other royal news, Kate Middleton and Prince William not 'dwelling' on Queen's death as they try to 'shield' children from sadness

Since Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, there has been a new monarch in the UK. Taking over from the Queen, King Charles III has been appointed the Sovereign Head of State and has been fulfilling the Queen's duties.

One of the many duties that now falls to the King is to appoint the new Prime Minister. This is a role that is typically awarded to the head of the party that has won an election. As the conservative party has now appointed a new leader, it then became the King's job to appoint Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister.

The pair met in Buckingham Palace in a meeting that made history. This was the first time that a British-Asian has been appointed as Prime Minister in the UK, and the first time any person of colour has held this role. 

This was also the first time that King Charles has appointed a Prime Minister, which marked a significant moment in history for the new King who has only reigned for a few weeks. 

Rishi Sunak is also the youngest PM to be appointed in more than 200 years at the age of 42. Sunak is also the first PM to practice Hinduism, and made his mark on Downing Street with candles to celebrate Diwali. 

The last Prime Minister to be appointed was Liz Truss when she was appointed leader of the conservatives by her party. Although Truss met with the King during her leadership, she was actually appointed by the Queen. Her Majesty appointed Liz Truss just a few days before she passed away, and this move was one of her last appointments as the monarch. 

Today's meeting with Rishi Sunak was likely a daunting one for the King, who is now taking on the responsibilities so carefully taken on by the Queen during her 70-year-reign. 

The Royal Family shared a post documenting this momentous meeting with a caption that read, "The King received The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP at Buckingham Palace today. His Majesty asked him to form a new Administration. Mr. Sunak accepted His Majesty's offer and was appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury."

Many were pleased to see the King step into his mother's former role. "His Majesty's first Prime Minister. Congratulations, King Charles ❤️," said one commenter. "Charles probably didn't think he would be doing that duty so soon," said another referencing the Queen's passing.