By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The newly elected UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss took over office on Tuesday when she followed outgoing leader Boris Johnson in meeting Queen Elizabeth II for a ceremonial transfer of power showcasing centuries of tradition.
Truss, 47 took over office a day after the Conservative Party’s 172,000 members elected her to lead their party.
Johnson formally offered his resignation after delivering a farewell address outside his Downing Street office early Tuesday.
Truss, who was announced as leader of the ruling Conservative Party a day earlier, is now the 15th leader of the queen’s reign and the country’s third female Prime Minister. She was formally appointed during her own subsequent audience with the monarch.
This was the first time in her 70-year reign that the handover of power took place at the queen’s summer retreat, rather than at Buckingham Palace in London.
The ceremony, known as “kissing hands,” was moved to Scotland to provide certainty about the schedule because of the 96-year-old’s mobility problems.
Before heading north, Johnson addressed the nation surrounded by his family and a crowd of supporters.
He called on his party to unite behind Truss during the “tough time” facing the country of 67 million people, which will anxiously await her own speech for hints of how she plans to deal with soaring energy bills and a looming winter of recession and labor unrest.
