Theresa May has been appointed the UK's second female Prime Minister in a private audience with the Queen at which she was invited to form a Government.
Mrs May's elevation to the country's most senior political role, at the age of 59, completes a whirlwind rise which was triggered by the unexpected referendum vote for Brexit on June 23 which brought down predecessor David Cameron.
She "kissed hands" with the monarch in a simple procedure at Buckingham Palace which made her the 13th holder of the post of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury during Elizabeth II's reign
