Rishi Sunak has officially asked King Charles to dissolve parliament for his first general election as monarch on July 4th.
On Wednesday it was announced by the prime minister that Charles will dissolve parliament on May 30, 25 working days ahead of the next general election.
At the time of the last general election in 2019, Charles was still the Prince of Wales while his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, welcomed Boris Johnson as prime minister.
The final prime minister the late Queen invited to form a government was infamously Liz Truss whom she met at Balmoral just two days before her death.
This time round, Charles will be carrying out the ceremonial duties of the monarch during the electoral process.
Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, Mr Sunak confirmed: “Earlier today I spoke to His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July.”
Under UK protocol, the prime minister must request permission from the monarch to hold a general election, and then a date will be set for the dissolution of parliament.
The general election will then be held 25 working days after Parliament is dissolved.
The day after a general election the King will invite the leader of the party that won the most seats in the House of Commons to become Prime Minister and to form a new government.
While Charles has never overseen a general election as King, he has formally met with two prime ministers during his reign including Liz Truss and the current prime minister Rishi Sunak.
After the national vote on July 4, the King will likely meet with Mr Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer to ask them to form a government.
Mr Sunak told journalists on Downing Street in the pouring rain on Wednesday: “On July 5, either Keir Starmer or I will be prime minister. He has shown time and time again that he will take the easy way out and do anything to get power.”
In a statement, Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister has today asked His Majesty The King to proclaim the Dissolution of Parliament. His Majesty has been graciously pleased to signify that he will comply with this request.
“Parliament will be prorogued on Friday 24 May. Dissolution will take place on Thursday 30 May. The General Election will take place on Thursday 4 July. The new Parliament will be summoned to meet on Tuesday 9 July, when the first business will be the election of the Speaker and the swearing-in of members, and the State Opening will be on Wednesday 17 July.”
A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.
The prime minister has gambled that improved inflation figures and a recovering economy will help him overturn Labour’s 20-point opinion poll lead.
In a sign that security and the economy will be key battlegrounds, Mr Sunak said: “This election will take place at time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War.”
The “uncertain times” call for a “clear plan”, he said.