The UK's New Prime Minister BBC News Special

resignation and four Theresa May to arrive at Downing Street is new

Prime Minister. Let's hang back to Westminster and June Edwards.

a lot about that, about making the economy work for everybody - for

those who that, about making the economy work

for everybody. For those who don't have as much as others. How far she

can go down that road is another matter because David Cameron said

the same things when he came into power, he talked about the savings

we have heard about from Theresa May but he had no money, no majority,

because of the crash. Theresa May doesn't have a huge majority in the

House of Commons so she may have been she wants to do but whether she

will be able to achieve those not is another matter. This is just a few

yards away from where we are now and there is the Prime Minister's card

and the security vehicle. We're just waiting for the events to unfold. --

the Prime Minister's Harb. The handover will be very efficient.

Chris Grayling was the last talks have taken place over the last few

days. As we look at the scenes just a thought on the sequence of events.

Once she a thought on the sequence of events.

through the door, once she crushes dumber crosses the threshold,

greeted by the Cabinet Secretary. -- once she crosses the threshold.

There will be a long line of staff to welcome the new Prime Minister,

straight into the Cabinet room, and any serious briefing on security and

other matters. That is the normal course of events, important

decisions to be made about Cav appointments. The US spec them to

come pretty quickly? She has not have long to think about it, but it

will have occurred to her in the past few weeks, and she will want to

get going. It happens so quickly, when it actually starts, she is

given a security briefing, a lot of which she will know about because

she has been Home Secretary. Long, but people talk about the moment

when it is made clear that you are in charge of the nuclear weapons. --

Paul so long. She will want people around her that she feels she can

trust, we saw David Cameron's team who has been on every visit with

him, and a new team will come in. She has to make all those decisions,

there has been a lot of talk about who she may have as Chancellor in

Number 11, not likely to be George Osborne, we don't think. She will

have their views, and we don't know so much about her views on foreign

affairs, because she has been in the Home Office. Sometimes this news

leaks out, but it seems a pretty tight run operation. Yeah, and

everyone has been saying, when they joined up to her campaign, which was

going to be longer than it was, she did not offer them anything. I spoke

to another minister who said, you have no idea, when you run to be

leader, suddenly there is people knocking on your door that you have

never heard of before, and they are asking for jobs. He said, he didn't

want to do that, she has not done that. She will not be beholden to

anybody, she will pick the people who she wants around her, and she

knows them well, she knows what they are capable of. To some extent, I

wonder whether the Cabinet two will be a bit in her mould. Of course,

people in this position once people with similar opinions, but I wonder

if they will be people who, like, we'll get on with the job. Not much

leaking, and people have been over the road speaking to MPs, they are

all guessing, but no-one knows apart from Theresa May. We will talk again

in a while. Just to explain to those of you joining us, the form of

events today, the formal process is well-established. The Prime Minister

will even be ten, will make a statement. Actually, not all of them

do, Tony Blair didn't. -- will leave Number Ten. He will make the Johnny

to Buckingham Palace, and after the audience with the Queen, then Mrs

May will go. -- he will make the journey. The only known is how long

the audience with Mrs May will ask, Gordon Brown's first audience lasted

nearly an hour, that is probably the longest we have none. Mr Blair's

first audience, Mr Cameron's audience lasted half an hour. Then

Mrs May will come back, and we are certainly expecting the new Prime

Minister to address the British people in Downing Street and

underline the priorities she has for her time in office, however long

that lasts. Let's join Sophie Raworth at Buckingham Palace.

It is getting busy here at Buckingham Palace, we are expecting

it to get even busier in the next 45 minutes, when David Cameron arrives

at around five o'clock this afternoon. With me here our royal

biographer Hugo Vickers and Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at

King's College London. Good afternoon to both of you. Hugo

Vickers, explain what will happen when David Cameron arrives this

afternoon. He will have that curious tribe up the Mall, he will go to the

forecourt of the Palace, be met by the private secretary, quite a long

walk to the Queen's private rooms, where she will receive him and he

will design. She is an important part of the constitution, that is

when he ceases to become Prime Minister. -- and he will resign. It

is called the kissing of hands. That is for the new Prime Minister, some

say that the lips brush the hands, but it is the way they put it,

certainly. The relationship that the Queen will have with her new Prime

Minister, the relationship with their past Prime Minister is,

because Theresa May will be the 13th Prime Minister, how much do we know

about it? The interesting thing is we only know anything about these

relationships from the Prime Ministers themselves who

occasionally let out a few things. So what's James Callaghan said is

that the Queen offers friendliness, not necessarily friendship. She will

be extremely supportive to the Prime Minister in any way she possibly

can, she has a huge raft of experience, having reigned for 60

years. Theresa May will be the third Prime Minister born within her

reign. The first was Winston Churchill, born in 1874, so that was

rather different. David Cameron, the first time she saw him, he was

playing a rabbit in a school play! The interesting thing is, if she

asks for formal advice, she is obliged to take it, and she will,

but if she offers advice, he does not have to take it, but he would do

well to listen because she has seen it all before. And it will all be

over for David Cameron pretty quickly. He will be thinking of 2010

when he drove in for the first time, and now suddenly it is all over, it

must seem a very short period of time. For the Queen, over the course

of 64 years, it is just another one coming along, full of ideas,

enthusiasm, plans, questions. She perhaps will not know how much will

be achieved. Vernon Bogdanor, Theresa May, second longest serving

Home Secretary, well used to the workings of government, how much a

step up will it be for her to leave the country? It is a huge change.

The Home Office is traditionally thought of as the cemetery of

political reputations. Before Theresa May, I think there were six

different Home secretaries in 13 years, 13 years of Blair and Brown

governments. But being Prime Minister is different, you are in

command of such a huge range of issues, you cannot afford to be a

control freak, you have to delegate, and all the difficult issues come to

you, including ones she may not be familiar with, such as matters of

dealing with the economy, which is quite central to politics, foreign

affairs, the European Union. She has had some dealings with the European

Union, but not really central to her work in the Home Office. And the

important thing to remember is that every difficult issue comes to you

to be resolved. If they were easiest use they would have been resolved

before they get to you, so it is quite different job. We can look

back in history at people who were quite good departmental ministers

but not good Prime Ministers. Anthony Eden, an outstanding Foreign

Secretary, not a good Prime Minister, and then Gordon Brown,

outstanding Chancellor, ran into trouble is as Prime Minister.

Converse be, you have ministers who are really not very good as

departmental ministers, arguably Margaret Thatcher, a very ordinary

Education Secretary, many would say an extremely good Prime Minister.

You cannot tell how someone will perform until they are actually

doing the job. David Cameron, you taught him, didn't you? He was one

of your star pupils, the youngest Prime Minister for almost 200 years,

and now the youngest for 110 years to leave, you must be disappointed

to see your star pupil go so soon. Well, he will certainly be

disappointed, because there is a lot of his agenda still to achieve. His

main aim, I think, was to improve the life chances of the less

fortunate, the so-called big society, to achieve an aspirational

society in which you you were born to, or which school you went to,

meant much less than it has hitherto, but he started on that

programme, and of course it is not completed. But then as Enoch Powell

so famously said, all political careers end in failure. It is

particularly sad for him, having won a first overall Conservative

majority for 23 years in the general election last year, one year later

he is gone. What we'll is legacy be? Will it be as the Prime Minister who

took us out of Europe? -- what will his. It will be to make the

Conservatives an electable party, they have lost three elections in a

row, which had not happened previously before the First World

War. He turned the party around from being the nasty party, as Theresa

May famously said, to being a party that could win power, then he helped

restore the economy, and we are the strongest among the G8 from the

difficulties that he inherited in 2010, and he began a programme of

education and welfare reform. But perhaps his greatest achievement is

to create good feeling, both in government and amongst the public.

You did not have the Cabinet scribbles that mark the Blair and

Brown years, and that was one of the reasons for the success of the

coalition. -- squabbles. Do not think losing the referendum will

overshadow that? I do not think that will define his premiership as Suez,

for instance, defined Anthony Eden's premiership. There are many other

achievements, and I think it will be seen in perspective, that the

Cameron regime was a civilised and liberal, tolerant regime, which made

many people in Britain feel more at ease with itself, although not

enough in Arnautovic and as we saw in the referendum. And as we look

forward to Theresa May as Prime Minister, the new relationship she

will have to forge with the Queen, we know the Queen takes a huge

interest in the political goings-on in Britain. She certainly does, and

as I said before, she will be as supportive as she possibly can to

Theresa May. I think there will probably get on rather well, Theresa

May is cool, calm, intelligent, not particularly competitive, and I

think she and the Queen will have good conversations together.

Whatever Theresa May wants to tell the Queen, it will remain private,

there is no body else in the room, they can talk about what ever they

like. The Queen is about the only person with whom she can have those

conversations. Hugo Vickers, Vernon Bogdanor, thank you very much. Back

to you, Huw. Sophie, thanks be imagined to your

guests. While Sophie was talking to the guests at Buckingham Palace, a

letter published by Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council,

such a significant figure now in the months head, given what Mrs May

needs to be negotiating, dear Prime Minister, he says, not technically

Prime Minister quite yet, dear Prime Minister, on behalf of the European

Council, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment

as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland. I look forward to a fruitful working relationship and

to welcoming you to the European Council. So quite a short letter,

but warm, formal but paying, obviously, paying attention to the

courtesy and formality and saying, I look forward to a fruitful working

relationship with you. We are in Downing Street, and we are expecting

Mr Cameron to emerge from Number Ten quite shortly, and then we will have

Mrs May coming here to take over as Prime Minister a little later on. It

is worth underlining at this point that there is a lot of focus, of

course, on what Mrs May has done so far in government. She has been in

the Home Office for six years, and there has been a quite big focus,

not least on the record on immigration, given that it took such

a prominent part in the referendum campaign. My colleague Tom Symonds

reports now on Mrs May's record in government and on what we can expect

of her as Prime Minister. She might have thought

she had the summer Thrust into power,

the dreaded inbox awaits. Well, let's take a look

at Theresa May's big leadership campaign speech,

delivered just hours Top of the list - the B-word

and a new slogan. And we are going to make

a success of it. She hasn't said yet what Brexit

will mean but there's no chance And she doesn't want to be

defined by it. This speech was mainly

about the economy. But she barely mentioned

the deficit, cutting that defined Instead, she talked about helping

people to share the fruits of economic success,

and industrial policy putting workers on company boards to tackle

excessive bosses' pay, It doesn't matter to me

whether you are Amazon, Google or Starbucks, you have a duty

to put something back. You have a debt to your fellow

citizens and a responsibility The key test is how much

she will intervene in the economy Theresa May was the Home Secretary

who failed to cut it, Whether she can reduce it

will now depend in part on - yes, you guessed it -

the Brexit negotiations. Her support in the

party appears broad. Left and right, Leavers

and Remainers, MPs from the length The results showed that they are

Conservative Party can come together, and under my

leadership it will. Leaving the EU will delight

the party's Eurosceptics. But if we were to end

up with Brexit-lite, The need for unity

goes much further. We will make Britain a country

that works for everyone. She enters Number 10 promising

radical policies for working people, people who perhaps think politicians

don't stick to their policies. Brexit will be hard,

but the task of overcoming that We me is one of the most prominent

commentators at Westminster, assistant editor of the Spectator.

When David Cameron makes his statement today, what will he want

to underline at the end of his six years in office? He will want to set

out as he sees his legacy as being. Everybody else will see it as being

the Prime Minister who took the UK out of the European Union. Gay

marriage, he will want to craft a legacy for himself. He wanted his

second term to be about his legacy but he never had a chance to

implement that. When we saw the scenes in the House today, there

were jokes and standing ovation, but underlining that was a sense of

sadness and regret for Conservatives that this Premiership has come to an

end in this way. Absolutely, this wasn't how David Cameron had planned

it. You could see he was moved by the speeches of his colleagues.

Peter Lilley, he was surprised by the tribute he was given by him.

These images are from earlier. A penny for his thoughts at this

point. He is leaving the House of Commons for the last time as Prime

Minister, after six years appearing at the dispatch box. Five years in

challenging times in the coalition Government, and it is just over a

year ago, he is the Prime Minister who for the first time since 1992

delivers a Conservative majority, and he has been forced out of office

What an extraordinary game, that you can win a surprise majority and be

leaving Downing Street earlier than you thought in the past few weeks.

On Monday he thought he would be leaving by the end of the summer.

But he's had to pack his bags quickly. He was giving one of those

polished performances that we are used to. And there another another

shot of him entering the car, with Samantha. The children where there

too, up in the Public Gallery, one of the daughters cheering while the

Conservatives were clapping. Those are scenes from earlier. A thought

for the incomer, Mrs May, who spent six challenging years at the Home

Office. There'll be some who criticise the record there, although

most people seem agreed she is meticulous, very hard working. She

is not one of these people who plays political games in the way others

do. What for you are the qualities she will bring here which will

possibly lead to her getting on top of things? The funny thing about

this leadership moving so quickly, we haven't had a chance to

scrutinise Theresa May's time at the Home Office. She is more of a sketch

than a picture. We have to get to know her as Prime Minister. She is

no nonsense, hard working. She doesn't have a set like Cameron. She

appoints people she really respects. Quite tough people around her as

well. This was the group the other day when she acknowledged the

election as leader of the Conservative Party. Of course, there

are quite a few familiar face there is who might finish up in

Government. I am going to put you on the spot. Who do you think are up

for the top three jobs at the Home Office, Foreign Secretary and

Chancellor? I loved how keen all the MPs around Theresa May looked. It

was Jobcentre Plus for Parliament wasn't it. Chris Grayling, her

campaign manager, will do very well. Philip Hammond is being touted for

Chancellor. Justine Greening potentially for Foreign Secretary,

given that she was at international development. She has worked hard in

cabinet doing something she didn't necessarily want and maybe deserves

a promotion. Do you think it will look different in terms of the

gender balance? She is keen to improve the gender balance of her

Cabinet. She has always encouraged women in whatever stage of politics

they are at. She can't have a Cabinet that has Remainers in the

top jobs. She has to be careful about the offices of state to make

sure there are those who campaigned for Leave as well as those for

Remain. Isobel Hartmann, thank you. And there's the bird's-eye view of

Downing Street for you. If you are watching on BBC One, BBC News

Channel or BBC World, we are covering events this afternoon, the

transfer of power between one Prime Minister and another. David Cameron

shortly, we think, to leave Downing Street to head for Buckingham

Palace. Past the vast ex-expanse of Horse Guards Parade and up to

Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to the Queen. Queen.

Then we expect to see Mrs May, the Home Secretary, arriving in Downing

Street soon after that take up her position as First Lord of the

Treasury and Prime Minister. All of that to come. Not long to wait. We

are expecting some movement here within the next few minutes. We

mentioned Prime Minister's Questions earlier, which set the tone for the

day in many ways. One of those polished performances from Mr

Cameron, delighting lots of people on the backbenches, many of whom

paid tribute to his leadership of the last six years, despite the

circumstances of his departure. Let's not forget those

circumstances. The youngest Prime Minister to leave

office for more than 100 years. After six years and 62

days, it's all over. Far swifter than he'd

planned or expected. One last journey to the Commons

for David Cameron's final His successor at his side

and his wife and children Mr Speaker, this morning I had

meetings with ministerial Other than one meeting this

afternoon with Her Majesty the Queen, the diary for the rest

of my day is remarkably light. And if he's looking to fill it,

there were suggestions aplenty. I'm told that there are lots

of leadership roles out There's even across the big Pond a

role that needs filling. And rather than clashing

with the Prime Minister, the Labour Mr Speaker, it's only right that

after six years as Prime Minister we thank the right honourable member

for Whitney for his service. I've often disagreed with him,

but there are some of his achievements I really

want to welcome and pay One is helping to secure

the release of Shaker Aamer from And legislating to achieve equal

marriage within our society. A moment too for Mr Cameron

to attempt to shape his own legacy. There are 2.5 million more people

in work in our country. There's almost a million

more businesses. 2.9 million apprenticeships have

been trained under this Government. And he couldn't resist a last dig

at the Labour leader. I have to say, I'm beginning

to admire his tenacity. He has reminded me of the Black

Knight in Monty Python's Holy Grail. He's been kicked so many times

but he says, "Keep going, But in the end Jeremy

Corbyn wished him well. It was almost as if the two

leaders had made up. First of all, thank you for the kind

remarks and the good wishes to my amazing wife, Samantha,

and my lovely children, who are all watching

from the gallery today. And there was one final thing

he had to set straight And the rumour that

somehow I don't love And I have photographic

evidence to prove it. He belongs to the house

and the staff love him And from his backbenchers

there was admiration. Can I first of all join all those

in thanking the Prime Minister for the statesmanlike leadership

he's given to our party and to the country for the last six

years, and thank him particularly on this occasion for the debating

eloquence but also the wit and the humour that he's always

brought to Prime Minister's But it wasn't all warm

words for Mr Cameron. The Prime Minister's legacy

will undoubtedly be that he's taken us to the brink of being taken out

of the European Union, so we will not be applauding his

Premiership on these benches. On to his feet for a final

time as Prime Minister. The last thing I would say is that

you can You can get a lot of things done,

and that in the end, the public service, the national interest,

that's what it is all about. Nothing is really

impossible if you put your After all, as I once said,

I was the future once. For now though fond farewells,

one last wave, a final goodbye, as power passes from one

Prime Minister to the next. The world's media gathered in

Downing Street ready for the departure. The podium has been

installed. That means we are just a few minutes away from seeing David

Cameron, possibly members of his family, leaving Downing Street for

the last time as Prime Minister, after six years and 62 days in

office as first Lord as First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister

of the United Kingdom. It is a very significant day in political

history, because of the circumstances in which this turnover

has come about. In which this transfer of power has come about.

Let's stay on these images. Vicki Young is with me. We think back of

previous occasions, on the day Tony Blair #r50i6d and left, when Gordon

Brown took over, and setting the tone on departure and on arrival is

absolutely essential? It is, and they as politicians feel it is a

very big deal. We are hearing he is coming out right now. I'm going to

move out of the way. Leaving office at the age of 49, the youngest Prime

Minister to leave office in over 100 years. He came to office at a very

young age of 43, back in 2010. Spending five years this coalition

with the Lib Dems, and last year of the election, gaining that first

Conservative majority, albeit just 12 seats, for the first time since

John Major scored that majority for the Conservatives, in 1992. A very

significant achievement for him. Just last May, in 2015, and today

having to come out to confront the world's media and to say goodbye to

Downing Street, and to say goodbye to Government after his time in

office. I'm sure that he'll have some very memorable words to share.

Here comes the Prime Minister with members of his family.

Samantha and the three children. Good afternoon. When I first stood

here in Downing Street on that evening in May 2010, I said we would

confront our problems as a country and lead people through difficult

decisions so that, together, we could reach better times. It has not

been an easy journey, and of course we have not got every decision

right. But I do believe that today our country is much stronger. Above

all, it was about turning around the economy, and with the deficit cut by

two thirds, 2.5 million more people in work, and 1 million more

businesses, there can be no doubt that our economy is immeasurably

stronger. Politicians like to talk about policies, but in the end it is

about people's lives. I think of the people doing jobs who were

previously unemployed. I think of the businesses that were just ideas

and someone's head and that today are making a go of it and providing

people with livelihoods. I think of the hard-working families paying

lower taxes and getting higher wages because of the first-ever national

living wage. I think of the children who were languishing in the care

system but who have now been adopted by loving families. I think of the

parents now able to send their children to good and outstanding

schools, including free schools, which simply did not exist before. I

think of over 200,000 young people who have taken part in National

Citizen Service, the fastest-growing youth programme of its kind in the

world, something that, again, wasn't there six years ago. I think of the

couples who have been able to get married, who weren't allowed to in

the past. And I think of the people on the other side of the world who

would not have had clean drinking water, a chance to go to school, or

even be alive, were it not for our decision to keep our aid promises to

the poorest people and the poorest countries in our world. We have used

our stronger economy to invest in our health service. When I walked in

there, there were 18,000 people waiting over a year for the

operation. Today, it is just 800. Too many, still too long, but our

NHS is a national treasure, and one whose staff perform miracles, as I

have seen, every day. And we strengthen our nation's defences

with submarines, destroyers and frigates, and soon aircraft

carriers, rolling out of our shipyards to keep our country safe

in a dangerous world. These are the choices and the changes that we

made. And I want to thank everyone who's given so much support to me

personally over these years. The incredible team at Number Ten, these

civil servants whose professionalism and impartiality is one of our

country's greatest strengths. And my political advisers, some of whom

have been with me since the day I stood for my party's leadership 11

years ago. I want to thank my children, Nancy, Elwyn and Florence,

for whom Downing Street has been a lovely home over these last six

years. They sometimes take the red boxes full of work. Lawrence once

climbed into one before a foreign trip and said, take me with you.

Well, no more boxes. And above all, I want to thank Samantha, the love

of my life. You have kept me vaguely sane, and as well as being an

amazing wife, mother and businesswoman, you have done

something every week in that building behind me to celebrate the

best of voluntary service in our country. We will shortly be heading

to Buckingham Palace to see Her Majesty the Queen, where I will

tender my resignation as Prime Minister, and I will advise Her

Majesty to invite Theresa May to form a new item illustrations. I am

delighted that, for the second time in British history, the new Prime

Minister will be a woman and once again a Conservative. I believe

Theresa will provide strong and stable leadership in fulfilling the

Conservative manifesto on which we were elected, and I wish you well in

negotiating the best possible terms for Britain's exit from the European

Union. Let me finish by saying this - the spirit of service is one of

this country's most remarkable qualities. I've seen that service

day in, day out in the incredible work of our Armed Forces, our

intelligence agencies, and our police. It is something I always

knew, but as Prime Minister uses it so directly that it blows you away.

-- you see it. And of course writing those heartbreaking letters to the

families who have lost loved ones is a poignant reminder of the profound

scale of what these men and women do for us in the defence of our

freedoms and our way of life. We must never forget that. In a

different way, I have seen the same spirit of service in the amazing

contributions of countless volunteers, in communities up and

down our country, who are making our society bigger and stronger. And I

am proud that every day for the past years I have used the office of

Prime Minister in a nonpolitical way to recognise and thanked almost 600

of them as points of light whose service can be an inspiration to us

all. For me, politics has always been about public service in the

national interest. It is simple to say but often hard to do. But one of

the things that sustains you in this job is the sense that, yes, our

politics is full of argument and debate, and it can get quite heated,

but no matter how difficult the decisions are, there is a great

sense of British fair play, a quiet but prevailing sense that most

people wish their Prime Minister well and want them to stick at it

and get on with the job. So I want to take this moment to say thank you

to all those who have written letters and e-mails offering me that

support, people who I will never get to meet and never get to thank

personally. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve our

country as Prime Minister over these last six years, and to serve as

leader of my party for almost 11 years. And as we leave for the last

time, my only wish is continued success for this great country that

I love so very much. Thank you. APPLAUSE

HUW: David Cameron embraces Samantha and the three children on the

threshold of Ten Downing Street, applause from the staff who have

been with him for the last six years.

Mr Cameron defined his legacy in his own terms, set out his achievements

as he would like them to be seen. And so the children make their way

to one of the cars, as Mr Cameron has one last look along Downing

Street at the massed ranks of the media here. But more importantly for

him, all of his friends, colleagues and staff, who are wishing them well

as they bark on the next phase of their lives. So, for the last time,

into the prime ministerial car. Mr Cameron glances again along Downing

Street. APPLAUSE

He acknowledges the applause, fully aware of the import of this

occasion, and what it means for him, the end of his premiership after six

years in circumstances that he would never have wished.

And the Prime Minister will cavalcade now making its way along

Downing Street and some crowds gathered at the gates of Downing

Street, some of them wanting to voice support, others wanting to

voice displeasure at what pace as Mr Cameron's record in government. --

at what they say. On past the Scotland Office, then Horse Guards,

the building on the left, beyond that Will Skelton parade, where Mr

Cameron has attended Trooping the Colour for the last six years. --

beyond that Horse Guards Parade. Then up towards Trafalgar Square,

ready for the great sweep under Admiralty Arch, and then down along

the Mall, the great processional route which leads directly down to

Buckingham Palace. Lord Nelson surveying the scene

entered Albert -- in Trafalgar Square. Then a left turn and

Admiralty Arch, which these days is privately owned. From 1912, it was a

very grand part of the government property portfolio in central

London. Making their way now slowly down the Mall. Buckingham Palace is

directly ahead. They go down, switching lanes, as is the Prime

Minister's right, along towards Buckingham Palace. Vicki Young, our

chief political correspondent, just a quick thought on the nature of the

Prime Minister's statement in Downing Street. There must be a part

of it, really wondering how this happened, how this happened so

quickly that he is leaving here, anyway that he did not want to

leave, because of that vote on the European Union. But he will want to

make sure that his legacy stands, that it is more than just the Brexit

vote, talking about those in society who do not have as much as others,

talking on a personal level about employment, saying these are not

statistics, these are people who have jobs, how we wanted to help

them, talking about gay marriage, equality, these are the things he

wants to be remembered for, not the Brexit vote. We will talk more about

this statement later, but they are heading towards the Palace, crossing

St James's Park there, and Sophie Raworth is at Buckingham Palace to

look at the arrivals there. Indeed, the Prime Minister real

cavalcade just arriving at the Victoria memorial. It is just a

short drive to Buckingham Palace from Downing Street, the Prime

Minister, his wife Samantha, and their three children in a separate

vehicle, arriving here at the gates of Buckingham Palace. David Cameron,

who arrived in Downing Street at just the age of 43, the youngest

Prime Minister for almost 200 years, now becoming the youngest tourism

in, the youngest since 1895. So they sweep across the forecourt at

Buckingham Palace, into the inner quadrangle, where they will be

greeted by the Queen's Equerry and a lady in waiting. I am joined here by

Hugo Vickers, the Royal historian, and also by Nicholas Witchell, talk

us through what will happen now. I remember being in the quadrangle six

years and two months ago when he was appointed, there was no escort

group, no motorcycles from the special escort group of the

Metropolitan Police, he got stuck in traffic. Now, with his wife, and we

think with the children in the people carrier behind, being greeted

by Wing Commander Fletcher, the Queen's Equerry, who will escort the

Prime Minister and the Prime Minister alone, his wife will be

greeted by a lady in waiting, and she will be taken into an anteroom

while the serious business is done, while the Prime Minister, as he

still is, it goes in. And the children behind them, I think I am

right in saying that is the first time we have seen the Prime

Minister's children come for this resignation. We saw Gordon Brown

coming, but they did not come to Buckingham Palace for the audience

where he resigned. The entire family going in, the first time we have

really seen the Cameron children on public display, if one can use that

word in that way. Into the Palace, up to the Queen's Private audience

room, where it will just be David Cameron and Her Majesty the Queen,

and he will tender his resignation. Once that has been done, then

certainly Mrs Cameron, and I would imagine the three children, will

also be invited into the audience room to spare and perhaps just a few

minutes with the Queen as she talks about, well, what will it took

about? We never know. We never know. You go, you know perhaps more than

many people, but it is remarkable that it remains terribly private. It

does, and the great advantage of having a constitutional head of

state like the Queen, the departing Prime Minister, they can chat away

happily with each other, and it is private. Perhaps that is the only

person to whom the Prime Minister can unburden themselves of their

various problems in the sure knowledge that it will not go any

further. Occasionally, a Prime Minister might write their memoirs

and tell us that they got a lot particular Lee well with the Queen,

we have to take their word for it, because we never hear it from the

Queen herself. David Cameron did speak about the audience he has with

the Queen, how he finds it easier to talk to her than to others. Via is

not alone in that, that is the great advantage, because the Queen has

been seeing state papers for 64 years, and David Cameron was only

born in 1966. The Queen had already been on the throne for 14 years

before he was even born, so imagine the experience that she has. I think

that is the most fascinating aspect of it. When the Prime Minister, if

he gives formal advice, she will take it, but if she advises him, he

does not have to take it, but he would do well to listen. Weekly

audiences take place every Wednesday, we don't know how long

they go on for, but presumably the Queen does get to know her Prime

Ministers well in that time. She does, and she will ask them

various questions, so it means they have to be up to speed with what's

happened since the last audience. It is a bit like reporting to the

headmistress if you like, what's been going on. I would be very

surprised if the Queen hadn't been watching on the television the

statement the Prime Minister made in Downing Street. Putting aside all

considerations, it was quite a poignant moment seeing the Prime

Minister declaring his love for his wife, praising her for the support

she has given him throughout the Prime Ministership, and seeing the

three children there. What would they have made of the ranks of

photographer there is, which they don't normally see. And they've been

out of the limelight for the last six years. And that's our

obligation, but on this occasion, as Gordon Brown did when he departed

from Downing Street, there was the family tableau of them all, with

their mother and father to Downing Street. I don't suppose necessarily

the children will have Plett the Queen before. They see their father

going off every Wednesday evening gooing off to meet the Queen, and

hear him discreetly talking about his meeting with the Queen. But here

they are with this family group and this huge constitutional

significance. This is the moment when David Cameron is resigning. He

tenders his resignation and he advises the Queen to appoint Theresa

May as the next Prime Minister? Yes, and when Theresa May gets, there

what the Queen will be asking her is, are you in a position to form an

administration. And we though that she is. When Harold Macmillan took

over after the Suez crisis, he told the Queen, I might only last six

years. He said that six years later she reminded him of that. The

Queen's role in this, she has no role in who will be the next Prime

Minister, but that wasn't always the case. No, in the early days the

royal prerogative was such that if there was any doubt about a Prime

Minister, she would take soundings from people, the Marquis of

Salisbury and so forth, but now it is arranged by the party and by

members of Parliament and sometimes, if Theresa May had this election, it

would've been members of the Conservative Party in the country

who would have decide hood the next leader was. But the Queen is a very

important part of the constitution. There are three elements, the

elected House of Commons, the House of Lords, which is in a way the

chamber which tidies up the legislation. They are not elected.

And there is the Queen, who is there by hereditary right. No Bill becomes

an act of Parliament until she signs it. So nothing can happen until it

reaches her, which means a lot of people see it along the way. The

Palace realised it was in danger of damaging itself in 1963 when the

monarch was to some extent involved in choosing who the next Prime

Minister would be. It was interesting that David Cameron he

would resign and tender his advice to the Queen to cull upon treatment

strictly speaking, once he has resigned as Prime Minister his

advice counts for nothing, because it is not Advice with a capital A,

and it is one of the areas, one of the those few circumstances in which

an outgoing Prime Minister may have a motive in offering advice which

may not be in the best interests of the country. It is perfectly clear

on this occasion who the Queen will send for. That person has already

been sent for. Theresa May, even now, will be waiting with her

chauffeur with the engines prepared to scoot up here with her husband as

soon as, or almost as soon as David Cameron has left. But yes, it is

very clear on this occasion who is to take over. And very shortly,

because I notice that the Camerons arrived at Buckingham Palace at 9

minutes to 5, so we are about 8 minutes into their attendance at

Buckingham Palace, very shortly they will be leaving. I don't think we'll

see the changeover of cars, which in some occasions there was. Stepped up

security. The Prime Minister leaves behind his prime ministerial

limousine. Outgoing Prime Ministers have security, just as the Home

Secretary will have had security apparatus behind her, and

particularly when it was clear she was to become Prime Minister. In

terms of what we are going to see in the next few minutes, very little,

as there are no cameras inside the Palace, but when David Cameron

became Prime Minister for the first time there was a photo issued within

10 minutes, of the Queen and David Cameron. It was the first time they

had done that. There's a Press Association photographer I think in

the audience room who will be there for the first five minutes I believe

of David Cameron's leave taking and Theresa May's audience, as Hugo has

been explaining. Are you in a position to form a Government? Yes,

will you therefore form a Government? And then the shaking of

hands. That's the point when Theresa May's husband will be invited in. It

will be interesting to see how long the audience with the Camerons

takes. I don't suppose it will be terribly long, as David Cameron of

all people will be aware of the need to have a new Prime Minister in

place. She will be anxious to get back to Downing Street to make the

statement outside Downing Street in exactly the same position as Mr

Cameron was making his leave-taking statement. And I was struck, I must

say. It was quite personal. Political at times, looking back on

his administration, but saying, no more red boxes. One sensed an area

of relief in his voice. And the children kicking the red boxes, as

he said. The youngest one wanted to get into one, and go abroad with

him. Humorous to the last. It was a human family gathering there, with

Florence, I think, the eldest, no, Nancy the eldest daughter, looking

and gazing and taking in that was happening around her father, the

Prime Minister. Gosh, what memories for those children. And it is all

over so quickly. That oughtience we expect will not last terribly long.

We are expecting Theresa May within the next half-hour, and for David

Cameron it is done? It is an extraordinary process. As Nick was

saying, it all happens incredibly quickly. Until a couple of days ago,

that was the children's home and they were likely to stay there for

some time. David Cameron himself was very much I think looking forward to

a tour around Europe, going to different places, and saying

goodbye. All that's been denied him by the sudden decision that Theresa

May will be the Prime Minister. We should just point out, lest people

get slightly confused, there's a meeting of the Privy Council taking

place at Buckingham Palace tonight. There are a lot of police

motorcyclists whizzing around, whistling their whistles to stop the

traffic. There's a meeting of the Privy Council taking place, so we

don't believe that any of these vehicles contain Theresa May. It

would not be the done thing for her to arrive before David Cameron has

left. It is very much orchestrated, and she will not leave the Cabinet

Office until David Cameron's left the Palace? Absolutely, whether it

is somebody from Buckingham Palace phones up to say Mr Cameron, not the

Prime Minister, has now left, so give it a few minutes and you can

come on up. But yes, the choreography of this is something

the Palace doesn't do very often but this is what officials, that's what

they do. They are in touch to make sure that this choreography goes as

smoothly as possible. But amongst the Privy Councillors going to

Buckingham Palace, and it is a reminder that the normal business of

government continues, despite the tact that we are change Prime

Minister. There's a routine meeting of the Privy Council taking place at

the Palace then the Queen will be attending after she has appointed

her new Prime Minister. So that's taking place at the moment. Amongst

the Privy Councillors attending tonight is Chris Grayling. Grayling.

He might well be wanting to rather stand by his phone to see what

messages might come through. But actually he's got to attend a

meeting of the Privy Council. In a quadrangle of Buckingham Palace. No

sign of anybody coming out of that portico to the right of the picture.

So surely one chapter comes to a close, a new one begins. Theresa

May, who will come here soon, will be the Queen's 13th Prime Minister.

Yes. The UK's second female Prime Minister. Understand is going to be

an entirely new relationship. We understand Theresa May doesn't know

the Queen that well, although she must have met her on a number of

occasions. How much do we know about how the Queen has got on with her

Prime Ministers past? The only way we know is what the Prime Ministers

themselves have told us. Harold Wilson told us he got on terribly

well with the Queen. Sometimes a certain amount of information comes

out through letters that are published. Certainly when Winston

Churchill and when Harold Macmillan stepped down, the Queen wrote very

nice letters to them thanking them for helping her. In those days she

was a young Queen, guiding them. In the case of Macmillan, she said, you

have had to help me through a lot of family problems, during the time he

was Prime Minister. Nick was talking about the advice that was given.

Harold Macmillan summoned the Queen to the Edward VII Hospital, to

clinch that Sir Alec Douglas Home should take over instead of Rab

Butler. After this PROBLEM WITH SOUND. Next thing was a

man from the GPO trying to take away his scram blower telephone. It was

disconnected. The Queen is very engaged in political life, very

interested. Interested. She will be even more so at this point. One of

the great things about the Queen. I think she should be called Elizabeth

the Steadfast. All through her reign she has had such a good vision of

what it is to be Queen, and she is a very good skilliator. She is a very

calming presence. That's one of the great things that she has done. When

she went to Scotland, she said everybody should calm down and stay

calm and carry on. That's very much her message. I'm sure she will be a

great help to treatment she'll have the chance to get to know her better

at the end of August, because David Cameron's invitation to Balmoral...

It will presumably now be the traditional visit of the Prime

Minister and his while. A deeply coded message that the Queen opened

at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. No reference to the

referendum, or to the explicitly to the fact that we are going through

an uncertain time. Just this message encouraging politicians to take time

and be calm. And there are those, and let's's be frank about this,

who've said this time of great uncertainty the head of state might

perhaps have said something rather more explicit to calm nerves. That's

not the Queen's style. Her great success rests to very much on the

fact that she does step back completely. Even at a time of such

uncertainty, unprecedented in our recent memory, she chose not to say

anything that was clearly and explicitly a reference to the

referendum and the aftermath. In contrast of course to the aftermath

of the Scottish referendum, when she urged the country and the different

sides to come together. This was I think too difficult, too sensitive,

still too political for her advisers and her to feel it was something she

could say. But that's what she was doing, skilliating. If you remember

the time when the Princess of Wales was killed, when she made that good

speech from the Chinese dining room, all these years later it was very

calm and measured. I suspect we just saw a Privy Councillor trying to go

into the wrong gate of Buckingham Palace. It is the north gate they

normally go into but it has roadworks and repairs, so this

rather lost, perhaps, Privy Councillor. We hope that's not

Theresa May, finding its way in through the correct gate. When

Theresa May does come, one of the other things, as Hugo was saying, we

are reminded of the consistency and the Constancy of the Queen

throughout the 64 years of her reign, and the advice, the advise

bomb perhaps she can offer, having had such a long perspective. Winston

Churchill, the first Prime Minister, was born during the reign of Queen

Victoria. We have a third Prime Minister about to be appointed who

wasn't born when this reign was began. The first of those of course

was tonight. Gordon Brown was born before the Queen's reign started.

David Cameron wasn't. The youngest Prime Minister appointed at the age

of 43. He is not yet 50, until October. So his Premiership is done

at the end of 49. But now Theresa May, who is 59 herself, I shouldn't

really give away ladies' ages, should we? She was born at the start

of the Queen's reign. We are waiting for the Camerons to emerge. They've

been in there for 10 or 15 minutes I think. When David Cameron goes to

see the Queen, presumably he is in there now, it will be him on his own

tendering his resignation. Afterwards the expectation is

Samantha Cameron and the children will be invited to say a few words

to the Queen. They certainly will. The first part is formal and

private, and it has to be that way. But afterwards, I suspect the Queen

will have a certain amount of sympathy for the children and their

mother, and will probably send them away from the Palace all feeling a

little bit better. After all, they've lost their home. They are to

go into a difficulty place. It is going to be very confusing, and this

is a rite of passage, the sort of thing the Queen does very well.

Winston Churchill, born in 1864, David Cameron born in 1966, almost a

century apart. That's extraordinary. I hope Theresa May is not

superstitious. She is the 13th Prime Minister being appointed on the 13th

of the month, but she doesn't look the superstitious type really.

I would have thought that very shortly now we would see the

Camerons leaving Buckingham Palace. And then when team-mate does arrive,

presumably within the next half-hour, what will happen then? --

Theresa May. Again, the formal part will be very brief, she will be

taken up to the audience room by the Queen's Equerry, and I'm sure the

private secretary will also be there in evidence. But just the Queen and

Theresa May will be in the audience room together, and as we have said,

the Queen well ask formally, are you in a position to form a government?

And she will ask, would you please form a government come to which

Theresa May will say, yes, OK. We have a slight difference on this

kissing other hand is business. Tony Blair said that he heard that his

lips had to brush the Queen's hand, but perhaps I should not take what

he says to seriously these days! It is a great opportunity for the Queen

to have a chat with the new Prime Minister, it will be quite informal

at that point, she might want to ask one or two pertinent questions, but

it is more of a formal occasion, as Nick says, with a slightly social

elements later. There is plenty of opportunity for them to talk about

the more serious issues later. I do not think the Queen will be asking

her to name a Cabinet, although Theresa May might well wish to tell

her one or two names. And you will have an audience with the Queen next

Wednesday, arriving for longer, in-depth discussions. She will, and

you will find the Queen very well informed. Ministers have often been

caught out by the Queen, they have always said, if they do not do their

homework properly, she will catch them out. She asked one question

with great theatrical timing, are you sure? And they had better be

sure! I would think the Queen might take this opportunity, we don't

know, but given that she will be going to Balmoral quite soon, given

the seriousness of the situation, I would have thought that she might

well want to just start to get a sense of what the Prime Minister's

intentions are on these massive issues and challenges that she now

faces. There will certainly be another audience next week, but very

soon after that the Queen will be going to Balmoral for several

months, although the Prime Minister will be invited up, that is not

generally until the end of September. So the Queen, who, as we

have said, is very fully engaged as head of state, and will want to know

what her new Prime Minister's broad intentions are, perhaps what is

going to be your strategy. The Queen will be interested, and I am sure

that she will have some questions that she will hope to have outlined

answers two. The same time, the Queen will be mindful that this is a

huge step up for Theresa May, that she has been Home Secretary, a

member of the National Security Council and all these other weighty

offices, but for anybody to be stepping into the office of Prime

Minister at this particular time, just yesterday Sir Nicholas Soames

was saying that he couldn't render a time when a Prime Minister was

starting the administration facing greater challenges than Winston

Churchill, his grandfather, had faced in 1940. Now, of a completely

different order, we were fighting a war of national survival then, but

there is no doubt, I think, that Mrs May has huge challenges to face, and

I think that it is reasonable that the Queen will want to get some sort

of sense of, how are you going to tackle this? What sort of ideas do

you have about how we should go about it? Still no sign. The

policeman outside Buckingham Palace, not great crowds, a lot of tourists,

just sightseers going past us, wondering what on earth is going on,

and we have been telling them, the Prime Minister is about to resign.

We understand that, at the Houses of Parliament, Theresa May will be

leaving from the Houses of Parliament shortly. That is where

she is at the moment. Crowds gathering there as well. A car

waiting at the entrance. That is where she will set off from,

presumably not until she has been given the all clear, as it were, not

until she has been told that David Cameron has left Buckingham Palace,

which we are expecting fairly shortly. The Queen at least has the

privilege of not being rushed, and if she wants to chat to David

Cameron and her family for a little bit, she will do so, and why not?

Gordon Brown spent a long time. There is one other thing that

perhaps I should not say, but I am quite keen to. This is -- when

misses Blair left, when the Blairs were leaving, she curtsied to her, I

think the Queen always wins in the end. I am not going to get into that

debate at all! It is interesting, because Margaret Thatcher was always

deemed to be the deepest curtsier of any person who met the Queen, and

she did it with considerable panache. But that is an interesting

relationship, isn't it? It is. The relationship between our only

previous head of government and the head of state, and I'm sure no-one

but the Queen knows the nature of that relationship, but I think it is

fair, is it not, to conclude that there were ups and downs, difficult

periods, not least because of the Queen's commitment to the

Commonwealth, and all of the difficult moments that there were as

a result of that? I quite like the story that Mr Thatcher was worried

that she had turned up in the same outfit, the same colour outfit, sent

a message, would it be possible to have some advance notice of what the

Queen was going to wear? The message came back, the Queen never notices

what other women where. There is evidence that the Queen was

supportive, because as soon as Mr Thatcher left, she gave her the

order of merit, in her personal gift, a very important decoration.

-- Mrs Thatcher. Later she was appointed to the House of Lords, so

she had all the possible honours that she could possibly need. We are

now waiting for David Cameron and his family to emerge from Buckingham

Palace. David Cameron having, we think, already tendered his

resignation. Shortly afterwards, and it does all seem to be choreographed

very tightly, shortly afterwards we expect that Theresa May will leave

the Houses of Parliament and climb into the vehicle there waiting

outside, which will bring her, and presumably her husband, Philip May,

to the Palace, where she will then be asked by the Queen to become the

new Prime Minister. You do get the impression that the driver of that

car is just waiting for the word to set off. But this audience is

certainly taking the best part of half an hour, now since the Camerons

arrived at Buckingham Palace, and no sign that we can determine that they

are about to leave. But I can't think that it would be very much

longer. But by all accounts, from what's David Cameron has said about

his relationship with the Queen, it has been a warm relationship, and no

doubt she will want to spend some time with him, his wife, with the

children, who, as we say, the first children to be there as the Prime

Minister offers his resignation. Yes, I think the Queen, as I say,

she can take as long as she likes chatting to them, and will perhaps

want to ask him all sorts of questions as well. It is a good

opportunity for a debrief, she will not have such an opportunity again

for a while. She can call upon him at any time in the future, because

he is a Privy Councillor, but there is no evidence that she does that

sort of thing these days. I think it would be hard to imagine that the

Queen and Mr Cameron have not got on. He is, again, leaving aside

whatever you think of is politics, he is a very personable, quite

humorous, an easy character, it might be said, to warm to, which has

not been possible to say that about every person who has occupied the

office of Prime Minister during her reign. And I think that there have

been some individuals in that office with whom she has found it very

difficult to strike up a report, there have been some who have been

very friendly, very gregarious, with whom one imagines the Queen has

enjoyed those weekly audiences. Others who have been rather harder

work. Well, I can't imagine that it has been very hard work with Mr

Cameron, there was one terrible faux pas after the Scottish referendum,

where he disclosed something of the nature of the conversation that he

had with the Queen, with the mayor of New York. And of course, I am

sure, he got quite a telling off for that, and he was extremely

embarrassed, because he knew that he had really made a mess of that. But

I think, other than that, I would imagine that their relationship has

been a good and cordial and constructive one, as between the

head of state and the head of government. Now, it remains to be

seen whether the dynamic of the new relationship between the Queen and

Prime Minister May is going to take them time to get to know which

other, as any two individuals, as chairman and chief executive, which

essentially is what this relationship is akin to, a

nonexecutive chairman and a chief executive. But they are going to

have to break through and get to know each other, given the

seriousness of the situation that Mrs May is facing with their

government. We have seen, going from what you said, that he is not very

good with microphones, he sometimes forget they are around. There was

the tiny was going into Downing Street the other night humming, and

there was another time when another private conversation quite recently

was picked up. He was talking to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The hats

good advice would be to be aware that microphones are quite

dangerous. -- perhaps. A statement from Buckingham Palace just now, the

following announcement is easy by the communications secretary to the

Queen, the right panel David Cameron MP had an audience of the Queen this

evening and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and first Lord of

the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept. So we

know officially and formally that Mr Cameron has resigned.

HUW: the scene at the House of Commons, where Theresa May, until

now Home Secretary, is now circling Parliament Square on a way to

Buckingham Palace for that audience with the Queen to be invited to form

a new government as Prime Minister and first Lord of the Treasury. So

Mrs May, with her husband Philip, are on their way. They were waiting

for the signal from Buckingham Palace that the audience with the

Camerons had ended, and ended with that statement that Nicholas

Witchell has just relayed to us, which is that Mr Cameron has

formally resigned as Prime Minister, that resignation has been accepted

by Her Majesty The Queen, and the call has gone out from the palace to

invite Mrs May to come along and attend an audience with Her Majesty,

where she will be invited to form a new government. So a different route

to the Camerons, going down bird cage walk on the other side of St

James's Park, passing Wellington Barracks on the left, then at

Buckingham Palace in just a few seconds time. St James's Park, a

magnificent sight at this time of year, with all the trees, a great

vantage point for the tourists and others who are wanting to look at

the exciting political events of the day. They are now seeing Britain's

new Prime Minister, Britain's incoming Prime Minister, making her

way down towards Buckingham Palace for this transfer of power. And then

once the audience has taken place, and who knows how long Mrs May will

be there? It could be a good 20 minutes, half an hour, once the

audience has taken place, we will then be waiting for Mrs May's

departure from Buckingham Palace, and the return not to the Palace of

Westminster. But to Downing Street, and to enter Downing Street as the

new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and then to address the

people of the UK, and indeed to send a message out to people beyond the

shores of the United Kingdom, to outline her principles and her

thoughts and her philosophy as she prepares to cross the threshold of

Downing Street into Number Ten to be come the new Prime Minister. So just

passing Wellington Barracks there, and then ready to turn into

Buckingham Palace. Quite a few crowds Randy Queen Victoria

Memorial. Around the. I'm told the outgoing Prime Minister, Mr Cameron,

has just left, so it's Blitz second timing, as one Prime Minister

leaves, the incoming Prime Minister makes her way in. -- so split second

timing. Crowds around the gates and the

entrance to the Palace. They cross under the archway into the

forecourt. Ready to be greeted by the Queen's Private Secretary, and

other Palace officials, who will have everything ready for this first

audience for Mrs May as the incoming Prime Minister. The first of many,

no doubt. She'll be here on a weekly base to have that audience with the

Queen. That one to one, where we've been told so many times in the past

by Tony Blair, John Major and many others, it is a conversation where

the Prime Minister feels that he or she can open up and have a very

uninhibited conversation with Her Majesty about the pressures and

challenges of leading a Government. Especially in such turbulent times.

Theresa May is greeted at Buckingham Palace, Philip May her husband,

accompanying her. After a brief greeting, they're being shown in to

meet Her Majesty for that audience. And there is the scene for you today

in central London. Buckingham Palace, Green Park to the right, and

St James' Park to the left. This is the route I have no doubt that Mrs

May will be following later, along the Mall and back to Downing Street

ready for that first prime ministerial statement by Theresa May

in Downing Street. Vicki Young is with me. Let's stay on these images,

because it gives us a sense of the geography for those who need it.

Buckingham Palace just a mile or so from Downing Street, just a few

minutes' drive in the car. She may be in there 20 minutes, half an

hour, as this is the first audience as the incoming Prime Minister, so

I'm sure there'll be quite a bit to discuss at this point. This is the

point we never get to know about. Politicians don't talk about the

Queen very much except for when they accidentally do. I can't imagine

Theresa May coming out and talking about what they were discussing.

She's met the Queen before, but this is a huge moment for Theresa May,

taking over as Prime Minister far more rapidly than she would have

thought. In two days thinking she had a long leadership contest she

may or not win, to being told there are no other contenders, you will be

the next Prime Minister. There's a lot for her to talk about. The issue

of the EU referendum will be uppermost in her mind. She takes

over at a time when many people are discussing the idea that it is a

divided nation, not just because of the Brexit vote. 48% wanted to

remain, 52% wanted to leave. And talking about what happens to

Scotland, with Nicola Sturgeon suggesting it might be the time for

another referendum. Could the United Kingdom break up? And the divide

amongst people when it comes the the economy. It is something that David

Cameron has talked about. It is something I'm sure Theresa May will

talk about. Trying to do more to ensure the economy works for

everybody. She is keen to talk about this one-nation Conservative agenda.

She wants to help those at the bottom. She wants to talk about

associate justice. E at the bottom. She wants to talk about associate

justice. About life chance - the idea that whatever background you

come, you can reach the top. She will I'm sure be putting a big

emphasis on that when she comes back here and makes a short speech in

Downing Street later this evening. For those of you joining us on the

BBC News Channel, on BBC One and BBC World, Theresa May has arrived at

Buckingham Palace for her audience with the Queen, where she will be

invited to form the next Government. I'm going to bring in the

Conservative MP Michael Ellis, who has been Mrs May's Parliamentary

Private Secretary. Michael, thank you for joining us. You know Mrs

Mayor, you worked with her closely. Tell us a little bit how you see

today's events? Well, Huw, it is a historic moment. We have now the

13th Prime Minister that Her Majesty the Queen will have had serving

under her. I frankly think that it is a deeply historic moment in many

different ways. Theresa May is the first Home Secretary to go straight

to being Prime Minister since Palmerston in 1855. She broke

records in her tenure in the Home Office. She served for over six

years. One of the longest periods for 100 years. I think she's going

be a Prime Minister who continues to break records. She is clearly

someone who is deeply committed to public service. She is deeply

committed to duty. She is the daughter of a vicar. I think she

almost certainly learnt a lot of that public service, social

responsibility from her late father. I think we've got a lot to look

forward to, in challenging times, Huw, because clearly we have

circumstances that are quite turbulent at the moment in politics.

That will be a polite way of putting the last three weeks. But she's more

than capable. In fact extremely capable of dealing with anything

that the political situation throws up in this country. I think we'll

see a very effective Prime Minister in Theresa May. You choose the words

challenging and you say turbulent. I'm just wondering from your

experience of working closely with her, tell us a little more about the

qualities you think will lend themselves well to the very

challenging role she is now taking on. Well, Huw, she is unflappable.

She is completely professional and businesslike in all of her dealings.

Don't forget, she's been this charge of MI5, the British security

service. She's been in charge of a Home Office with 40,000 employees.

And we know, those of us who follow Westminster affairs, that Home

Office is sometimes considered something of a poisoned chalice. It

is a very challenging department of Government. But she has dealt with

those issues extremely competently. She is very highly regarded in the

Home Office. Including by the Civil Service. She is deeply respected

across the Conservative Party, which is why I think she's able to follow

this unifying agenda. Because she also is respected on the benches

opposite. We see someone who can deal with crises very well. She is

unflappable. She is deeply experienced, and someone who can

deal with any of these issues that may come up in the months and years

ahead. Can I ask you to share maybe a bit of the behind the scenes

knowledge of the last couple of days? Since the leadership race,

which ended so abruptly earlier this week, what's Mrs May been doing over

the last couple of days? How much of that has been to do with trying to

get a plan into place so that when she step interests Downing Street

today it is all happening straight away? I can tell you one little

anecdote over the last couple of hours. I went past the Prime

Minister, David Cameron's office, just a couple of hours ago. If I

tell you the House of Commons staff had already taken down the sign

saying David Cameron, Prime Minister, from outside his office

inside the House of Commons, that's one clear indication of how sudden

it is all over for the outgoing Prime Minister in David Cameron. But

in terms of Theresa May's conduct over the last couple of days, it is,

as it always is with her, entirely professional and businesslike. I saw

her behind her desk at the Home Office yesterday, working on urgent

Home Office papers. I know she was doing the same thing this morning

and having meetings of one sort or another. She has a close circle of

officials and others who work with her, and who've her trust. But she

has a wide circle, a very wide circle of people who admire and

respect her within both the Civil Service and within the whole

political scene. So she is very dutiful in everything that she does.

She sup late at night working on papers. Dealing with a very large

number of meetings that she's had over the last couple of weeks. I've

seen that nothing is allowed to interfere with her duties as Home

Secretary. Papers have been going in, files have been going in to be

signed, and meetings have had to take place. Nothing is allowed to

interfere with her duty. She is someone who takes her

responsibilities very seriously indeed. Michael Ellis, as ever, good

to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining us. That was the

Parliamentary Private Secretary to Theresa May. Who knows what role he

might have in the new set-up here in Downing Street, and indeed across

Whitehall. These are the images of Buckingham Palace this afternoon.

This is where Theresa May, who has just arrived in the last ten minutes

or so, for that audience with Her Majesty the Queen, where she'll be

invited to form the next Government after David Cameron's departure.

David Cameron set out what he saw as the main achievements of his

Government over the past six years, and overshadowing everything the

circumstances of his departure, which were ones he would never have

wished upon himself, or indeed I suspect from his point of view on

the country, because he made his view plain on the outcome of the

referendum itself. Though of course he accepted the democratic verdict

of the British people. Let's stay on the images while the audience is

going on. We'll see Theresa May shortly. Laura Kuenssberg, first of

all, before we see Mrs May emerging, a thought on Mr Cameron's final

message in Downing Street? What I saw listening to him more than

anything else is it is one of these big moments when we remember that

politicians are human beings, bringing his children out for the

first time to see the world's press, in the same way that Gordon Brown

did, back in 2010. His voice slightly cracking with emotion.

Politics is a hard life. People volunteer for it, but it is a

difficult job, putting awful pressure on people you could see

that on the faces of his children and his wife. It was an

extraordinary moment. In terms of his political legacy, clear what he

wanted to highlight. Equal marriage, controversial in the Tory Party, but

that's changed things for many people. Sorting out two thirds of

the deficit. The economy always at the heart. Not their original

ambition but they would say it is significant progress. He wanted to

delineate the things he feels are achievements before others write his

legacy for him. As they are busily doing in any case. When we see Mrs

May emerge in a short while, she'll make her statement here. We are

expecting her to address the British people. What themes do you expect

her to be underlining? Theresa May is no stranger to high office. She's

been Home Secretary for six years. People know who she is, what she

does, but they don't know much about her, or don't necessarily know what

she is going to do. This is her first big national introduction.

Everything we've heard from her since this began only a couple of

short weeks ago has been about trying to bring people together, the

Conservative Party but also the country. Time and again she said

under her the Government will be a Government that represents

everybody. That sounds something that is very lofty, very, very

difficult to achieve. Particularly when there's extreme pressure on

Government budgets. More than anything else her Government will

still have a majority of only 12. However she wants to try to deal

with the country's problems. However she wants to try to introduce new

ideas of her own, they are going to have to get through her party at a

time when there is plenty of people in her party who are grumpy, and

they are quite prepared to work with each other if they don't like what

she is suggesting. Laura, thank you for now. We'll talk in a while.

We'll be following every step of the way back from Buckingham Palace to

Downing Street when that happens. Let's join Sophie, who is there with

some guests. Yes, there was applause as Theresa May and her husband,

Philip May, swept in through the gates here at Buckingham Palace just

over ten minutes ago. We've noticed already that the black vehicle she

arrived in, seems to have been changed for a prime ministerial

vehicle, which is sitting outside in the quad Raj there in the Palace,

waiting to whisk her back down the Mall to Downing Street. Nicholas

Witchell, it was an extremely efficient changeover. It was just

seconds They almost collided with each other after the south centre

gate of the Palace. One sensed that Mrs May's driver was going as slowly

as possible going up bird cage walk. She had only one outrider going up

to Buckingham Palace. And with her husband into the audience room, one

must imagine by now she has been appointed Prime Minister. Minister.

They arrived at 25 past 5. These are images of them arriving. 13 minutes

ago, yes. These images of them just before 5.25pm. I imagine they will

know that the Camerons still have not departed from Buckingham Palace.

We were starting to wonder whether they had slipped out some rear exit

from the Palace. But there they are making their way slowly, where upon

the former Prime Minister came out, still with all of his police

outriders. They very nearly did collide with each other there. But

the whole procedure, the whole process is under way. The Queen will

by now have invited her to form a Government. And it is as simple as

that? Yes, there is no ceremony. There are no seals, no kissing of

hands. The Queen will simply ask, are you in a position to form a

Government? Recognising the criteria of the Prime Minister that it must

be someone who commands the confidence of the House of Commons.

If that person's answer is affirmative, then the Queen will

invite that person to form a Government and clearly Theresa May

as the leader of the largest party, the Conservative Party, is in a

position to form a Government. One would imagine that Mr May will now

have been invited into the audience room and this whole process of the

Queen getting to know Theresa May rather better than she has had an

opportunity to do whilst she's been Home Secretary will be under way.

They don't know each other terribly well. As Home Secretary they have

had meetings. They've met at lunch recently, after Privy Councils as

Windsor Castle, but as Home Secretary she will not have known

the Queen terribly well. With me is Vernon Bogdanor of King's College

London. This is a huge moment for her

personally, the moment that she will really know that she is stepping up

and is leader, she is in charge of this country, and presumably you can

never prepare yourself for that. Absolutely, however effective you

have been as a departmental minister. Let me just show you,

sorry to interrupt, we have got... The first image that we have,

Theresa May curtsying to the Queen, presumably shortly after she was

asked to be the next Prime Minister of this country. But as I say, a

huge moment for her as well. I was about to say that however much you

think you are prepared for it, you can never really be prepared for it.

However successfully departmental minister you have been, as Prime

Minister you have to deal with a whole range of issues, some of which

you will not have been acquainted with before. In Theresa May's case,

she has never held an economic portfolio in government or in

opposition, and although she has had some connection with the European

Union as Home Secretary, she has not had a foreign affairs position.

These are the key issues of modern government, so there is no way to

predict how well she will do until she has started the job. Back now to

Downing Street, because Huw is there, and that is where Theresa May

will be heading shortly after she leaves the Palace.

Sophie, thanks very much, Laura Kuenssberg is with me, let stay on

this image, because this is the most powerful statement we have had so

far today, and before Mrs May turns up in Downing Street, this is the

moment Theresa May becomes the new Prime Minister. Indeed, that is the

image that tells us the deed is done, the Queen has extended her

request to Theresa May to become the country's political leader, she has

accepted, she has not, and one would assume the kissing up and ceremony

that politicians have to indulge in at these kinds of audiences, and

this will go around the world. -- the kissing of hands. We will see

this time and again for years to come, a smile on the Queen's face,

Theresa May looking overjoyed, this is the image, it has now happened,

Theresa May is now the Prime Minister. And just to underline what

remarkable fact we mentioned earlier, Mrs May is the 13th Prime

Minister of the Queen's reign, and she was not born when the Queen

ascended the throne. So just a fact, not the only one, Mr Cameron and Mr

Blair were in the same category, but at the age of 59 anyway, Theresa May

has become Prime Minister. That is the image of the afternoon so far,

because Mrs May has now accepted the Queen's invitation. She has now left

behind the Home Office, where she has been for the past six years.

Let's talk to someone who also spent time at the Home Office and is

leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, Lord Howard, who

joins us now, thank you for joining us, your thoughts on today's events

so far. They have been rather momentous, Huw, an extraordinary

day. I think David Cameron has been an extremely good Prime Minister,

and in many ways I am sorry to see him go. I think Theresa May will

also be a very popular and a very good Prime Minister. When she makes

her statement, Michael, when she turns up in Downing Street, in a

short while, maybe within the next 20 minutes, half an hour, what would

you like to be underlining in terms of a philosophy that will underpin

her time in Number Ten? Oh, I wouldn't dream of giving her any

advice, Huw, she is her own woman, and she will be a very strong Prime

Minister. She knows exactly what she wants to do, and she is the best

person to articulate that. Sorry, I cannot hear you. OK, let's see, are

you back with us now, Michael? Yes, I can hear you now. Thank you so

much, well done for recovering! I am just wondering, let's turn the

question around, on the question of handling British exit from the

European Union, what is the message you would like to hear? Well, she

has already said that Brexit means Brexit, she has been very clear

about that, and of course that is the number one item on her agenda.

And I have no doubt that that is going to take a lot of attention in

the coming weeks. I personally think that the negotiation of our exit

from the EU can be relatively simple and straightforward, but we will

have to see how she plans to deal with that. From your experience of

the Home Office, and you see how she has handled it over the last six

years, what are the qualities, in your view, that she brings to this

job at such a turbulent time? She is very steadfast, works extremely

hard, she is on top of the detail, and I have had a number of things to

do with the Home Office in the last few years, and the Home Office

people have spoken very highly of her. I think she is a very strong

woman, and she will be a very strong Prime Minister. And in your dealings

yourself, Mr Howard, over the years, and just wondering again, because we

hear so much about the fact that, you know, very few people know much

about Mrs May, thinking about those millions of people watching this who

do not know a lot about at all, what would you convey about the type of

woman who is going to become Prime Minister? She is very

straightforward, in many ways what you see is what you get, and there

is no side to her, no silliness about her, she is straightforward

and she will get on with the job. Michael Howard, good to talk to as

ever, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Lord Howard, the

former Conservative leader, former Home Secretary, giving his thoughts

on Theresa May's arrival today as Prime Minister. Laura Kuenssberg is

till with me, the audience, I am told, is just about to end at

Buckingham Palace, if it has not ended already. We have seen the

Prime Minister real car waiting, so this is the moment is now up for

this return journey back towards Downing Street. -- Mrs May will have

prepared the statement we are about to hear, but to reflect in this car,

she will be reflecting on what is ahead of her. Indeed, and how

quickly it has all happened. She had always been private about her

ambition, but she has wanted to do this job for a number of years, and

quietly, some might say stealthily, she had planned in some way for it,

but you had not planned for it in like the way it has happened in the

last couple of weeks. She was looking at a leadership contest over

the summer that she helped very much she would win, time to develop her

ideas perhaps, is certainly time to develop their plans, and now, in the

next few moments, the nation will want to hear what she is all about,

who is she really? She is someone who was well-known because she has

been in charge for a long time, but not very much about is known. So no

doubt right now she might just be wondering, how on earth all this

happened, when three weeks ago this must have seemed like a very far-off

possibility. The sense of urgency, in a way, I am just saying that

because this audience, if it has just ended or is about to end, is

significantly shorter than some audiences in the past, when the

Queen has greeted an incoming Prime Minister. Gordon Brown was there for

the best part of an hour. So maybe, let's not read too much into it, she

is keen to get stuck into business. She always says that she just wants

to get on with a job, but it might be wanting to hit the schedules of

the television news programmes in time for family sitting down to

watch tonight! Who knows? But there is a sense of urgency, Theresa May

is not a politician who wants to do flash, she does not want to do

gimmick, she is a politician who wants to sit down with the red

boxes, go through the details, go through the arrogance, come to a

decision, perhaps after some time, but once she has reached that

decision, she is very firm about it. -- go through the arguments. She was

affectionately described by Ken Clarke, the former Tory Chancellor,

as being a bloody difficult woman. She responded quite cleverly by

saying, yes, the European Union are about to find out that I am a bloody

difficult woman, playing that do a strength. As we see the cars waiting

for her to come down the steps inside the courtyard of Buckingham

Palace, Theresa May is someone who is famed for caution. In Number Ten,

you have to decide, and offer new have to decide very, very quickly,

and it may well be that is a real gear shift for Theresa May. You

cannot be in a bunker, you have to be at there, although I think she

will take a different attitude to how much he pops up in public. I do

not think we will see her giving interviews celebrating the success

of Andy Murray at Wimbledon or talking about her favourite football

team, I think she will guard profile very carefully, and perhaps pop up

rather more readily than Prime Ministers of recent years. It will

be very interesting, Laura, not just to gauge the tone of this address

coming up in Downing Street, once Mrs May has left Buckingham Palace,

but also to see if there are any pointers very soon as to who will be

holding some of the great offices in government, Home Secretary, Foreign

Secretary, such a crucial job when you think of what is ahead in these

negotiations with the European Union, and of course Chancellor of

the Exchequer, when you think of the potential economic impact of the

Brexit vote, so very important appointments, even more than usual.

Indeed they always are, but perhaps more than ever, for many decades, a

few politicians have said to me recently, whoever becomes the next

Prime Minister is taking on a set of challenges that is the greatest

since just after the war. Now, not everybody would agree with that

analysis, but smart people around here believe that to be the case. In

the last couple of hours, I have talked to some of the ministers who

were waiting nervously by the phone, at about four 30p and those calls

have not been made, but there has been speculation about who will fill

those vacancies. Lots of smiles, very cheerful! Huge smiles on both

of their faces. I suppose Theresa May has been a Privy Councillor for

a long time, they will have met on a lot of occasions, this will not have

been the type of encounter when they are meeting for the first time,

having the opportunity to have a proper conversation for the first

time. But striking how much they are both looking to be enjoying that

moment very much indeed. So those are the scenes in Buckingham Palace

just a few minutes ago, these images have just been released by the

Buckingham Palace staff, this first audience for Mrs May as Prime

Minister at Buckingham Palace. Back here in Downing Street, I am bound

to say, where Laura is with me, we have had another little movement of

the furniture, because as the cars are ready in Buckingham Palace for

the departure, everything will now be getting ready for the statement,

and the podium is back in place. The podium is out, that is the moment

that the press, Crolla of the most, after hours of waiting, the thing

everyone has been standing around for is about to happen. -- the press

corps love the most. And somebody gets a chance to test the microphone

and the camera shots. Given the short distance we are away from

Buckingham Palace, it will only be a matter of minutes now before we hear

from Theresa May for the first time in her new job. What I do not think

we will hear is announcements of who is going to be part of their top

team, but we do expect that by later this evening we will have an idea of

certainly the main jobs, although who knows, she may well surprise us

and give us some of the details this afternoon, but that would be

extremely unusual. This moment is about her introduction to voters

who, do not forget, have not chosen her. Tory MPs expressed a very clear

preference, Tory members did not even be on it, because others

dropped out, but the general public have not had a chance to have their

say and Theresa May. That may well be on a mind at this afternoon. This

is the scene at Buckingham Palace, and the Prime Minister's car is

ready to do leave, and by Prime Minister I mean Theresa May, not

David Cameron. He has resigned in the past power, the Queen has

accepted his resignation, and she has invited Theresa May to form the

next government. The palace has confirmed that she has accepted, and

the official car is now ready to leave, we expect Mrs May to emerge

from Buckingham Palace within the next minute or so, because

everything is now ready here in Downing Street for the new Prime

Minister's arrival, and for the statement to be made in Downing

Street before Mrs May goes into Number Ten to start the business of

running this government. The audience took place within the past

20 minutes or so, lots of smiles, the Queen listening to what Mrs May

had to say, Mrs May accepting the invitation from Her Majesty to form

this government, the 13th Prime Minister, by the way, of the Queen's