Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to resign as the UK PM has highlighted an interesting statistic about the turnover of Prime Ministers in the reign of King Charles III. Ever since he took the throne, the British monarch has witnessed the departure of three Prime Ministers, including Starmer, which has led people to compare the political scenario under the 77-year-old to that of Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles set to appoint 4th PM for UK
In the coming months, Britain’s current head of state will name the fourth UK PM in his tenure, making it the fourth change in office in as many years of his monarchy. In sharp contrast, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, only had to work with a total of 15 Prime Ministers over a span of 70 years.
This means that under King Charles III, the UK has seen a different PM every other year on average. On the contrary, leadership changes in the government only occurred after an average period of roughly four and a half years during Queen Elizabeth II’s prolonged reign.
King Charles III’s ascension to the British throne in 2022 coincided with the appointment of Liz Truss as the UK PM. However, the Conservative Party leader resigned from her post a mere 49 days later, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.
Following Truss’ departure in October 2022, Rishi Sunak took over as the UK Prime Minister and served in office until his July 2024 general election loss to Keir Starmer. The latter also remained in position for two years before declaring his resignation in June 2026. However, Starmer has had the longest tenure as a UK PM under King Charles III.
On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth II came into power in 1952, at a time when Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister. Over the course of the next 70 years, she worked with a total of 15 Prime Ministers, with David Cameron holding the post at the time of her death in 2022.
Notably, iconic historical figure Margaret Thatcher has the record for serving the longest continuous term in Queen Elizabeth’s tenure, having held office for 11 years between 1979 and 1990. Tony Blair followed second, serving for 10 years as the UK PM from 1997 to 2007.
