The queen has seen this 13 times before: UK power handover

The queen has seen this before: The UK power handover

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has seen this production before. The monarch has already had 13 people form a government for her since she took up her post in 1952. That means Boris Johnson will be the 14th prime minister of her reign so far.

Here’s a look at the British power handover:

May’s moment

After being applauded by Downing Street staff, Theresa May will travel the mile (1.6 km) to Buckingham Palace to resign and ask the monarch to invite fellow Conservative Johnson to form a new government.

May enters the palace as the nation’s leader but when she leaves she’ll be just a lawmaker for her Maidenhead constituency, joining the 649 other lawmakers in the House of Commons.

May is one of Britain’s shortest-serving prime ministers in the last 100 years. Her premiership has lasted a total of 1,106 days — enough to outrun just six of the 22 people to have been prime minister since the start of the last century.

Out with the old, in with the new

Leave the lights on, Theresa.

Once May heads off to see the queen, she won’t be returning to 10 Downing Street, a Georgian residence in London with approximately 100 rooms just a few minutes’ walk from Parliament.

Johnson, on the other hand, goes to see the queen shortly after May leaves Buckingham Palace. He then returns to No. 10, where he is expected to make a speech Wednesday afternoon. Announcements on at least some Cabinet positions are expected after the speech, into the night.

Larry remains in post

With the revolving door of government spinning — Cabinet ministers resigning, being fired and being appointed — one key member of the Downing Street team will stay on the job: Larry the Cat.

The 12-year-old tabby is the government’s official Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. Larry’s Twitter feed proudly notes that he’s been in office longer than the current leader of any U.K. political party.

Larry’s tenure in office began with former Prime Minister David Cameron, who tired of television crews spotting mice on the doorstep. Cameron and his family picked out Larry at a London animal shelter.

The gleaming black door of Number 10 Downing Street offers the backdrop for Larry’s daily catwalk, but since appearing on the street he has also been photographed in less glamorous poses. He’s also known for catfights with Palmerston, the chief mouser at the nearby Foreign Office.

Some in government just never get along.