Theresa May has officially been installed as the new Prime Minister after an audience with the Queen.
Mrs May was invited to form a government by the monarch at Buckingham Palace after David Cameron officially tendered his resignation.
She becomes Britain's second female premier, following in the footsteps of fellow Tory Margaret Thatcher.
In an emotional final speech in Downing Street earlier, Mr Cameron insisted he was leaving the country 'stronger'.
Flanked by wife Samantha and their children, he said: 'It's not been easy going and of course we have not got every decision right. But I do believe that today our country is much stronger,' he said.
The new premier was accompanied by her husband Philip on her trip to see the monarch
Mrs May had her first official audience with the Queen after David Cameron went in to formally tender his resignation
Mr Cameron thanked his family for keeping him 'sane' during his time in office, and described Samantha as the 'love of my life'.
As the constitutional handover swung into effect, Mr Cameron went to see the Queen and formally told her he was quitting.
Mrs May is now taking her turn - entering as Home Secretary and emerge as the new PM.
Tory MPs hoping to win a place in Theresa May's first Cabinet showered their new leader with praise today, with one declaring: 'We have our Angela Merkel'.
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Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, compared Mrs May to the German Chancellor as he waits to find out if he will be promoted after spending three years with the tough health portfolio.
Mrs May is expected to make the most senior appointments of her Cabinet tonight.
But the skills minister Nick Boles has already resigned from the Government, jumping ship before Mrs May could sack him.
Mr Boles, who led Michael Gove's short-lived leadership campaign, was condemned for sending a text to supporters of Mrs May urging them to vote for the Justice Secretary to exclude Andrea Leadsom from getting through to the final two.
Mrs May set off from the House of Commons to Buckingham Palace where she was formally installed as Britain's new PM
Mr Cameron was flanked by wife Samantha and their three children as he delivered his parting speech earlier
Tory MPs hoping to win a place in Theresa May's first Cabinet showered their new leader with praise today, with one declaring: 'We have our Angela Merkel'. Above, Theresa May attended David Cameron's final Prime Minister's Questions, alongside Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, right
The cynical move backfired, with Mr Gove winning even fewer nominations from Tory MPs than the first round of voting.
Asked about his new boss today, Mr Hunt said of Mrs May: 'I think around the cabinet table yesterday the feeling was that we have our Angela Merkel.
'We have an incredibly tough, shrewd, determined and principled person to lead those [Brexit] negotiations for Britain.'
Delivering his valedictory comments before officially stepping down, Mr Cameron said: ‘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’s not been an easy journey and of course we have not got every decision right but I do believe 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 one million more businesses, there can be no doubt that our economy is immeasurably stronger.
‘Politicians like to talk about policies but at 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 in someone’s head and that today are making a go of it and providing people with livelihoods.’
Paying tribute to his family, the outgoing PM said: ‘I want to thank my children – Nancy, Elwen and Florence, for whom Downing Street has been a lovely home over this last six years. They sometimes kick the red boxes full of work. Florence – you 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’ve done something every week in that building behind me to celebrate the best of voluntary service in our country.’
Setting out what he sees as his legacy, Mr Cameron said: ‘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 and 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 that simply didn’t exist before.
‘I think of over 200,000 young people taking part in national citizens service, the first youth programme of its kind in the world, something again that wasn’t there six years ago.'
Mr Cameron said of Mrs May: 'I will advise Her Majesty to invite Theresa May to form a new administration. 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 her well in negotiating the best possible terms for Britain’s exit from the European Union.’
Jeremy Hunt (pictuerd , the Health Secretary, compared Mrs May to the German Chancellor as he waits to find out if he will be promoted after spending three years with the tough health portfolio
Mr Cameron reassured Nancy, 12, as they walked out of the famous black door for him to make his last public statement as PM
The Camerons posed on the doorstep of Number 10, and had a huddle before leaving for the last time
On her final evening before entering No 10 as Prime Minister, Mrs May had dinner with the Chief Rabbi.
She and her husband Philip joined guests at the north London home of Ephraim Mirvis for the dinner, which had been arranged some time ago.
The Chief Rabbi said her decision to honour the engagement, following the fast-moving events which unexpectedly thrust her into Britain's top political job, was an indication of the esteem in which the new PM holds the UK's Jewish community.
Rabbi Mirvis described Mrs May as 'a friend and champion of our community and of other faith'.
The incoming PM had earlier in the evening been treated to a private tour of her new home in Downing Street by her current boss David Cameron.
Mr Cameron showed her the ropes of the luxury kitchen, which he spent £25,000 on a makeover when he arrived in 2010, in the plush flat above No 11 Downing Street, where the Cameron family live having swapped with Chancellor George Osborne's smaller family.
Mrs May, a keen cook, is expected to move in to the flat above No 11 with her husband and will be treated to the spacious kitchen, decked out with Nigella-standard units and surfaces.
Mr Cameron didn't take a last-opportunity to use the kitchen, however, instead treating his staff to a takeaway curry, spending more than £50 at his favourite Kennington Tandoori curry house.
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