Her announcement at Downing Street on Friday morning comes as the UK government is set to meet US president Donald Trump for his first state visit in the UK on 4 June.

UK prime minister Theresa May announced on Friday that she will resign from post at No 10, setting in motion fresh struggles for the government's plans towards Brexit and how best to proceed, following the UK's European Parliament elections on Thursday.

5-7 June: Pomp(eo) and Circumstance

Mrs May will remain in Berkshire to wrap up her time in office, with MPs preparing to contest for her leadership position. MPs such as Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, and others will begin their campaigns for No 10.

No session is planned for next week as Commons is in recess, so no Prime Minister's Questions will take place, leaving the UK government time to prepare for Donald Trump's three-day state visit.

7 June: The Real 'Game of Thrones' Begins

Theresa May's announced resignation date of 7 June is expected to kick off a ‘Game of Thrones' over who will become the next prime minister, which will have begun long before she leaves office. PM May will also continue to fulfil her duties until her party elects a new PM, who will attend a further European Union council summit in Brussels next month.

If Conservatives are not challenged to snap elections by Labour, they will elect and introduce their new leader in a party conference scheduled for September in Manchester, acting as a litmus test for the new PM's effect on UK voters. The new PM will be charged with how to proceed with Brexit, including having Commons vote on a withdrawal agreement or crash out under a no-deal Brexit, citing World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.

Theresa May faced intense pressure to resign after Commons leader Andrea Leadsom resigned on Wednesday, triggering outrage across Parliament due to her Brexit plan and opposition leaders urging snap elections to take place. Britain was due to leave the EU on 29 March, but Commons voted down Mrs May's embattled Withdrawal agreement a third time, citing concerns over the Irish backstop. Brussels later agreed to move the deadline for Brexit to 31 October, with the UK joining parliamentary elections held on Thursday and where the eurosceptic Brexit Party is set to claim victory, polls show.