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Tokiss hands is a constitutional term used in the United Kingdom to refer to the formal installation of theprime minister or otherCrown-appointedgovernment ministers to their office.[1][2]
In the past, the term referred to the requirement that the office-holder actually kiss the hands of themonarch as a symbol of personal fealty and loyalty, that fealty and loyalty being a requirement to serve in the King's or Queen's government.
In modern times, office-holders are not expected to physically kiss the hands of the monarch before assuming the role, neither at this ceremony nor at any other point in the process of installing a new office-holder. Simply being received by the monarch is taken to validate the selection, with this meeting being described in theCourt Circular as "kissing hands". The invitation issued to a party leader to form a government is sometimes still described as "an invitation to kiss hands". The metaphorical kissing of hands (i.e. the appointment) does not legally take place until the subsequent meeting of thePrivy Council, when the new minister is formally appointed as a member of the Council.[3]
When appointing aSecretary of State (the top rank in theUK government), the protocol also involves the delivery by the King or Queen of the seals of office into the hands of the appointee. This is also valid for other officers who are keepers of seals, such as theLord Privy Seal or theLord Chancellor, who is also keeper of theGreat Seal of the United Kingdom.
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The ceremony usually takes place inBuckingham Palace, in theQueen's audience room, but it has been known to happen inWindsor Castle orBalmoral Castle. More unusually, in April 1908,Edward VII summonedH. H. Asquith out of the country to theHôtel du Palais,Biarritz, France, where the King was on holiday at the time.
In his autobiography,Tony Blair recalled being confused by the fact that the ceremony did not involve literally kissing QueenElizabeth II's hands, being instead told to "brush them [the hands] gently with your lips". When he was ushered into the room to meet the Queen, Blair tripped on a piece of carpet and fell onto the Queen's hands.[4][5]
Due to the failing health of Elizabeth II, the 2022 kissing hands ceremony ofLiz Truss took place at Balmoral, where the ailing Queen was spending her final days, marking the only time in her 70-year reign that the ceremony did not take place at Buckingham Palace. It was the Queen's last official act beforeher death two days later.[6][7] This was the first time the ceremony took place at Balmoral since 1885, whenLord Salisbury began his first stint as prime minister.[8]
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