Boris Johnson is now a lame-duck Prime Minister who will be forced to watch his party choose his successor while he goes through the motions for the next few weeks.
He is likely to spend time at Chequers, the PM’s country retreat in Buckinghamshire, deciding with his wife Carrie what to do next.
A return to what he boasted only last week was a “lucrative” writing career would seem inevitable.
He commanded a £275,000-a-year salary at The Daily Telegraph before entering No10 - and now, as a former PM, he will be able to demand even more.
He will also return to the after-dinner speaking circuit.
Between being Foreign Secretary and PM, he earned from £21,250 to £122,899 for speeches; again, his Downing Street tenure will have boosted his fee.
Johnson should also finally get round to finishing his book on Shakespeare, which has been on hold since he became PM.
The 58-year-old could also look for an international role.
He is genuinely passionate about girls’ education and clearly cares deeply about Ukraine.
If the United Nations was looking to create some sort of envoy post for rebuilding the war-ravaged nation after the conflict, Johnson may fancy his chances given his obviously close personal relationship with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Even today, amid the chaos of his resignation speech and hosting the first meeting of his latest Cabinet, the PM found time to call Mr Zelensky, telling him: “You're a hero, everybody loves you.”
Less likely would be a job such as NATO Secretary-General.
The current holder of the role, ex-Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg, agreed to extend his time in office until September next year because of the Ukraine war.
But the alliance will be looking for a new boss and Johnson may believe his support for Kyiv and a pledge to lift UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 - a promise for which he will not now be responsible for meeting - could make him a candidate.
The post always goes to a European and the UK has provided three of its 13 secretaries-general since it was founded.
But some of NATO’s leaders who have dealt with Johnson as PM would surely veto his appointment.
Then there is showbiz.
More than any other British Premier of recent times, Johnson has fed off public adulation, even appearing on TV’s Top Gear and Have I Got News For You to obtain his fix.
But a return to such studios would appear impossible given how divisive his reign has been; the cheers of years ago would surely now be boos.
The next few weeks, as Conservative MPs filter leadership hopefuls to a final two for a run-off, Johnson can only watch from afar, considering how to fill his time once he is officially an ex-Prime Minister.
