Nicola Sturgeon has sent a letter resigning as the Scottish First Minister to the King.
She wrote to King Charles on Tuesday, saying it had been her “pleasure” to serve the King and the Queen as First Minister.
The former SNP leader also tweeted that she had left Bute House, the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh, "for the final time."
She sent her resignation letter the day after Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, was narrowly elected the new SNP leader following a bruising campaign.
The Scottish Parliament will formally elect him to be the new First Minister on Tuesday afternoon and he will be sworn in at the Court of Session on Wednesday.
In her resignation letter, Ms Sturgeon said: “With my humble duty, I write as anticipated in my letter to Your Majesty of February 15 to tender to Your Majesty my resignation from the office of First Minister.
"I propose that my resignation take effect from the start of Scottish parliamentary plenary business on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
"I should wish to reiterate that it has been my pleasure to serve Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen and the people of Scotland as First Minister since November 2014. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Majesty’s humble and obedient servant."
Ms Sturgeon then tweeted:
Just signed my formal letter of resignation and departed Bute House for the final time.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 28, 2023
Next stop @ScotParl to vote proudly for @HumzaYousaf as Scotland’s 6th First Minister.
From me - for now - thank you Scotland, for the privilege 🏴
Mr Yousaf is a self-confessed republican and stated during the leadership campaign that Scotland could ditch the monarchy within five years of independence.
He said he would attend the King's Coronation as part of the First Minister's duty of representing Scotland. However, he has also accepted an invitation to speak at a pro-independence rally in Glasgow the same day.
