London (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron steps down on Wednesday and Theresa May prepares to take his place following a momentous referendum to leave the European Union that has sent shockwaves around the world.
Cameron will hold his final weekly question and answer session in parliament before tendering his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
The monarch will then call on May to form a government and the newly-anointed prime minister will make a statement outside her new Downing Street residence.
She is also liked in and around Maidenhead, the well-to-do commuter town west of London that she has represented in parliament since 1997.
"She will get this country back on its feet," said 69-year-old Jim Charlesworth, a neighbour of May and her banker husband Philip.
Martin Trepte, editor of the Maidenhead Advertiser, the local newspaper, said: "She's a mature, grown-up, no-nonsense politician. She knows her stuff."
The daughter of a Church of England vicar, May is a cricket fan with a sober, well-mannered demeanour who lists her hobbies as cooking and walking.
She shows a flash of flamboyance with a colourful shoe collection -- particularly her leopard-skin heels -- which has become famous in the British press.
