Queen confirms appointment of Welsh Labour leader as first minister after he was nominated by assembly
The leader of the Welsh Labour party, Carwyn Jones, has been confirmed as the first minister of Wales.
Jones's party took 30 of the 60 seats at the assembly elections, and has decided to govern alone despite falling tantalisingly short of an overall majority.
The Queen confirmed the appointment of Jones after he was nominated by the Welsh assembly.
Jones said: "I am honoured to serve the people of Wales as first minister and begin our ambitious programme to create a fairer, more prosperous country in these challenging times.
"I will shortly be announcing my cabinet team that will help deliver our vision for the people of Wales."
After failing to secure the overall majority, there had been speculation that Labour would forge some sort of alliance with the Liberal Democrats or nationalists Plaid Cymru. But following talks within the party and with its rivals, Jones announced that it would govern alone.
He said Labour "clearly won this election" but there would be no "triumphalism or tribalism" from the party, and also made a point of saying talks with the other parties would continue over the coming weeks and months.
Before the election, Jones said it was important that Labour won in Wales and worked effectively to show that the party was capable of governing across Britain.