Meet the family of new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Although the UK’s attention is primarily focused on Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister, the spotlight is also firmly placed on his immediate family.

Rishi is married to Akshata Murty and the couple met while studying at Stanford University in the US. They married in a two-day wedding ceremony in Bangalore in 2009. Rishi has previously revealed that the couple are polar opposites. "I’m incredibly tidy, she’s very messy," he said.

Akshata is the daughter of Indian billionaire, NR Narayana Murthy, who has been dubbed the ‘Bill Gates of India.’ Narayana is one of India’s wealthiest businessmen and is the founder of software giant Ifosys. He is valued by Forbes at $4.5 billion. In a statement today, he said: "We are proud of him and we wish him success. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United KIngdom."

Rishi’s wife studied Economics and French at Claremont McKenna College in California and also earned a diploma at fashion college. She met Rishi when she was studying for an MBA at Stanford University.

In 2011, Aksharta decided to start her own fashion label, Akshata Designs after working in finance. However, the business is reported to have collapsed after three years.

The couple have two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka and they are believed to have attended Glendower Prep in South Kensington, London.

Family is incredibly important to Rishi and during his summer 2022 leadership campaign, he posted a photo on Instagram of them all. The caption read ‘family means everything to me.’ He went on to say that he was so ‘grateful to have the support of my family.’

Rishi is the son of NHS GP Yashvir Sunak, who was born in Kenya, and pharmacist Usha Sunak, who was born in Tanzania. Rishi’s mother ran her own pharmacy in Southampton. On his website, Rishi wrote that he has grown up watching his parents serve their ‘local community with dedication.’ He also revealed that his parents had to sacrifice a lot in order that he could have a good education.