Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May and leader of the House of Commons Chris Grayling arrive at a press conference in London, Britain, June 30, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

May, who turns 60 this October, was educated at a state comprehensive school and later at Oxford University. She is one of the longest serving home secretaries in British history, regarded politically as a tough operator at Westminster.

Before becoming a politician she worked at the Bank of England. She was first elected as a Conservative MP for Maidenhead in 1997, the year Tony Blair won a landslide victory sweeping Labour to power.

The daughter of a clergyman, May is married, meeting her future husband Philip at university. They do not have any children. Three years ago May revealed she has type 1 diabetes.

Leadsom, who is 53, went to a girls' grammar school and then to Warwick University where she read political science. She was brought up in humble surroundings by a divorced mum, living in a modest terraced house in Hertfordshire with an outdoor toilet in the backyard. She is married with three children, a daughter and two sons.

Before entering politics, Leadsom had a long career on the trading floors of the City of London and as a Barclays investment banker. She entered Parliament in 2010 as MP for South Northamptonshire, achieving an ambition she first spoke about at the age of 13. Although she became a government minister, she never made the top table as a secretary of state, unlike her opponent.