The United Kingdom has formally left the European Union after 47 years, making good a 2016 referendum outcome, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has reported.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who ran for office vowing to deliver on Brexit, welcomed the highly anticipated departure, saying that it heralded a new dawn.
"For many people, this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come," the UK prime minister said as quoted by the BBC.
"And there are many of course who feel a sense of anxiety and loss. And then, of course, there is a third group - perhaps the biggest - who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end, " Boris Johnson added.
He said that his focus would be on bringing the country together, and to kickstart the healing process going forward, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In the lead up to the departure, public opinion was sharply divided on whether the UK should make the departure envisaged by the referendum outcome a reality.
Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the momentous departure.
The country now faces an uncertain future, having cut ties with the EU and will now have to embark on the challenge of negotiating a new relationship.