We present a new proof of the famous four colour theorem using algebraic and topological methods. This proof was first announced by the Canadian Mathematical Society in 2000 and subsequently published by Orient Longman and Universities Press of India in 2008. Recent research in physics shows that this proof directly implies the Grand Unification of the Standard Model with Quantum Gravity in its physical interpretation and conversely the existence of the standard model of particle physics shows that nature applies this proof of the four colour theorem at the most fundamental level.