Carrie Johnson carried seven-month-old daughter Romy as she watched husband Boris Johnson deliver his resignation speech outside Downing Street today.
Mrs Johnson, 34, who entered No. 10 as Boris’ girlfriend and leaves as his wife and the mother of two of his children, smiled encouragingly as the Prime Minister announced he was stepping down following a slew of high profile resignations.
During his speech, Boris acknowledged the sacrifices made by his wife and family, saying: ‘I want to thank Carrie and my children and all my family, who have put up with so much for so long.’
Mrs Johnson, a former Conservative Party communications chief, re-wore a £325 red L.K. Bennett for the occasion and held her daughter Romy in a baby carrier.
It marks the first time Romy’s face has been seen. Previously the couple have only shared photos of their daughter, who was born in December, taken from behind.
The baby had a bright yellow bow pinned to her brown curly hair and appeared to be wearing a pale romper and vibrant blue trousers.
Carrie Johnson carried seven-month-old daughter Romy as she watched husband Boris Johnson deliver his resignation speech outside Downing Street today
Mrs Johnson, a former Conservative Party communications chief, re-wore a £325 red L.K. Bennett for the occasion and held her daughter Romy in a baby carrier
It marks the first time Romy’s face has been seen. Previously the couple have only shared photos of the baby girl taken from behind
During his speech, Boris acknowledged the sacrifices made by his wife and family, saying: ‘I want to thank Carrie and my children and all my family, who have put up with so much for so long’
Boris Johnson finally announced his resignation today admitting ‘no-one is indispensable’ – but is lining up a ‘unity Cabinet’ as he battles to stay in Downing Street for months longer.
In a statement in Downing Street, the PM tried to sound an upbeat tone as he confirmed that his time in office is coming to an end.
Standing in front of the traditional podium and watched by wife Carrie, baby Romy and close aides, Mr Johnson pointed to his achievements since winning the huge landslide – such as the vaccine rollout, Brexit and coming to the aid of Ukraine.
He said his message to voters who delivered his 2019 landslide was ‘thank you for that incredible mandate’, adding the ‘reason I have fought so hard’ was because he felt it was his ‘job’ to deliver what he promised.
‘I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks,’ he said.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to his family for ‘all they have put up with’, in a nod to the succession of scandals that have blighted his premiership.
‘Our future is golden,’ he finished.
No10 had appealed for Conservative MPs to come and watch the speech in the street, but there only seemed to be a small crowd present.
Mr Johnson admitted defeat in the wake of a shattering intervention from Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed on Tuesday night following Rishi Sunak’s departure. He told Mr Johnson that his situation is ‘not sustainable’.
What next for Carrie Johnson? As Boris quits, how his third wife has gone from the first Downing Street girlfriend to a mother-of-two with serious influence and style credentials – so, could a political career be on the cards?
Boris Johnson has announced that he will finally quit today after a slew of high profile resignations and damning statements from even his most loyal allies brought his premiership to its knees.
The resignation will impact not only his life but the life of his family, most notably his third wife Carrie Johnson, 34, who made history when she became the first girlfriend of a Prime Minister to officially live in Downing Street.
Carrie, a former Conservative Party communications chief, was simply ‘Miss Symonds’ when she and Boris first shacked up together in 2019.
What’s next for Carrie Johnson? Boris Johnson has announced that he will finally quit today. The resignation will impact not only his life but the life of his family, most notably his wife Carrie Johnson, 34, who made history when she became the first girlfriend of a Prime Minister to officially live in Downing Street. Pictured, the couple at the G7 last month
Early days: Carrie, then Miss Symonds, was pictured alongside Boris Johnson’s family as he arrived at Downing Street following the leadership election in July 2019. The couple have since welcomed two children together, Wilfred, now two, and seven-month- daughter Romy
Fashionista: The conservationist, who has been accused of being at the centre of drama at No. 10, has also made headlines with her sustainable wardrobe, often choosing to rent dresses for even the most high profile engagements. Pictured, in a rented dress in Rwanda last month
The couple have since welcomed two children together, Wilfred, now two, and daughter Romy, who was born in December last year.
The Johnson children have been raised in No. 11 Downing Street, traditionally the Chancellor’s grace-and-favour flat but one that was commandeered by the Prime Minister because it offered his young family more space.
Mrs Johnson – she and Boris wed in a low-key wedding in May 2020 – has embraced the role of ‘first lady’, joining Mr Johnson at international summits and campaigning for causes close to her heart.
The conservationist, who has been accused of being at the centre of drama at No. 10, has also made headlines with her sustainable wardrobe, often choosing to rent dresses for even the most high profile engagements.
But what next for Carrie Johnson? Here, a look back at her time at No. 10 – and what the future might hold…
A CAREER IN POLITICS
Time for her own political career: Mrs Johnson has put herself front and centre in many of Mr Johnson’s most high profile engagements, including the recent G7 summit where she rubbed shoulders with President Biden. It is possible she might pursue her own political career
From by his side… to centre stage? The public relations expert had been in the Westminster Bubble for most of her remarkably ascendant career, a high-point being when she was made head of party PR aged just 29. Pictured, Boris and Carrie at the Tory party conference in 2019
Speaking out: Carrie delivered a speech at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester last year
Mrs Johnson, a former Conservative Party communications chief, found herself making headlines when she was romantically linked to Mr Johnson in 2019, just months after the announcement of his separation from second wife Marina Wheeler.
The public relations expert had been in the so-called Westminster Bubble for most of her remarkably ascendant career, a high-point being when she was made head of party PR aged just 29.
Carrie joined the Tory party media machine in 2009, first as a press adviser, then head of broadcast at Conservative campaign headquarters ahead of the 2015 general election.
Her association with Mr Johnson dates back to the early years, having worked on his successful re-election bid at City Hall in 2012.
During her husband’s years in office she remained an influential figure.
Carrie, once described as the ‘most powerful woman in Britain’, and was at one point branded Boris’ de facto chief of staff.
Miss Symonds’s ‘unelected and unaccountable’ role in Government is ‘damaging to democracy,’ Nic Conner, who worked with Miss Symonds on the Brexit campaign, said in February 2021.
He told the Daily Mail that he has no grudge against the former director of Tory communications and was not being sexist, but is concerned she is acting unconstitutionally as friends are hired and rivals fired inside No 10.
Mr Conner said: ‘In light of my experience working with Carrie Symonds, I am deeply concerned that she should have any role in governing the country without authority or accountability.
‘Anyone holding so much unelected power, and who cannot be removed, is not only unconstitutional but is damaging to British democracy.’
Mr Conner’s comments came after the conservative think tank, the Bow Group – of which he is a research fellow – called for an independent inquiry into the role of Mrs Johnson within government.
Bow Group chairman Ben Harris-Quinney added: ‘No romantic partner of the PM has ever involved themselves to this degree. It’s completely unjustifiable in a modern democracy, and calling me or the Bow Group sexist doesn’t change that.’
The most prominent casualty of Miss Symond’s alleged influence was Mr Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings, who left in November 2020 after clashing with her.
Mr Cummings’s ally, communications chief Lee Cain, soon followed him out of the door amid claims that Mirs Johnson was calling the PM 20 times a day, and had been nicknamed ‘Princess Nut Nut’ by her detractors.
A spokesman for Mrs Johnson declined to comment on the allegations against her at the time they were originally published in the Daily Mail.
Carrie was also reportedly behind Sajid Javid’s appointment as Health Secretary. Cummings spoke out to claim Mrs Johnson, who was once a special adviser to Mr Javid during his tenure as Communities Secretary, engineered the move.
The PM’s wife is even said to have had a hand in policy. Boris has championed the UK becoming Net Zero in terms of emissions by 2050, under a swing to green advocacy said to have been driven by his wife.
Carrie, who has put on chummy displays with everyone from Joe Biden to Brigitte Macron, might well want to put her experience at the very heart of British politics to use by pursuing a career in her own right.
It is difficult to imagining this happening any time soon, but Mrs Johnson has proved herself a force to be reckoned with and should definitely not be counted out.
A FORAY INTO FASHION
Fashion maven: Dressed in pink from head-to-toe, Carrie Johnson, 34, steps off a plane in Rwanda with her husband, Boris Johnson. Her double-breasted blazer (£79.99), and matching trousers (£49.99) are from high-street store Zara
Sustainable dressing: Carrie Johnson has showcased her style prowess once again when stepping out at day four of Royal Ascot today in a rented Emilia Wickstead dress
Re-wearing favourite pieces: Mrs Johnson, 34, sported a recycled £85 fuschia dress from & Other Stories, a John Lewis hat and Michael Kors shoes for Trooping the Colour over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend. She first wore the outfit in 2019
Sustainable wedding day: Carrie favours online rental service My Wardrobe HQ. It was through the website that she hired her wedding dress, a creation by Greek designer Christos Costarellos which bought new would cost £2,830, but she borrowed for £45 a day
Carrie Johnson has championed a more ‘sustainable’ approach to fashion during her years in Downing Street, stepping out in rented dresses and pieces from independent British labels.
The 34-year-old, who is a fan of printed midi dresses and chic power suits, even remained true to this low impact approach to fashion at major global events like the G7 summit where she has worn rented pieces from the likes of The Vampire’s Wife and Amanda Wakeley.
On other occasions she has re-worn pieces from her wardrobe, like the £85 fuschia dress from & Other Stories which she teamed with a John Lewis hat and Michael Kors shoes for the Platinum Jubilee.
Carrie favours online rental service My Wardrobe HQ. It was through the website that she hired her wedding dress, a creation by Greek designer Christos Costarellos which bought new would cost £2,830, but she borrowed for £45 a day.
Given her evident love of fashion, it is possible Carrie might consider exploring it as a post-Downing Street career.
She could turn to fellow former PM’s wife Samantha Cameron for advice.
Sam Cam, who served as Creative Director at British accessories brand Smythson of Bond Street, from 1997 until May 2010, launched her own clothing label, Cefinn, after she and husband David left No. 10.
RAISING TWO CHILDREN
Mummy’s little girl! Proud mother Carrie Johnson shared a behind-the-scenes snap of her six-month-old daughter Romy at the G7 summit, a week after the family joined the Prime Minister in Rwanda
Looking out on the world: Carrie posted a second snap showing little Romy playing on a swing set in the countryside
Romy’s world tour! It came after Mrs Johnson shared a photograph of Romy in Rwanda, where they joined Mr Johnson on a three-day visit to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
On the world stage: Boris and Carrie’s son Wilfred, now two, played an important role in last year’s G7 summit – helping to break the ice as his parents welcomed the Bidens to Cornwall
Charming the First Lady: Mr and Mrs Johnson invited the President and the First Lady to meet their boy on the beach and later released a number of carefully selected photographs from the encounter
Fortunately for Carrie and Boris, the move out of No. 11 is unlikely to cause any major disruption for their two young children, who are too young to attend nursery.
It remains to be seen where the couple will set up home as a family once they move out of Downing Street but Boris and Carrie own a £1.3million house in Camberwell.
Or it is possible they could choose to leave London for more space in the country.
Wilf – or Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson in full – was named after Mr and Mrs Johnson’s grandfathers and partly in tribute to two doctors, Nick Hart and Nick Price, who helped save Mr Johnson’s life when he was in hospital with Covid in 2020.
The two-year-old, who has inherited his father’s mop of blonde hair, is said to loves cars and animals, especially the family’s Jack Russell-cross Dilyn.
He has already enjoyed a glittering life as the son of the Prime Minister, meeting Joe and Jill Biden on a Cornwall beach at last year’s G7.
Meanwhile Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson, who was born at University College London hospital on December 9, was also named after close family members.
Mrs Johnson explained the choice of name: ‘Romy after my aunt, Rosemary. Iris from the Greek, meaning rainbow. Charlotte [after] Boris’s late mum whom we miss so much.’
In 2021, Mrs Johnson had a miscarriage, which she said left her heartbroken, before becoming pregnant with Romy. When she announced the pregnancy last year, she said she and her husband were ‘hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas’.
A ‘rainbow baby’ is the term given to a child born after a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death.
Last month, Romy joined her parents on a Commonwealth visit to Rwanda before making the trip to Germany for the G7 summit.
Boris and Carrie have chosen to keep their children out of the spotlight and have only shared photos taken from behind.
SAYING GOODBYE TO THEIR DESIGNER HOME
Redesign: Mr and Mrs Johnson will be closing the door on a rather pricey – and controversial – interior design project helmed by Lulu Lytle, pictured
Carrie’s inspiration: Carrie Symonds interiors overhaul after moving into Number 11 Downing Street is said to have been inspired by Lulu Lytle – with an example of her work pictured above
Perhaps one of the biggest difficulties for any outgoing PM’s wife is saying goodbye to the place they have called home.
In the case of Mr and Mrs Johnson, it also means closing the door on a rather pricey – and controversial – interior design project.
The couple, who share one-year-old son Wilfred and are expecting a second child together, spent £90,000 refitting the grace and favour apartment at No.11, which reportedly looked like a ‘John Lewis nightmare’ after Theresa May’s residency.
They turned to society interiors guru Lulu Lytle for help, thrusting her into the centre of a debate over the eye-watering cost of the makeover, and who paid for it.
Lytle is the founder of Soane Britain, a company offering clients wall-to-wall luxe with a promise of bringing ‘joie de vivre’ into the home – for a hefty price. A single rattan light can cost £7,200, while a desk can be more than £10,000.
Money was at the centre of the backlash following the news Lytle had been brought in to redesign Downing Street, with critics questioning why the Johnsons needed such an expensive makeover, as well as, more importantly, how it had been funded.
At one point it was thought the works cost as much as £200,000, but official documents later revealed the figure to be less than £90,000, with £30,000 from his publicly funded allowance and an additional £58,000 settled privately.
The refurbishments to the flat in No 11 sparked sustained scrutiny of Mr Johnson’s finances, with the works vastly exceeding the £30,000 annual limit afforded to the Prime Minister.
Conservative Party accounts published in August revealed its central office provided a ‘bridging loan’ of £52,802 to cover the works after being invoiced by the Cabinet Office in June last year.
The party was ‘reimbursed in full’ in October by Lord Brownlow, a former vice-chairman of the party who has made more than £3million in donations over the years.
Mr Johnson then ‘settled the costs’ incurred by the Conservative peer in March.
Three different reviews and reports were launched into the funding, one each by the Electoral Commission and parliamentary commissioner for standards, while the Prime Minister announced his new independent adviser on ministerial interests Lord Geidt would also investigate.
Lord Geidt found Mr Johnson acted ‘unwisely’ in allowing the refurbishment to go ahead without ‘more rigorous regard for how this would be funded’, but did not breach the ministerial code.
No 10 said: ‘Lord Geidt’s independent report shows the Prime Minister acted in accordance with the ministerial code at all times. The Prime Minister has made a declaration in his List of Ministerial Interests, as advised by Lord Geidt.’
From a rocky start to political power couple: A timeline of Boris and Carrie Johnson’s relationship
2009: Carrie Symonds, then 21, joins the Conservative Party as press officer. Her association with Mr Johnson dates back to the early years, having worked on his successful re-election bid at City Hall in 2012.
February 2018: Boris, then still married to wife Maria Wheeler, is spotted with Carrie outside the Conservative party Black and White Ball at the Natural History Museum. It is thought to be the first time the pair were photographed together.
September 2018: News breaks that Boris has been kicked out of the marital home by his wife of 25 years amid reports he was seeing another woman.
First photo: Boris, then still married to wife Maria Wheeler, is spotted with Carrie outside the Conservative party Black and White Ball at the Natural History Museum. It is thought to be the first time the pair were photographed together
June 2019: By now Boris and Carrie are living together in her flat in Camberwell, South East London. Reports emerge that police were called to the property after neighbours heard a loud altercation involving screaming, shouting and banging. Symonds could allegedly be heard telling Johnson to ‘get off me’ and ‘get out of my flat’.
Police initially said they had no record of a domestic incident at the address, but later issued a statement saying: ‘At 00:24hrs on Friday, 21 June, police responded to a call from a local resident in [south London]. The caller was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour.
‘Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action.’
Neither Boris nor Carrie have spoken publicly about the incident.
Front and centre: Boris Johnson is elected as the leader of the Conservative party. Carrie is pictured alongside his family as he arrives at Downing Street
June 2019: A few days later the couple were pictured holding hands in the countryside.
July 2019: The couple buy a £1.3million house in Camberwell after Boris sells the £3.7million mansion he shared with wife Marina.
23 July 2019: Boris Johnson is elected as the leader of the Conservative party and Prime Minister. Carrie is pictured alongside his family as he arrives at Downing Street.
29 July 2019: Spokesperson confirms Carrie Symonds will move into Downing Street. They are the first unmarried couple to officially live at the address.
September 2019: Couple adopt a rescue dog, Dilyn.
December 2019: Boris Johnson wins the general election and the couple flies to St Lucia and Mustique to celebrate
February 2020: Boris Johnson’s divorce from Marina Wheeler is approved to proceed
29 February 2020: Boris and Carrie announce they are engaged and expecting a baby. A spokesperson for the couple said: ‘The prime minister and Miss Symonds are very pleased to announce their engagement and that they are expecting a baby in the early summer.’
27 March 2020: Boris Johnson tests positive for Covid-19 and is subsequently hospitalised.
29 April 2020: Couple welcome their son Wilfred. Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson in full – was named after Mr and Mrs Johnson’s grandfathers and partly in tribute to two doctors, Nick Hart and Nick Price, who helped save Mr Johnson’s life when he was in hospital with Covid in 2020.
Family life: Couple welcome their son Wilfred. Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson in full – was named after Mr and Mrs Johnson’s grandfathers and partly in tribute to two doctors, Nick Hart and Nick Price, who helped save Mr Johnson’s life when he was in hospital with Covid in 2020. Pictured, the family in the study of No 10
26 May 2020: Boris and Carrie Johnson wed at Westminster Cathedral with a small garden party the following day. News was made public a few days later.
31 July 2020: Couple announce they are expecting a second child and reveal they suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year.
June 2021: Carrie joins Boris at the G7 summit and introduces son Wilfred to President Biden and his wife Jill
9 December 2021: Carrie and Boris announce birth of a baby girl
16 December 2021: The couple announced they have named their daughter Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson.
Baby girl: Carrie and Boris announce birth of a baby girl. The couple later revealed they had named their daughter Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson (pictured with brother Wilf)
Mrs Johnson explained the choice of name: ‘Romy after my aunt, Rosemary. Iris from the Greek, meaning rainbow. Charlotte [after] Boris’s late mum whom we miss so much.’
June 2022: Carrie joins Boris at a series of high profile events including the Platinum Jubilee, a Commonwealth visit to Rwanda and the G7 summit. Daughter Romy joins her parents on the latter two.
7 July 2022: Boris Johnson announces he will resign following a slew of resignations
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