Boris Johnson’s Parents: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, revealed on March 27 that he had tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. On April 5, he was admitted to hospital for further testing since his symptoms were said to still be persisting. The Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, said: “On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests. This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.”

On April 6, BBC reported that Boris Johnson had been taken to intensive care for his COVID-19 symptoms.

While many are familiar with Boris Johnson’s politics and perhaps even his personal life, people may know less about his parents, who are very successful people themselves. Boris Johnson’s parents are Stanley Johnson and Charlotte Johnson Wahl, née Fawcett.

Here’s what you need to know about Boris Johnson’s parents:

1. His Father, Stanley Johnson, Is a Former Politician

Boris Johnson’s father is Stanley Patrick Johnson, a former British politician. Stanley was born on August 18, 1940 in Cornwall.

He was a Conservative member of the European Parliament for the Wight and Hampshire East constituency between 1979 and 1984. Stanley also worked for the World Bank and the European Commission. During the EU referendum, Stanley and Boris made headlines when they disagreed over Brexit and Stanley was a big advocate of remaining in the EU.

In April 2019, he attempted to become a Conservative member of the European Parliament again, but was turned down. He said he did not “catch the selector’s eye” and thought that it might have been because of his age, The Sun reported.

2. His Mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, Is a Portrait and Landscape Painter

Charlotte Johnson WahlFrom Charlotte Johnson Wahl’s website

Charlotte Johnson Wahl is Boris Johnson’s mother. She was born Charlotte Fawcett in May 1942 in Oxford, England. She is a British painter who has mostly done portrait paintings and landscapes. According to her website, she is a “wildly original and provocative British Painter” who did not formally study painting.

The website says that her paintings are “a rich blend of joyful enthusiasm and unresolved tension. Her paintings document her life – informed by razor-sharp intelligence, hippy humour and profound empathy.”

Johnson Wahl has had sold out shows in 1974 at the Maudsley Hospital, in the late 1970s in Brussels and in 2004 in Notting Hill.

3. His Father Is an Author Focusing on Environmental Issues

Stanley is an author with a passion for environmental issues and has written dozens of books on the subject as well as nine novels. While working for the World Bank, Stanley said he became more aware and passionate about issues relating to population and the environment. He became the Head of Prevention of Pollution at the European Commission from 1973 to 1979.

He has received many awards on his contributions to the environment and animal welfare and in 1984 won the Greenpeace Award of Outstanding Services to the Environment. He is a trustee for the Gorilla Organisation and an Ambassador for the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species.

4. His Mother Was Diagnosed With Parkinson’s at the Age of 40

Charlotte was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 40. In an interview with Tatler, she said she noticed that one of her feet had started feeling “like a flipper” and it progressed since then. She uses a walking frame with a seat to help keep her balance.

She said her Parkinson’s got worse until she said “I would spend all my time writhing and jerking” and struggled to keep painting. Charlotte got surgery to help with it and “It means I don’t jerk any more and I can go to the cinema and the theatre again. It’s bliss.”

She told Tatler that she now enjoys to sing along with other Parkinson’s patients, and does a bit of ballet. According to her artist website, Charlotte continues to paint every day despite her diagnosis.

5. Boris Johnson’s Parents Both Remarried After Their Divorce in 1979

Stanley and Charlotte met in 1962 at a dinner in honor of Stanley winning a poetry prize. The two married in 1963 at the ages of 20 and 22, and together they had four children. Boris; Rachel, a journalist; Jo, a former Conservative MP; and Leo, a filmmaker.

As Charlotte told Tatler, they moved around a lot due to Stanley’s work as an environmentalist. She said things became difficult: “I thought I was marrying a poet but he had become very interested in the environment, he travelled a lot and he enjoyed his travels.”

The two divorced in 1979 and remained on good terms. They both went on to remarry. Charlotte married Nick Wahl, an American academic, in 1988. According to Boris’ sister, Rachel Johnson, “You could not have wished for a more engaged and loving stepfather. He was so clever, incredibly warm, funny, loving and proprietorial. They lived in a large flat in perfect harmony – he writing, or allegedly writing, she painting. It was a great tragedy when he died a long-drawn-out death from cancer in 1996.”

Stanley Johnson remarried in 1981. He married Jennifer Kidd and they had two children together: Julia and Maximilian.

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