Carrie Symonds has revealed the name of her and Boris Johnson‘s newborn son is Wilfred, after the Prime Minister’s grandfather, as the proud parents shared the first photograph of the baby boy with the world.
In an image shared on Ms Symonds’ Instagram, the first-time mother was seen tightly cradling her son, who sported a full head of hair not dissimilar to that of his father.
A heartwarming caption revealed the boy’s full name as Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas, with Lawrie a reference to Ms Symond’s grandfather, while Nicholas was a nod to the two doctors that ‘saved Boris’ life’.
Miss Symonds, 32, delivered the boy at an NHS hospital in London on Wednesday morning with the Prime Minister at her side.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister, who is currently grappling with the coronavirus crisis, would take a ‘short period’ of paternity leave later in the year.
The new family are planning to live in their Downing Street flat along with their dog Dilyn, the Number 10 spokesman confirmed.
Downing Street declined to say whether the baby was born prematurely and the spokesman was unable to provide details of the weight, timing, nature or location of the birth.
Carrie Symonds has revealed the name of her and Boris Johnson’s newborn son is Wilfred, after the Prime Minister’s grandfather, as the beaming parents shared the first photograph of the baby boy on Instagram
The couple got engaged while holidaying on the exclusive Caribbean island of Mustique over the new year and announced they would marry and were having a baby on February 29, days after the PM’s divorce from Marina Wheeler was confirmed.
The birth came after an extraordinary month for the couple, who were self-isolating separately, first because of Carrie’s pregnancy and then when Boris fell ill. Mr Johnson then spent a week in hospital, including three days in intensive care, and Miss Symonds was also briefly bedridden with symptoms of Covid-19, but made a full recovery.
They were only reunited last week at Chequers before she went into labour.
It is also just over two weeks since the PM was discharged from intensive care where he had been battling coronavirus. Miss Symonds also suffered symptoms of the disease.
Miss Symonds has been back living with Mr Johnson at Number 11 Downing Street as the Prime Minister leads the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
So how many children is that now, Boris?
The baby Carrie Symonds gave birth to this week is her first child, but for fiancé Boris Johnson the experience of parenthood is one that will feel very familiar.
The Prime Minister now has at least six children, yet has not officially confirmed the exact number after leading a tangled love life that has seen him married twice.
Boris and Marina married in 1993 before splitting in 2018. Divorce proceedings are now understood to have concluded
Both marriages ended after he had affairs. It may seem extraordinary that the number of children a Prime Minister has is not public record, yet that is the situation.
What is known is that Mr Johnson and Marina Wheeler, who separated in 2018, have four children together: Lara Lettice, 26, Milo Arthur, 24, Cassia Peaches, 22, and Theodore Apollo, 20.
He also has a fifth child, Stephanie Macintyre, with art consultant Helen Macintyre. Stephanie is allegedly one of two children he fathered as a result of an affair.
The Appeal Court ruled in 2013 that the public had a right to know that he had fathered a daughter during an adulterous liaison while Mayor of London in 2009 – but also mentioned the possibility of a second baby.
It is not known if the Prime Minister has any more children – but his baby boy with Carrie Symonds is officially his sixth.
She had previously been self-isolating in Camberwell, South London, with the couple’s dog Dilyn, after suffering from symptoms of coronavirus.
The 32-year-old former government adviser then joined Mr Johnson at the PM’s country home of Chequers in Buckinghamshire while he recovered from the virus.
Mr Johnson returned to work on Monday after being photographed back at Downing Street on Sunday evening.
If it was a full-term pregnancy of 40 weeks, conception would have taken place last July, around the time Mr Johnson took over from Theresa May as prime minister.
Boris already has four children with second wife Marina, Lara Lettice, 26, Milo Arthur, 24, Cassia Peaches, 22, and Theodore Apollo, 20. He also has a fifth child, Stephanie Macintyre, 11, after an affair with art consultant Helen Macintyre with a sixth child from another affair also rumoured.
The acrimonious split with Marina has caused tension between Mr Johnson and his children, who he asked to meet in person in February to tell them he was engaged to Carrie and they were having a baby.
But not all of his children reportedly turned up for their father’s announcement and are said to be ‘furious’ because they believe Carrie and Boris got together after an affair.
Lara reportedly branded her father a ‘selfish b******’ after his split with her mother.
Mr Johnson, 55, and Ms Symonds announced in late February that they were expecting a baby in ‘early summer’, and that they had become engaged at the end of last year.
Carrie and Boris first met in 2012 when he was Mayor of London and she worked for the Tory party.
There were whispers of a close relationship in 2018 after they were seen speaking flirtatiously outside a Tory party ball.
Later that year Boris was thrown out by his wife Marina and said in a statement they were divorcing and had ‘separated some time ago’.
Six months later their relationship was confirmed after they were seen holidaying together in Italy.
When Mr Johnson and former Tory Party head of press Miss Symonds fell in love, many were sceptical that it could last.
The cynics appeared to have been proved right when they were overheard having a spectacular domestic spat in their London house early in their relationship that saw the police called.
Their well-publicised plate-smashing row was recorded by neighbours who claimed she yelled ‘get off me’ and ‘get out of my flat’ in Camberwell, south London last year.
But they have proved the doubters wrong. Despite not being married, they negotiated tricky moments like visiting the Queen at Balmoral as an unmarried couple, with great dignity.
Miss Symonds proved a great asset to Mr Johnson in the election campaign. She curbed her love of the limelight and made sure he was the centre of attention.
Within weeks of becoming Prime Minister she became pregnant. Mr Johnson was heavily criticised soon into his premiership when many parts of Britain were badly flooded and he failed to visit them.
At the time he was staying with Miss Symonds at the Foreign Secretary’s official residence, Chevening in Kent, while repairs were being carried out at Chequers.
Mr Johnson fell in love with Chequers in his days as Foreign Secretary in Theresa May’s government.
But Mr Johnson’s political rivals lined up to brand the engagement announcement a distraction ploy as Britain suffered severe floods.
The birth of their first child comes after a rollercoaster month where Boris almost died from coronavirus and his fiancee also started showing symptoms.
On March 27 – the day Boris tested positive for coronavirus – Carrie shared a photograph of herself self-isolating with their dog Dilyn at the £1.3million Camberwell house she bought with Mr Johnson last year.
On April 5 Mr Johnson, 55, was rushed into ICU at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London with breathing difficulties and his partner was not allowed to be by his side because of her pregnancy and a blanket ban on visitors.
They have been together since he was discharged.
Carrie was brought up by her mother Josephine, who is now 71, in East Sheen, South-West London and attended the private £20,000-a-year Godolphin & Latymer School.
Her father Matthew, a founder of the Independent newspaper, lived in a large property not far away in Twickenham with his wife, Alison, with whom he has three children.
Matthew had an affair with Josephine, who was a lawyer on the paper— and Carrie is the product of that affair, born in 1988.