After Boris Johnson’s fiancée gave birth earlier than expected today, questions now remain over when their baby boy was conceived.
Carrie Symonds, 32, today gave birth to a ‘healthy’ baby boy at an NHS hospital in London – weeks earlier than anticipated.
If it was a full-term pregnancy, conception could have taken place anytime between last July and August.
Boris walked in to Number 10 on July 24, 2019 – suggesting the baby was conceived in the days after he took over from Theresa May as Prime Minister.
On February 29, Miss Symonds took to Instagram to announce she was ‘hatching’ a baby, while revealing the Conservative PM had proposed to her on New Year’s Eve.
The post swiftly led to rumours and speculation as to how far along she was.
She had reportedly told friends at the time that she was five months pregnant, leading to the assumption that she would have given birth in June.
July 2019: Carrie pictured on the day Boris walked in to Number 10 on July 24, 2019 – before her pregnancy
October: Boris and Carrie after he delivered his speech at the Conservative Party conference on October 2
December: The pair are pictured here at Neasden Temple on day 28 of the General election campaign, on December 7
February: Carrie posted this photo to Instagram on February 29, announcing the news that she was pregnant and engaged
On her Instagram page, which is set to private but details of which were reported in the media, Miss Symonds shared an intimate photo of her and the PM, writing: ‘I wouldn’t normally post this kind of thing on here but I wanted my friends to find out from me.
‘Many of you already know but for my friends that still don’t, we got engaged at the end of last year… and we’ve got a baby hatching early summer.’
That announcement had suggested the baby was conceived in autumn, around the time that the 31 October Brexit deadline was extended.
A spokesman for the couple confirmed the pregnancy at the end of February, adding the baby was due, ‘in the early summer.’
Baby and parenting expert Rachel FitzD told MailOnline it was ‘likely’ that Miss Symonds deliberately gave a later due date.
She suggested that if Miss Symonds gave birth at 37 weeks, then the likely conception was the very end of August.
Ms FitzD told MailOnline: ‘From a midwives’ point of view, everybody will think of a term as 40 weeks but that isn’t quite right – it is defined as 37-42 weeks.
’40 weeks is just the middle date given in the UK – it is different on other countries.
‘Carrie could have been coming up to five months in pregnant at the very start of February – but I expect she was being a bit elastic with that.
‘My advice to women is to always give a date further on from your due date, because you are under a lot of pressure from friends and family.
‘She wouldn’t have had any peace so she may have been elastic with the truth if she’s got any sense, or, she may have got her dates a bit wrong.’
October: Carrie pictured at the State Opening of Parliament in Westminster on October 14
November: Boris and Carrie in Downing Street arriving for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall on November 10
December: The couple pictured celebrating the election win on December 12
December: The couple attending Evgeny Lebedev’s Christmas Party on December 13
March: Mr Johnson and Miss Symonds at the England v Wales rugby match at Twickenham on March 7, just before Mr Johnson contracted coronavirus
Boris becomes only the fourth prime minister in 150 years to welcome a baby into Number 10
Florence Cameron, born August 2010
David Cameron holding his baby daughter, Florence
David Cameron and his wife Samantha had daughter Florence just three months after her father entered into coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Florence Rose Endellion was born weighing 6lb 1oz while the Camerons were enjoying a family summer holiday in Cornwall.
The former Tory Party leader spent the night in the Royal Cornwall with Samantha, where Florence, now nine, was delivered by caesarean.
She was Mr Cameron’s fourth child. His eldest son Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy, died the year before Florence’s arrival.
Leo Blair, born May 2000
Former Prime Minister Mr Blair, who brought Labour to power three times in 10 years, and his wife Cherie had son Leo in May 2000.
Born weighing 6lb 12oz at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Leo joined sister Kathryn and brothers Euan and Nicky in the Blair sibling ranks.
In Cherie’s memoirs, Speaking For Myself, the QC revealed Leo was conceived during a visit to Balmoral, the Queen’s residence in Scotland.
George and Francis Russell, born April 1848 and July 1849
Lady Russell gave birth to George Gilbert William in April 1848 and Francis Albert Rollo in July 1849, during her husband’s first stint in office.
March: The Prime Minister and his partner Carrie Symonds, pictured together on March 9 at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey
Ms FitzD said Carrie could have had her baby at 36.5-37 weeks.
She said: ‘Every midwife complains about a woman being ‘overdue’ or ‘early’ when actually she’s in the normal window which is 37-42 weeks – the definition of the average human range of gestation.
‘A term is defined as anything from 37-42 weeks. Women get put under a lot of pressure as to whether she is ‘early or late’, and it’s quite an emotional load on a woman. We need to be quite relaxed to go into labour.
‘Most white western European women can expect to go past their due date. About 5 per cent will have the baby on the day that we think is our due date. Most have the baby later than that, and some early – but it is not actually early.’
Johnson only returned to work on Monday, two weeks after being discharged from hospital for an illness that he said ‘could have gone either way’.
The Prime Minister is believed to have at least five children, including four with his second wife, Marina Wheeler, from whom he split in 2018.
He has been publicly dating Symonds, a former head of communications for the Conservative party, since early 2019.
Symonds had moved out of their Downing Street flat before he became ill, but later reported having symptoms of coronavirus herself. She recovered at home.
She has kept a low profile as the ‘first girlfriend’, largely keeping out of the election campaign last December that saw Johnson win the best result for the Conservatives since the 1980s.
Family life at No 11! As Boris Johnson becomes the fourth PM to raise a baby at Downing Street, what he and Carrie Symonds might learn from the Blairs and the Camerons – from escaping to Chequers to redesigning the kitchen
With the birth of his son in the early hours of this morning, Boris Johnson becomes only the fourth Prime Minister in 150 years to welcome a baby to Downing Street.
His fiancée Carrie Symonds, 32, is thought to be still in the NHS London hospital where she gave birth but will soon return to the four-bedroom flat she shares with Mr Johnson above No 11.
In doing so, the new family-of-three will be following in the footsteps of former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, who both became fathers while in office and had the highly unusual experience of raising children at Downing Street.
The Camerons welcomed youngest daughter Florence, now nine, shortly after the 2010 election, while Tony and Cherie had son Leo, now 19, in 2009, three years after he was voted in for the first time.
With the birth of his son in the early hours of this morning, Boris Johnson becomes only the fourth Prime Minister in 150 years to welcome a baby to Downing Street. David and Samantha Cameron welcomed daughter Florence in 2010 (left outside No 10) while Tony and Cherie Blair had their fourth child, Leo, in 2000, three years after he was first elected (right together)
While Mr Johnson, already a father of five, and Miss Symonds will no doubt want to put their own stamp on parenting as a Prime Minister, there are certainly lessons that can be learned from their predecessors. Pictured, the couple outside Downing Street in December 2019
The fourth Prime Minister to become a father in office was First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Russell, whose second wife, Lady Russell, gave birth to two sons, George and Francis in 1848 and 1849, respectively.
While Mr Johnson, already a father of five, and Miss Symonds will no doubt want to put their own stamp on parenting as a Prime Minister, there are certainly lessons that can be learned from their predecessors.
From the Camerons’ flair for interior design to the Blairs’ escapes to Chequers, here
A SPACIOUS APARTMENT WITH ROOMS TO SPARE
Boris and Carrie’s home above No 11 is spacious, with four bedrooms, a modern stainless steel kitchen and living area set in an open-plan arrangement designed by previous incumbent, Samantha Cameron. Pictured, Mrs Cameron hosting a breakfast club in the kitchen
Boris and Carrie chose to eschew the Prime Minister’s two-bedroom apartment above No. 10 Downing Street in favour of living in the Chancellor’s larger, four-bedroom home above No. 11.
Up until now it has just been Boris and Carrie with Dilyn, their Jack Russell cross terrier, so there is potential to convert one of the rooms into a nursery, or accommodate a nanny.
The swap between the No10 and No11 flat was originally done Tony Blair, who chose the more spacious property on his election in 1997 in order to better accommodate his three children, Euan, Nicky and Kathryn. His youngest son, Leo, was born three years later in May 2000.
The arrangement worked out especially well as Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor, was single at the time. He married wife Samantha in 2000.
When the Camerons first arrived at Downing Street, the couple moved into the top floor Georgian flat above Number 10. But at the time of youngest daughter Florence’s birth in August 2010, they were planning to take up residence next door.
The early arrival of their new baby forced the family to move sooner than they had planned.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph one month after her birth, Mr Cameron revealed that Florence had been sleeping in a cardboard box.
He said: ‘Nancy [his daughter] made her a cardboard box when we were in Cornwall as we didn’t have a cot and decorated it and she’s still in the cardboard box. She’ll be able to say I was brought up in Downing Street in a cardboard box.’
The property also enjoys the benefit of a private lift – perfect for transporting a pram – and a private back staircase leads down to the garden, which is lovely and secluded.
Just beyond is St James’s Park, perfect for taking new baby Johnson for a stroll.
PIANO PRACTICE AND NIGHTS IN FRONT OF THE TV
Tony Blair complained about the strains of bringing up a young family in Downing Street and his determination to protect his children from public scrutiny. He also said he and Cherie tried to keep a ‘normal’ life with nights in front of the TV and doing homework with the children. Pictured, with their children Nicky, Euan, Leo and Kathryn outside No 10 in 2005
The pampered prince of Downing Street
Boris’s baby is likely to be mightily spoilt. Florence was very much in her element in Downing Street by all accounts.
‘She lived there for the first five years of her life and everyone who worked there loved her,’ an insider told the Daily Mail.
‘You are the little princess or, the princeling. The world revolves around you because of who your parents are.’
In her element: Florence Cameron, born in 2010, at Downing Street
The demands of a newborn baby and the sleepless nights he brings will no doubt add to the strain Mr Johnson already feels as Prime Minister during these unprecedented times.
However in time the family will settle into their own routine and will find their own way to balance a life together with the demands of Mr Johnson’s job.
Tony Blair complained about the strains of bringing up a young family in Downing Street and his determination to protect his children from public scrutiny.
But the Blairs did all they could to keep a normal routine, and spoke about eating supper with the children, overseeing homework, supervising piano practice and watching TV together when they could.
Cherie openly breast-fed her baby at Downing Street functions, which caused raised eyebrows, but times have moved on and Downing Street has a more modern outlook.
The Camerons also shared a playful photograph of daughter Florence sitting in the Red Box as a toddler.
Of course, depending on how long Mr Johnson is in office, his son might not remember his life spent at Downing Street.
While promoting his memoirs, For The Record, in October, Mr Cameron said Florence, leaving Downing Street in July 2016, was hazy about his time in power.
Aged five at the time, she asked her father, who relayed the story at the Cheltenham Literature Festival: ‘Daddy, is it true, were you actually the Prime Minister?’
EARLY WEEKS OF UNCERTAINTY
The ongoing lockdown means that for Carrie, there will be no popping out to Boots for nappies, no taking the baby out for a stroll in the pram to a coffee shop. Baby supplies will need to be ordered and delivered in an operation that will require military planning.
However the scrutiny Downing Street and its residents are subjected to means it is far from a ‘normal’ experience for a new mother, even when the country is not in crisis.
Every time she steps out of the flat, she will be under minute scrutiny. Friends and family who want to come and see the baby will have to go through all the security rigmarole.
Which is why, perhaps, according to a well-informed Downing Street source, after Samantha Cameron gave birth to her daughter, Florence, in 2010 when her husband David was Prime Minister, she ‘went off the scene’ for a bit and went to stay with her parents.
‘It’s great in some ways,’ the insider told the Daily Mail. ‘You’re surrounded by people. You’re not isolated, like some new mothers are. You’ve got all the mod cons.
‘It’s fine, but if I were Carrie I would spend as much time as possible out of Downing Street. It’s a workplace. The flat is very private, but you’re living above the shop. All the security arrangements make it incredibly hard for people to come and go. You are living in a fortress. It’s not normal.’
AN ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY
Carrie may well find she prefers the space and seclusion afforded by other prime ministerial residences. The Blairs and their brood certainly maid the most of Chequers, where they spent weekends and school holidays. Pictured, the PM’s country home in Buckinghamshire
Carrie may well find she prefers the space and seclusion afforded by other prime ministerial residences.
The couple recently spent time at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s 16th-century country residence in Buckinghamshire, while Mr Johnson recovered from coronavirus. They have also spent time at Chevening, the country residence shared with Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary.
The Blairs and their brood certainly maid the most of Chequers, where they spent weekends and school holidays.
With its heated swimming pool and extensive grounds, the country retreat certainly offers plenty of space for a growing child to enjoy – and might offer new mother Carrie a welcome break from London life.
‘Baby number ?’ Twitter celebrates the birth of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds’ baby with comedy memes – joking the PM’s ‘only been back for two days and can now take paternity leave’
If the news that Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds have welcomed a baby boy into the world this morning took a nation in lockdown by surprise, it wasn’t long before social media clicked into gear and conjured up a thousand memes on the happy news.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fiancée Carrie Symonds, 32, today gave birth to a ‘healthy’ baby boy at an NHS hospital in London – weeks earlier than anticipated.
The news, announced just before 10am this morning, quickly sent the hashtag #borisbaby soaring to the top of Twitter’s trending column.
While many posted memes showing the PM, 55, and his girlfriend whooping with delight, and saying the news gave the nation a much-needed moment of joy, others couldn’t resist referencing Mr Johnson’s expanding brood – with a mischievous Wikipedia editor changing the reference to how many children the PM has to an uncertain ‘6 or 7’.
Scroll down for video
Elsewhere, there were plenty of snaps of blonde-haired babies doing the rounds, as social media comedians suggested that Boris junior may have been born with a mop of unruly hair like his father’s.
Others showed dancing toddlers jigging with joy, suggesting that’s how Mr Johnson might feel at the prospect of two weeks of paternity leave, after just two days back at Number 10 following his battle with Covid-19.
There was the gif of a cat furiously typing away, with its poster suggesting that it might be how ‘Eton’s administrative staff’ might look while adding the PM’s offspring to the private school’s waiting list.
Another kept in mind the couple’s ‘fur baby’, saying Dilyn would have a ‘beautiful friendship’ with the new baby.
