How many children does Boris Johnson have? The answer is, bizarrely, as long as a piece of string. But the current (unconfirmed) estimate is eight. And, during his resignation speech on 7 July last year, Johnson thanked ‘all’ of his elusive family ‘who have had to put up with so much for so long'.
When politicians are involved in a scandal and start trending online, unfortunately their kids often do too. Thanks to Boris' speech last year, everyone started googling ‘Theodore Apollo Johnson’ (Johnson’s 22-year-old son with his ex-wife Marina Wheeler) and ‘Milo Arthur Johnson’ (his 26-year-old son with Wheeler). But the real question is, what have Johnson’s adult sons got to do with anything?
How many children does Boris Johnson have?
While stepping down, Johnson thanked his current wife ‘Carrie and our children’ meaning, his youngest child Romy and two-year-old Wilfred – both born during the pandemic. Carrie is now pregnant again, she announced in May. Obviously, Johnson's other children shouldn’t be disregarded in Johnson’s thanks…but they certainly shouldn’t be equated with the sins of their father that led to his resignation either.
Johnson's children with Marina Wheeler: Lara Lettice, 30, Milo Arthur, 28, Cassia Peaches, 26, and Theodore Apollo, 24 are adults with their own lives, politics and agency. And, while to some extent their career paths seem to have followed their father’s (Lara is a journalist and Theodore was a student at Cambridge) it’s unfair for their entire lives to be tarnished by the mistakes Johnson has made.
Repeated questioning
When Boris gave a radio interview with LBC during the 2019 election campaign, he said: ‘I love my children very much, but they are not standing at this election. I am therefore not going to comment on them.'
Over three years since this comment was first made, the sentiment still stands: ‘I am not going to put them onto the pitch in their election campaign when I think what people want to hear is what my plans are for the country,’ he continued. ‘That is the way all parties should be judged.’
Johnson has done plenty to make this country furious. From partying while the rest of us isolated, to laughing in the face of authority, he has now finally been judged for the lack of honesty he's demonstrated. But his children are not involved in his wrongdoing and their names don't deserve to be associated with it – nor with a parliamentary figure who happens to share their DNA.
Let’s not forget: You don’t choose your family.