British media reported on May 23 that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds sent wedding invitations to relatives and friends, saying their wedding will take place on June 30, 2022.
Carrie Symonds attended the Queen’s speech in London in October 2019.
Symonds, 33, is the daughter of one of the founders of the Independent, Matthew Symonds, and lawyer Josephine McAffee.
Her first job in politics was working for Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston.
Symonds then worked for Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, before becoming special communications adviser to Sajid Javid when he worked at the Department for Communities and Local Government.
She became head of the party’s communications department, but left in 2018 to work in public relations for Oceana, a project to protect life at sea.
Symonds is passionate about conservation and uses Twitter to condemn animal cruelty and plastic waste.
Some newspapers reported that Symonds was the one who persuaded Johnson to oppose fox hunting and make animal welfare commitments in his first speech as British Prime Minister.
In 2009, Symonds revealed to the Daily Telegraph that in her first year of college, she once got into the car of `blue bearded lover` John Worboys – a taxi driver who committed many sexual harassment cases.
Symonds testified against Worboys in court.
Media began reporting that Symonds had an affair with Johnson in early 2019. Johnson has had two wives: he was married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen for 6 years from 1987. Second wife Marina Wheeler divorced
Symonds was present at the launch event of Johnson’s Conservative Party leadership campaign (the party leader will become prime minister) on June 12, 2019.
When Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, Symonds watched from the sidelines as he entered 10 Downing Street.
However, when Johnson continued to serve as Prime Minister thanks to his victory in the December 2020 general election, the couple walked side by side.
Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson on the steps of 10 Downing Street in December 2019.
Johnson, 56 years old, is the third British prime minister to have ever divorced since 1721. Meanwhile, Symonds is also the youngest lover of a British prime minister in 173 years.
Johnson has experienced many emotional controversies.
Although divorce was once considered scandalous in the 1950s, when the late Prime Minister Anthony Eden led the country, the public’s perception of the British Prime Minister’s girlfriend now changes according to social norms, political lecturer
Although Johnson is 23 years older than Symonds, the public has not seen such a large age gap before.
Johnson and Symonds have a son named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, born last year.
The British prime minister’s partners often accompany their spouses at official events, with some taking on political or policy roles.
Author Mark Hichins wrote in the 2004 book `The Wives and Husbands of Prime Ministers` that typically, the spouses of prime ministers do not have their own careers.
When human rights lawyer and part-time judge Cherie Blair entered 10 Downing Street with Mr. Tony, Britain had never had a prime minister’s wife take on such important positions.
Mrs. Blair continued to work as a lawyer and often made headlines for her actions.
`She is the first British prime minister’s partner who is said to earn more than her husband,` said history lecturer Dr. Martin Farr from Newcastle University.
Mrs Blair’s successors, Sarah Brown and Samantha Cameron, have used their positions to support charitable causes.
Meanwhile, after her husband took office, businesswoman Cameron, who is 5 months pregnant, announced her resignation as creative director of high-end stationery company Smythsons.
Dr Allen argues that the role of the British prime minister’s partner has changed with the cultural shift that `the wife is not simply defined by the husband`.
Phuong Vu (According to BBC)
