A son called Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas

Carrie Symonds has revealed the name of her and Boris Johnson’s newborn son as Wilfred, after the Prime Minister’s grandfather, as the proud parents shared the first photograph of their baby boy with the world.

In a post 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, as she boasted: ‘My heart is full.’

A heart-warming caption revealed the boy’s full name as Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, with Lawrie a reference to Ms Symond’s grandfather and Nicholas a tribute to the two doctors that ‘saved Boris’ life’. 

The 32-year-old fiance of Mr Johnson also revealed for the first time that Wilfred had been born at the maternity wing of the NHS’s University College Hospital in central London.

The caption read: ‘Introducing Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas born on 29.04.20 at 9am. Wilfred after Boris’ grandfather Lawrie after my grandfather Nicholas after Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart – the two doctors that saved Boris’ life last month.

‘Thank you so, so much to the incredible NHS maternity team at UCLH that looked after us so well. I couldn’t be happier. My heart is full.’

Ms Symonds, 32, delivered the boy at an NHS hospital in London on Wednesday morning with the Prime Minister at her side, days after he himself had been released from medical care following a lengthy battle with coronavirus.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister, who is back leading the country in its fight against the Covid-19 crisis, would plough on with his duties and 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 earlier this week. 

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.

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. 

So how many children is that, Boris? Newborn son is (officially) PM’s sixth child after four with ex-wife Marina Wheeler and daughter from 2009 affair… but courts mention possibility of one more

The baby Carrie Symonds gave birth to today 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. 

Both marriages ended after he had affairs. It seems extraordinary that the number of children a Prime Minister has is not public record, yet that is the situation. 

Mr Johnson and Marina Wheeler, who split 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. 

Here are the details on all five of Mr Johnson’s known children before today: 

LARA LETTICE JOHNSON (born in 1993 to Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler)  

Lara was the first child born to Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler, in 1993.  

Just five weeks after her parents’ wedding day, Lara – who is only five years younger than Carrie Symonds – was born.

She attended Bedales School – which costs £33,000-a-year – in Hampshire and went on to read Latin at St Andrews University.

Lara allegedly branded her father a ‘selfish b******’ after his split with her mother.

She has previously been pictured in public with her parents, including when she casted a vote with them at a polling station in Islington, North London, during the London mayoral elections of May 2012.

MILO ARTHUR JOHNSON (born in 1995 to Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler)

Born in 1995, Milo was Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler’s first son. 

The 24-year-old was educated at the £27,000-a-year Westminster School and is said to be a keen sportsman. 

A 2011 issue of his school magazine described him as ‘delight to watch’ and said he was ‘without doubt the player of the season’ for his football skills.

Milo studied at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, graduating from there in 2014, and can speak Arabic, Russian and French.

He also worked as an intern in Dubai at men’s magazine Esquire Middle East. 

After Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler separated in 2018, the politician and Milo were photographed bringing tea for the Press outside his house in Oxfordshire. 

Cassia Peaches Johnson (born in 1997 to Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler)

Cassia, thought to have followed in her father’s footsteps to be a writer, is the youngest daughter of Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler. 

She was born in 1997 and went to Highgate School – which costs £18,000 per year.  

During Cassia’s time at the private school she was a student editor of their alumni magazine Cholmeleian.

THEODORE APOLLO JOHNSON (born in 1999 to Boris Johnson & Marina Wheeler)

Born in 1999, Theodore is Mr Johnson and his ex-wife Marina Wheeler’s youngest child.

He attended school in London before going to Cambridge University, unlike his father who attended Oxford.

He is listed on LinkedIn as ‘Theodore Johnson-Wheeler’ in a profile which states he started at Cambridge in 2017. 

Theodore has also been labelled previously as something of a doppleganger for Mr Johnson, with the same distinctive hair colour and style. 

STEPHANIE MACINTYRE (born in 2009 to Boris Johnson and Helen Macintyre)

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.

The three appeal court judges said: ‘It was not material to the judge’s conclusion whether contraceptive precautions were taken.

‘What was material was that the father’s infidelities resulted in the conception of children on two occasions.

‘The judge was entitled to hold that this was of itself reckless behaviour, regardless of whether any contraceptive precautions were taken. ‘

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. 

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 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 

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 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.