Boris Johnson’s mother Charlotte Wahl dies ‘suddenly and peacefully’ in hospital aged 79
BORIS Johnson’s mother has died at the age of 79, her family said last night.
Charlotte Johnson Wahl, a professional painter, passed away “suddenly and peacefully” at a hospital in London on Monday evening.
Tributes have poured in for Charlotte, with many also sending their condolences to the Prime Minister and his family.
Labour’s Keir Starmer was one of the first to comment, saying in a tweet: “I’m very sorry to learn of the Prime Minister’s loss.
“My condolences to him and his family.”
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell also sent his regards, tweeting: “Deeply sad to hear of the passing of the Prime Minister’s mother.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Boris Johnson at this sorrowful time.”
Fellow Conservative Angela Richardson added: “Sad news for the PM tonight as well as the rest of the Johnson family. Thoughts with them all.”
And Conservative Party co-chairman Amanda Milling tweeted: “Thinking of Boris Johnson and his family this evening.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Others honoured Charlotte’s artistic work, with Labour MP Harriet Harman describing her as “an incredible artist”.
The PM described his mum as the “supreme authority” in his family and credited her with instilling in him the value of every human life, reports.
In 2019, at Mr Johnson’s first Conservative Party Conference as Prime Minister, he told delegates his mother had taught him to believe in “the equal importance, the equal dignity, the equal worth of every human being on the planet”.
He also disclosed in the same speech that his mother had voted Leave in the EU referendum.
Last year during a Covid press conference, Boris told the nation that he was hoping to see his mum on Mother’s Day – before Downing Street was forced to clarify that he would be speaking to her via Skype.
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Charlotte Johnson Wahl was born in Oxford in 1942.
She was the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, who was the president of the European Commission for Human Rights, and described her parents as “rich socialists”.
Charlotte met Boris’s dad, Stanley Johnson, at Oxford University where she studied English.
Then aged 18, she was already engaged to another student named Wynford Hicks whom she described as “extraordinarily beautiful to look at but actually quite boring”.
She quit when Stanley got a job in New York – where Boris was born – but returned to complete her studies while pregnant with his sister Rachel, with Boris “in a pram outside the exam hall”.
She and Stanley had four children: Boris, now 57, journalist Rachel, 56, environmentalist Leo, 53, and former Cabinet minister Jo, 49. They divorced in 1979.
Charlotte was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease aged 40 but continued her painting and remarried in 1988.
She once publicly revealed how the future PM got his name.
“When I was three months pregnant, we travelled to Mexico City by Greyhound bus,” she said.
“It was very uncomfortable, I was desperately sick.
“We stayed with a man called Boris Litwin, who drew me aside and said: ‘You can’t travel back like this, here are two first-class air tickets’.
“I was so grateful, I said: ‘Whatever the baby is, I shall call it Boris.’”
Speaking about her Prime Minister son, Charlotte said that Boris was a “very kind man, very fair”, although she does say that being PM sounds like a “ghastly job”.
She also says that he isn’t as “daft” as he seems, describing his public persona as “shambolic”.
Before Boris was elected, she said of his ambitions for the top: “I worry about what the hell he’s going to do next.
“He is interested in the leadership of the Conservative Party, but he could equally well retire and become a painter.
“He’s a very good painter. If he reaches the top, I’d feel very proud, but very anxious. It’s a ghastly job being Prime Minister.”
