Who was Boris Johnson’s mum Charlotte Johnson Wahl?
THE JOHNSON family and art world are in mourning after the Prime Minister's mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl died.
Boris's mother was a well-respected artist, along with being the mum to Britain's leader.
Who was Charlotte Johnson Wahl?
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, Charlotte describes her parents as "rich socialists."
Charlotte met Boris's dad, Stanley Johnson, at Oxford University where she studied English.
At the time, aged 18, she was already engaged to another student named Wynford Hicks whom she describes as "extraordinarily beautiful to look at but actually quite boring";.
She interrupted her studies to go to the US after Stanley got a job there, but returned to become the first married female undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
When did Charlotte Johnson Wahl die?
The Prime Minister's mother Charlotte died on September 13, 2021, aged 79.
She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 40 - but continued to live a normal life.
Boris had said that she was the "supreme authority" in his family.
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How many children did Charlotte Johnson Wahl have?
Charlotte had four children, three boys and a girl - all with Stanley Johnson.
Boris, born in 1964, is the eldest of the quartet and best known as the Prime Minister, being elected in 2019.
Rachel was second, born in 1965, and followed the family business into becoming an MP, before along with being a journalist.
Leo, born 1967, is an entrepreneur and filmmaker while youngest Jo , who arrived in 1971, has also gone into politics, most recently being a minister on his brother Boris's cabinet.
Charlotte once revealed how when she sat her final university exams while already pregnant with Rachel and Boris was "in the pram outside the exam hall".
She also has 13 grandchildren - with a 14th on the way with Boris expecting his second with Carrie Symonds.
Who were Charlotte Johnson Wahl's husbands?
In 1963 Charlotte married Stanley Johnson in a ceremony in Marylebone, but their marriage broke down in 1979 and the couple divorced.
In 1988 she married American academic Nick Wahl but he sadly died in 1996 after a long battle with cancer.
According to a bombshell book, Stanley broke the PM’s mother’s nose.
Charlotte ended up in hospital after she "flailed" at her then husband and he flailed back, it is alleged.
Family and friends of Stanley reportedly insisted that he deeply regretted the incident and denied that he had been violent on any other occasion.
What was Charlotte Johnson Wahl's job?
Charlotte was a successful and well renowned painter.
She mainly specialised in painting portraits, and her clientele included Crispin Tickell, Joanna Lumley, Jilly Cooper and Simon Jenkins.
She also painted landscapes which have been described as echoing the Vorticist style.
When Boris was appointed Mayor of London in 2008 he commissioned his mother to paint a city-scape of London - the view from his office.
Was Charlotte Johnson Wahl a Tory?
Boris's mum has said despite marrying a Tory and having four Tory children she never voted Conservative.
She claimed that she is "very left" and describes her parents as "socialist".
Charlotte liked Jeremy Corbyn and said that seeing him in politics reminded her of the politics when she was young.
She said: "It’s back to the politics that I remember when I was young. I recognise what he’s on about.
"But I think he ought to do away with his beard – makes him look a bit like an old wizard.”