10 Facts to Know About Boris Johnson, the Soon-to-Be Ex-PM of the UK

Having recently announced his pending resignation on 7 July 2022, Boris Johnson is easily one of the most controversial political figures.

He narrowly escaped a no-confidence vote on 6 June this year, but has decided to step down as leader of the Conservative Party yesterday after an avalanche of resignations by members of his party that eroded his authority and debilitated the British government. 

He is the literal talk of the town and you would indubitably be accused of living under a rock if you have no knowledge about him. In other words, acutely embarrassing.

No worries, though, we have you covered with 10 interesting facts about this incessantly lambasted man that you can use in all your conservations.

His full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson & He Used to be an American Too

Boris Johnson, otherwise known as Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, was born in New York City in 1964 while his father, an Englishman, was studying Economics at Columbia University. Due to his unique birth circumstances, Boris had dual citizenship with both American and British passports.

But read on because he’s no longer an American now.

He Attended Premier Schools Since Young

Living on and off in both Britain and America until the age of 5, this young child was reportedly quiet as a child. He finally moved back to England permanently at 5, and attended the European School in Brussels, Ashdown House and then Eton college.

Bright at a young age, although hesitantly so today, the child was awarded with the King’s Scholarship at Eton. Continuing to excel with academic prowess, Johnson eventually came to read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford where he was also awarded with multiple scholarships and awards.

He Gave up his American Citizenship in 2017

As Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton would have promptly reported: Dear reader, I believe it is my responsibility to keep you informed of Mr Johnson’s prior ability to have campaigned for election in the US presidential race had he not surrendered his American citizenship in 2017. Imagine if he had won the elections. Having prior experience as both the US president and UK prime minister would surely make you the most qualified person to ever exist on LinkedIn.

But let’s not go down that slippery slope. The more important reason is why he surrendered it. When Boris Johnson had dual citizenship, he was liable to pay taxes in both the US and UK. In 2015, the American IRS ordered the politician to pay capital gains tax on the massive profit he made on the sale of his North London Home. Clearly the last straw for him, Boris Johnson paid the tax and immediately surrendered his US citizenship.

He has Royal Blood

Royalty might be a relic in the bygone ages for most of modern civilization, but it is certainly not for the British, and Johnson, unsurprisingly, has royal ancestry.

Johnson’s father’s maternal grandmother, Marie Louise de Pfeffel, was a descendent of Prince Paul of Württemberg. Thus, by extension, he is a descendent of King George II of Great Britain, and all the previous British royal houses through George’s (many) greats grandfather, King James I of England.

He has Married Thrice, with Six / Seven (Reported) Children

In his very illustrious love life, he was first married to Ms Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987. The pair divorced each other after six years of marriage in 1993, and never had any children.

Shortly after the divorce was finalized, Johnson married his second wife, Marina Wheeler, on 8 May 1993, allegedly 12 days after his first divorce. They had four children. The marriage was reportedly disrupted by his infidelity and in 2018, they announced their separation after he was spotted having an affair with his now wife Carrie Symonds.

Mrs Johnson first announced their engagement in 2020, and Boris Johnson recently said that he would throw a big wedding party to mark his marriage to his wife.

He Worked as a Journalist for the Bulk of his Career

Boris Johnson worked as a management consultant before he started as a journalist with The Times in 1987. Unfortunately, he got fired for misquoting a source in 1988.

After that stint, he worked as a journalist at The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator respectively, making a name for himself as a correspondent that has exaggerated and inaccurate dispatches. In 2004, he had to apologize to the entire Liverpool for his insensitive and ill-informed comments in an editorial. He accused the city’s people of capitalizing “victim status” after the devastating soccer stadium disaster that killed almost 100 people in the 80s.

He Delivered on his Promise to “Get Brexit Done”

While Johnson resigned as foreign secretary due to his disagreement with Theresa May’s approach to Brexit in 2018, he did fulfil his promise to deliver Brexit.

Despite suffering defeat after defeat in striking a Brexit deal with both lawmakers in the House of Commons and their European counterparts, he managed to convince the British people to leave the European Union and strike a sufficiently satisfying deal.

On 31 January 2020, Britain formally left the European Union. However, with Johnson’s vision of a free-trading nation and a global booming economy yet to be realized, it is still soon to determine the ultimate verdict of Brexit.

He has Been Embroiled in a Million Scandals

Boris Johnson’s first wife, Allegra, left after discovering his affair with Marina Wheeler—who would go on to become his second wife. In 2004, while married to his second wife, Boris Johnson was sacked as shadow arts minister for lying about his affair with Petronella Wyatt.

Conservative party officials said he was sacked due to his lack of candidness following further allegations that Johnson had paid for his mistress’s abortion.

In 2009, less than a year after becoming mayor of London, Helen Macintyre—another of the conniving politician’s mistresses—gave birth to his child. He has reportedly had several other affairs, and two of his former mistresses claim to have had children by him.

Funnily enough, Boris Johnson refuses to say how many children he has, leaving it as one of the biggest mysteries of all time.

Johnson is Head of the Conservative Party But His Views Didn’t Align

The man probably has an identity crisis. While he is head of the conservative party, his views on social issues can at best be described as liberal.

He himself has claimed that he is a “social liberal”.

As a longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, Johnson lifted the ban on flying the rainbow flag during LGBT pride events during his tenure as foreign secretary. In 2012, he proclaimed that was in favour of same-sex marriage, and added that “[Marriage] may well be beloved by God, but no religion has ever had a monopoly on marriage”.

With regards to another very pertinent societal issue, Johnson has also been shown to abstain from all votes that would limit abortion.

A Record-Breaking of More Than 40 Ministers Resigned on Him within 24 Hours

Disgusted in Johnson’s constant prevarications over a series of scandals, from coronavirus lockdown parties to the appointment of an ally accused of sexual misconduct, fellow Torries expressed not disappointment in Johnson, but disgust. 

They felt that with Johnson, something was always hidden, and there was always another shoe to drop. This led to many prominent ministers to leave, resulting in Johnson having little choice but to resign.

Well, at least he broke the record, and as Donald Trump would say, “Boris Johnson lost bigly. So bigly, it broke a record.”

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Featured Image: Michael Tubi / shutterstock.com