Boris Johnson's Mum Charlotte Johnson Wahl Has Died

Boris Johnson's mum has died aged 79.

Charlotte Johnson Wahl, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 40, passed away 'suddenly and peacefully' at a London hospital on Monday (13 September).

Since news of her death was announced, leading political figures have come out and offered their condolences.

Conservative MP, Conor Burns, who is a friend of the Prime Minister, tweeted: "So sad to hear of the death of Boris Johnson's mum. Thoughts and prayers are with him and the whole of the Johnson clan."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also shared a message with Mr Johnson.

He wrote: "I'm very sorry to learn of the prime minister's loss. My condolences to him and his family."

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Tory MP Angela Richardson said: "Sad news for the PM tonight as well as the rest of the Johnson family. Thoughts with them all."

While the Conservative Party co-chairman Amanda Milling added: "Thinking of Boris Johnson and his family this evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with you."

In the past, Mr Johnson has described his mother as a 'supreme authority' within the family and a talented artist.

Speaking back in in 2008 about how her condition affected her painting, Mrs Johnson Wahl said: "I try to paint every day if I possibly can, though I have to go to the hospital a lot.

"I still manage to paint, though my arm will suddenly do a movement which is completely unintentional and that almost brings me to tears."

The daughter of barrister Sir James Fawcett, who was president of the European Commission for Human Rights in the 1970s, Mrs Johnson Wahl studied English at Oxford University.

She interrupted her education to travel to America with Stanley Johnson - who she married in 1963 - before returning to complete her degree as the first married female undergraduate at her college, Lady Margaret Hall.

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The couple had four children - Boris, journalist Rachel, former minister Jo and environmentalist Leo - before they divorced in 1979.

In the years following her divorce, she refused to accept any money from her former husband, eking out a living by selling paintings. She later recalled she was 'very hard up'.

In 1988, she married the American professor Nicholas Wahl and moved to New York where she began painting cityscapes - which were the subject of a sell-out exhibition in 2004 - but returned to London following his death in 1996.

At the age of 40, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but she never allowed her illness to prevent her painting, steadying herself with a walking frame as she worked.

In 2015, she was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.

Topics: Prime Minister, UK politics, No-Article-Matching, Boris Johnson, Politics

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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