Stanley Johnson, 79, is the famous father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The former Member of European Parliament and author has six children, four with his first wife, Charlotte Fawcett, and two with his second, Jennifer Kidd. Mr Johnson will appear on Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted tonight with his friend Georgia Toffolo. But what incredible tale did the Johnson family matriarch share about her life with Mr Johnson and her life as the leader of four driven children?
Stanley Johnson and reclusive painter Charlotte Fawcett married in 1963.
They went on to have four children: Boris, the current Prime Minister, Rachel, a journalist and the former editor-in-chief of The Lady, Jo, a Conservative MP for Orpington and Leo, a filmmaker and entrepreneur.
The couple divorced in 1979 and Mr Johnson went on to marry Jennifer Kidd two years later.
Speaking to Tatler about her life, Charlotte Johnson revealed details about the breakdown of her marriage and how she came to be the “supreme authority” of the Johnson family.
The mother-of-four has long been a source of boundless strength and love for her children.
READ MORE: Stanley reveals exactly what he told Boris when he was elected PM
On Exmoor, Charlotte lived alone with the children in the Johnson family farmhouse and home-schooled them.
However, she struggled, suffering with OCD.
She told Tatler: “I had become extremely phobic.
“I was terrified of all forms of dirt. In 1974, I had to go into the Maudsley as a patient of Professor [Hans] Eysenck [the influential late psychologist].
“While I was there, I did 78 paintings and they gave me an exhibition.’
She told Tatler: “Things with Stanley were very difficult.
“I thought I was marrying a poet but he had become very interested in the environment, he travelled a lot and he enjoyed his travels and then a dear friend told me about that.”
Ms Johnson added: “It was such a relief to find that OCD often precedes Parkinson’s and is a part of it.
“I always felt such a bore with these ritualistic things I had to do.
“It’s much better controlled now with medication. I also discovered that depression and tiredness go hand in hand with Parkinson’s.’
Over the years, the couple’s relationship became strained.
The Johnson clan were said to be very upset by the divorce, but reportedly the couple remained on good terms.
Ms Johnson remarried in 1988 and the couple were together until his death in 1996.
After her second husband Nicholas Wahl died, she returned to the UK and settled in Notting Hill.
Now she lives closer to her children and is able to act as the whirlwind matriarchal force in their lives.
Speaking to Tatler about her children she said: “They are quite different to how they are perceived.
“Rachel is not the tough person she seems to be. She really minds about things and can become terribly upset and Boris is so soft-hearted.”
Celebrity Hunted will air tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm.
