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Here’s Johnny! Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Thompson AKA the King’s ‘dashing’ equerry has been promoted. Here’s everything you need to know about him
Firstly, a declaration: we are very much invested in this week’s lead story. Here at The Royal List we’ve been enthusiastic admirers of Lt Col Johnny Thompson for a couple of years. C’mon just look at him, how many men can consistently pull off wearing a kilt with such insouciance while emanating masterful vibes and flashing a warm and winning smile.
Seems quite a lot of you feel the same way. The 39-year-old, who serves with the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, has an army of devoted admirers and a cult social media following to boot. There are a load of Instagram fan accounts that we may or may not follow. (OK, we’re signed up to at least three at the last count.)
So, we totally understand why King Charles doesn’t want to see him go either. Hence, Lt Col Thompson’s promotion this week to one of his senior aides. According to the Telegraph, the decision to “extend his secondment from the Army… is unusual but is considered an indication of how highly valued he has become to Their Majesties.”
The equerry had previously worked alongside the late Queen, performing bodyguard and other ceremonial roles. Subsequently, Johnny found himself right at the heart of historic events following Elizabeth II’s passing. In May, the Coronation made Johnny a worldwide internet hit, as he executed his duties at Charles’s side and kept a watchful eye over Prince George as Page of Honour.
This summer, he made it to No.3 in Tatler’s Social Power Index (Charles and Camilla are joint leaders), which charts “where the real power lies in British society”. The magazine stated: “The erstwhile Major Johnny has a fabulous sense of humour and looks as good in a suit as he does a kilt.” (Yes, yes, Tatler, we could have told you that years ago.)
Originally from Northumberland, he joined the Army in 2006 and now lives in Surrey with his wife of 13 years, Caroline, their four-year-old son and two Labradors called Odin and Piper.
Sadly, there is a downside to Johnny’s well-earned promotion. As a senior ‘super’ equerry his new role will be more office-based as he helps organise the King’s private affairs, meaning we won’t see so much of him (and his kilt) on public duties. Boo! Don’t keep him all to yourself Charles, we beg you!
Harry and Meghan are lampooned on Family Guy
Harry and Meghan’s American Dream has turned into a recurring cartoon nightmare as The Family Guy becomes the latest show to take a swipe at the Sussexes. In its newest episode, the royal duo is depicted sitting by a pool, as their butler brings them their millions for “from Netflix for… no one knows what.” Cartoon Harry tells him to, “put it with the rest of them” and Meghan says, “Babe, time to do our daily $250,000 sponsored Instagram post for Del Taco.”
Not everyone found it funny, but the real Del Taco chain had a chuckle, posting on X, “Harry & Meghan we are still waiting for your post to go up today plz.” It comes after the pair was eviscerated by South Park in February.
Meanwhile, Lady Glenconner says she feels Meghan, “had no idea what was expected of her”, when marrying Harry. Speaking to Giles Brandreth on his podcast Rosebud recently, she says she thinks Meghan thought it would be “like being an actress, riding around in a golden coach and actually being a member of the Royal Family … is extremely boring.”
The saddest trailer for The Crown
It’s almost here… the trailer for the final season of The Crown dropped this week and as we previously reported, it’s all about Diana.
The trailer focuses on Diana’s last weeks and we see Elizabeth Debicki as the princess, playing a piano and on board the yacht, pondering about her life. “I don’t really understand how I ended up here,” she says, “Dashing around and losing sight of myself in the process. I think that’s been the story of my whole life.” We then see the Queen declaring all she wants is for “that girl to find peace” and Prince William asking, “Mummy, you okay?” We see Diana get in the car for her final journey and then the lights go on in Balmoral with the dreadful news of her death.
“This is going to be the biggest thing that any of us have ever seen,” Charles/Dominic West says. Netflix certainly hopes so. The series begins November 16.
Kate welcomes a new nephew
The Princess of Wales is an aunt again - for the fourth time. Her baby brother, James Middleton and his wife of two years, Alizée, announced that their son, Inigo, was born several weeks ago.
The couple’s first baby is a first cousin to Princes George, Louis and Princess Charlotte, and the seventh grandchildren for Carole and Michael Middleton. Catherine’s younger sister, Pippa, has three children, Arthur, 5, Grace, 2, and one-year-old Rose, with husband, James Matthews.
The besotted new daddy shared three adorable pics of Inigo with the family’s pet dogs on Instagram, saying: “He has been in our lives for just a few weeks but they have been the most special of my life getting to know our beautiful baby boy. No matter how prepared I thought I was… I was not prepared for the overwhelming emotion of meeting Inigo for the first time and the love for my darling Alizée as we became three.”
Aw, welcome to the world Inigo!
The Queen’s Range Rover goes to auction
An eagle-eyed car enthusiast recently worked out Queen Elizabeth’s Range Rover is up for sale, when they matched the car with footage of her driving at the 2005 Royal Windsor Horse Show.
The 2004 Epsom Green vehicle comes with lots of special modifications and has 110,000 miles on the clock. It’s going to auction on November 11 with a hefty guide price of £50,000 - £60,000. For more, visit here.