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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson And Fiancée Carrie Symonds Announce Birth Of Son

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, shown here in March, announced Wednesday that she gave birth to a "healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning" and both mother and baby are doing well.
Kirsty Wigglesworth
/
AP
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, shown here in March, announced Wednesday that she gave birth to a "healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning" and both mother and baby are doing well.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a father again. He and his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, announced Wednesday morning that she gave birth to a baby boy. Mother and baby are doing "very well," according to a spokesperson for the couple.

Johnson and Symonds thanked the "fantastic NHS maternity team" for their work delivering the child at a London hospital. This is the second time this month Johnson has personally thanked England's National Health Service. The first was after he was treated in an intensive care unit for COVID-19.

After a three-week absence, Johnson returned to work Monday and urged the nation to continue to adhere to the national lockdown, warning of the risk of another spike in coronavirus cases.

"This is the moment when we can press home our advantage," said Johnson, referring to a declining number of COVID-19 cases in hospitals. "It is also the moment of maximum risk."

The U.K. has confirmed more than 161,000 COVID-19 cases, with more than 21,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Symonds, 32, also displayed symptoms of the respiratory disease during her pregnancy. Earlier this month, she announced that she was feeling better.

Johnson, 55, is the father of at least six children, four with his second wife, Marina Wheeler, from whom he is divorced, and one with art consultant Helen Macintyre, with whom he had an affair.

Asked during the election campaign last December by LBC radio how many children he had, the prime minister declined to answer, saying he didn't think the nation wanted to hear about it.

"I love my children very much," Johnson said, "but they are not standing at this election."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Frank Langfitt is NPR's London correspondent. He covers the UK and Ireland, as well as stories elsewhere in Europe.