Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fiancée, Symonds, has given birth to a baby boy at a London hospital on Wednesday, slightly earlier than had been expected.
“The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning,” the couple’s spokeswoman said according to Reuters’ report. “Both mother and baby are doing very well.
Symonds, 32, had said previously that their baby was due in the early summer. Johnson, 55, whose country is facing its worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza outbreak, will take a short period of paternity leave later in the year.
Johnson was present at the birth, the prime minister’s spokesman said later. There was no announcement of a name. Queen Elizabeth had sent a private message of good wishes to the couple, Buckingham Palace said.
The new arrival tops a tumultuous month for Johnson. He returned to work on Monday after recuperating from COVID-19, which had left him gravely ill in intensive care at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.
Symonds, a former public relations executive, also had symptoms of the virus but recovered more swiftly.
“This birth would be counted as premature,” said Alexander Heazell, professor of obstetrics at the University of Manchester.
A review of SARS-1 and COVID cases suggested that the preterm birth rate was about double the normal rate, he added.
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