King Charles III‘s new equerry – the ‘braw darling’ or ‘hunky’ Scottish Army officer who leaves royal fans swooning whenever he appears in public – accompanied the Queen as she left Buckingham Palace for the last time and was taken to lie in state at the Palace of Westminster.
Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland was once the Queen’s most senior bodyguard.
Known to friends as ‘Johnny’, in recent days he has found himself front-and-centre of historic Royal events as the equerry of King Charles III, having served in the role when he was Prince of Wales.
Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, pictured on the left of the frame behind the Queen’s coffin, accompanied the procession
Major Thompson (right) was pictured on Friday with Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss (left)
Major Thompson (pictured right) had previously accompanied Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival at Balmoral earlier this summer, prior to her death
Major Thompson (pictured left) cracked a smile as he walked with the Queen through the gates of Balmoral Castle earlier this year, before the monarch’s death
On Friday, Major Thompson watched over Charles’s first public walkabout as Monarch. Later that day the officer escorted Prime Minister Liz Truss to meet the King at Buckingham Palace. And the next day, he was seen standing behind the King as he signed the proclamations at St James’s Palace.
Major Thompson always wears a thick tartan kilt and large fur sporran, which had him sweltering during Charles and Camilla’s Royal tour of Canada in May.
The moment the Major – who is married – and Prime Minister looked into each other’s eyes yesterday caused some amusement among observers of the historic occasion.
The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II rests in Westminster Hall for the Lying-in State
2.22pm: The gun carriage bearing the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II departs Buckingham Palace, transferring the coffin to The Palace of Westminster
King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Harry, and Prince William, follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall
A body language expert joked: ‘This is how most Mexican telenovelas [soap operas] begin.’
One Twitter user posted: ‘PM Truss is the envy of the world. A weekly meeting with Johnny – I mean, King Charles?’
Another tweeted: ‘We’ll be seeing a lot of him now. As my dear husband said, ”Oh look here’s your Major” (in my dreams).’
Major Johnny Thompson was spotted behind Prince Harry and Megan when they attended the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June earlier this year
Major Jonathan Thompson (pictured right) of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland was once the Queen’s most senior bodyguard
But another Twitter user empathised with Major Thompson, who was known to be close to the Queen, saying: ‘I think he looks very sad, he’s really devoted to the Royal Family, bless him.’
Earlier this year he was present at July’s Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at St Paul’s Cathedral, sitting behind the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
His positioning was seized upon for speculation that he was acting as Charles’s ‘eyes and ears’ to observe Harry and Meghan.