Boris Johnson’s volatile tenure as prime minister will come to an end following a flurry of resignations by cabinet ministers over the past few days.
Carrie Johnson has been by the PM's side since he took office in 2019 - but at the time, they were the first unmarried couple to have moved into No 10 Downing Street.
She was spotted standing outside No 10 today with daughter Romy in a sling as her husband Boris Johnson delivered his resignation speech.
The mum-of-two, who was dressed in red, was standing beside one of Mr Johnson's top allies, Nadine Dorries - who has been loyal to the prime minister throughout.
The pair were seen to exchange a few words amongst a small crowd who had gathered to show support ahead of the PM's statement.
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Baby Romy, who has had few public appearances, donned curly golden blonde locks.
In his address, Mr Johnson said he wanted the public to know "how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world – but them’s the breaks".
He acknowledged that “in politics, no one is remotely indispensable” as he announced his resignation as Tory leader.
Since getting together, the pair have overcome a number of allegations and scandals, and during the same period, have welcomed two children and made things official by becoming husband and wife.
Carrie previously worked in the Conservative Party press office, which she joined in 2010, and two years later she worked on Mr Johnson's successful campaign to be re-elected as mayor in London.
Here, we take a look at her time as the wife of the prime minister - from the gold wallpaper scandal to claims she influenced politics.
Two babies
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During Boris Johnson ’s premiership, Carrie, 34, gave birth to two of his children. In December 2021, the couple welcomed their second child together Romy Iris Charlotte.
Carrie explained the name choice on Instagram, saying: "Romy after my aunt, Rosemary. Iris from the Greek, meaning rainbow. Charlotte [after] Boris' late mum whom we miss so much."
Romy is sister to their son Wilfred, who was born in April 2020.
Secret wedding
Carrie Symonds became Carrie Johnson after tying the knot with the prime minister at a secret wedding at Westminster Cathedral on May 29, 2021.
The pair were set to celebrate their wedding this July according to their ‘save-the-dates’, however they decided to push the big day forward for a low-key affair with just 30 guests amind Covid-times.
Boris popped the question to Carrie at the end of 2019 but their engagement wasn’t made public until the following year. Carrie wrote on Instagram in February 2020: "Many of you already know but for my friends that still don't, we got engaged at the end of last year... and we've got a baby hatching early summer. Feel incredibly blessed."
Decorating scandal
The couple were at the centre of a makeover scandal of their flat above 11 Downing Street, with Carrie said to be the driving force behind the extravagant decor.
The mum-of-two reportedly saw the lavish overhaul as necessary to rid the residence of the “John Lewis nightmare” left behind by Teresa May, according to Tatler.
And just months after the refurb, the Daily Mail reported that the £840-a-roll gold wallpaper used in the redecoration was peeling off.
The work was initially paid for by the Cabinet Office, but £52,000 was given to the Conservative Party by Lord Brownlow to cover the bills. Mr Johnson said he later covered all the costs out of his own pocket.
The Conservative Party was fined £17,800 after the Electoral Commission found it had failed to accurately declare all of Lord Brownlow's donations towards the renovation.
Influence on politics
In February of this year, Carrie issued a rare statement through her spokesperson after a Cabinet minister suggested she was coming "under scrutiny in a way that perhaps other prime ministers' spouses weren't" in the past.
She insisted she played “no role in Government” and was targeted by "enemies" of the PM in a "brutal briefing campaign".
Her involvement in her husband’s politics came under scrutiny in a biography by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft, which sought to look at her alleged influence on the PM's decision-making.
Lord Ashcroft, writing in the Mail, said his research had suggested her "behaviour is preventing him ( Boris Johnson ) from leading Britain as effectively as the voters deserve".
But allies dismissed the criticism as sexist, and a spokesperson for Mrs Johnson said: "Yet again Mrs Johnson has been targeted by a brutal briefing campaign against her by enemies of her husband.
"This is just the latest attempt by bitter ex-officials to discredit her.
"She is a private individual who plays no role in Government."
Government jobs
In more recent times, there has been speculation over Boris Johnson speaking with aides about securing his wife two top jobs, which Downing Street did not refute.
Mr Johnson discussed environmental roles for Carrie in autumn 2020, either for the Cop26 summit or with the Royal Family, sources told the Daily Mirror.
The latest claim followed reports Mr Johnson tried to hire her as his chief of staff when he was Foreign Secretary in 2018.
The prime minister allegedly went on to suggest securing her a role as green ambassador in the run-up to Cop26 or as communications director for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Earthshot Prize.
Downing Street said he had never recommended Mrs Johnson for a Government role, but stopped short of denying that he considered or discussed the move.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister has never recommended Mrs Johnson for a Government role, or one as part of the Earthshot Prize.
“Beyond that I wouldn’t get into any conversations the prime minister may or may not have had in private.”
The renewed questioning over whether Mr Johnson has wielded his influence to try to secure his now-wife a job came after controversy over the removal of a newspaper report.
The Times first reported last month that Mr Johnson tried to hire Mrs Johnson in the Foreign Office, but the article was removed from later editions.
Downing Street admitted there were conversations between No 10 and the paper after its initial publication and before it was pulled.
Mrs Johnson’s spokeswoman insisted the allegations in the Times’s story were “totally untrue”.
But the veteran journalist behind the story, Simon Walters, stood by it “100%”, saying he did not receive an on-the-record denial during discussions with No 10 before publication.
Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former chief aide, supported the report and alleged Mr Johnson also wanted to appoint his wife to a Government job in late 2020.
