Who is King Charles's bodyguard? Everything you need to know
Now that King Charles III has become the nation's new monarch, he's inherited a security team from the Queen to join him at royal engagements, and there's one bodyguard in particular who's got everybody talking.
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Who is King Charles' bodyguard?
Major Jonathan Thompson – known as 'Johnny' by his friends – currently serves with the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, and he's been working with the Royal Family for years.
Major Jonathan was previously the Queen's most senior bodyguard
Pictured alongside the new King, all week royal watchers have been asking questions about Charles's bodyguard and Royal Equerry, who previously served as Queen Elizabeth II's most senior bodyguard.
Dubbed 'Major eye candy' by royal fans, Major Jonathan has become something of a social media sensation over the last few weeks, with many commenting on his good looks and traditional uniform.
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Major Jonathan Thompson was pictured escorting Liz Truss to a meeting with King Charles
In recent pictures, the 39-year-old was spotted escorting Prime Minister Liz Truss to meet the King at Buckingham Palace on Friday 9 September. He was also among the procession of Her Majesty's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
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According to his LinkedIn profile, he has served in the British Army since 2006, prior to graduating from Aberystwyth University where he studied Economics, International Politics and Intelligence Studies.
Did Prince Charles' bodyguard attend University with him?
While at university Charles was protected by an agent who sat in every one of his seminars and lectures
While Major Jonathan Thompson is King Charles III's current bodyguard, prior to his accession to the throne, he was protected by another agent – and there is a popular story that the royal's bodyguard was allowed to take the same exams as Charles after having sat in every one of his seminars and lectures.
According to the website Quora, the story has been passed "down the generations" at the University, but just how accurate is the urban legend?
The royal famously attended Trinity College at Cambridge University
The security guard reportedly lived in college accommodation at Trinity College, and since the criteria of gaining a degree from a University includes 'keeping term' in the limits of Cambridge during term dates and passing the examinations, the bodyguard was eligible to take the exams as he met the criteria. As such, the story goes that he was permitted to sit the exam and passed with a 2:1, while Charles was awarded a more modest 2:2.
However, the University of Cambridge's online magazine, Varsity, has debunked the myth, claiming that although Charles did have a bodyguard who stayed in a room at Trinity College and attended the same lectures as the Prince, he did not in fact take the exams.
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