UK PM Boris Johnson mourns mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl's death
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is mourning the death of his mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl. The 79-year-old professional painter passed away "suddenly and peacefully" at St Mary's Hospital in west London. She was suffering from Parkinson's disease
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in grief after his mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl, who was a professional painter, passed away at St Mary's Hospital in west London on Monday.
The 79-year-old had been suffering from Parkinson's disease. A notice of her death in 'The Times' newspaper said that she died "suddenly and peacefully".
The PM once described his mother as the "supreme authority" in the family.
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The prime minister’s father Stanley Johnson and his mother had four children, Boris, journalist Rachel, former parliamentarian Jo Johnson and environmentalist Leo, before their divorce in 1979.
In 1988, she married American professor Nicholas Wahl, and lived in New York. After Wahl died, she returned to London in 1996.
She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 40, but continued painting, steadying herself with a walking frame as she worked.
In an interview in 2008, in reference to her Parkinson's, Wahl said, "I try to paint every day if I possibly can, though I have to go to the hospital a lot. I still manage to paint, though my arm will suddenly do a movement, which is completely unintentional and that almost brings me to tears."
Along with several other leaders, opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer sent condolences to Boris Johnson on social media.
"I'm very sorry to learn of the Prime Minister's loss. My condolences to him and his family," Starmer wrote.
(With inputs from agencies)