He’s the ‘hot equerry’ who stole thousands of hearts at King Charles’s Coronation, and now I can reveal that Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson has wed his glamorous fiancee, Olivia Lewis.
The King’s aide and former senior bodyguard to Queen Elizabeth II quietly married Ms Lewis last Saturday at the quaint St Mary’s Church in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.
I’m told the couple kept the ceremony ‘elegant’ and ‘low-key’, and it was followed by a lunch and reception at Olivia’s parents’ nearby house.
They have avoided the spotlight, and Colonel Thompson stepped away from his public-facing role last year after reportedly disliking all the attention he was receiving.
He first entered the limelight in 2022 for his role in royal public events following the late Queen’s death, and was nicknamed the ‘hot equerry’ after videos of him went viral online.
But the hopes of many young women were swiftly dashed when they learned that the hunky colonel was a married man – to a marketing manager called Caroline, whom he wed in 2010.
Then, almost as soon as it became known that he had quietly separated from his first wife, it was revealed that he had found love again, with PR executive Olivia. They announced their engagement in 2024.
Colonel Thompson has regularly accompanied King Charles and joined the Royal Family on Christmas Day last year.
Newlyweds: Colonel Thompson with his now wife Olivia Lewis last year. They quietly married last Saturday at the quaint St Mary’s Church in Great Bedwyn
The late Queen Elizabeth II, with Officer Commanding Major Johnny Thompson, inspects Balaclava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the gates at Balmoral
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson (equerry to King Charles III) attends the 2023 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 13, 2023 in London
I understand the King was invited to the wedding and had no engagements to fulfil last weekend, according to the Court Circular.
Intriguingly, the King and Queen were in Canada last week – with none other than the newly married colonel. Could His Majesty have attended the wedding in secret and then travelled to Canada with Thompson in tow?
Pippa’s plan put out to pasture
Tough times at Bucklebury Farm. I hear the 72-acre Berkshire estate owned by The Princess of Wales’s sister Pippa Matthews and her hedge-fund manager husband James is £807,543 in debt.
The couple submitted plans to build a nursery on the farm, which features a petting zoo beloved by Prince George, to save it from financial ruin, but the idea was slammed by the local authority.
The farm has faced yearly six-figure losses since James bought it for £1.3 million in 2021. Time to sell up?
Pippa Middleton is sighted arriving at her South Kensington office on November 15, 2011 in London
The deer park at Bucklebury Farm Park Shop. The 72-acre Berkshire estate is £807,543 in debt
The spy who loved… Meg?
They’ve been condemned as outdated sexist stereotypes… but that doesn’t stop actress Meg Bellamy from wanting to be a Bond girl. ‘Oh God, sure, I will take that!’ said the 22-year-old, who is best known for playing a young Kate Middleton in The Crown.
Failing that, she also fancies a role in a Tom Cruise film. ‘I loved Mission: Impossible,’ she swooned when I ran into her at DJ Pete Tong’s gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Tigerlily’s had her claws clipped
Tigerlily Taylor, daughter of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, had some damage control to do last week after a promotional post for her nail brand Claws By Tiger Taylor backfired.
The 30-year-old shared a video online showing French First Lady Brigitte Macron appearing to slap her husband – an AI version of the real event.
In Tigerlily’s film, Brigitte’s hands are sporting her brand’s signature red press-on nails. ‘Not in the best taste,’ sniffed one follower.
‘Not very ethical,’ wrote another. Tigerlily, right, initially responded in the comments, then the post vanished.
Talk about clawing it back from the brink…
Tigerlily Taylor attends the Longchamp SS25 Collection dinner at The Garden Museum on February 13, 2025 in London
David Hockney is to the art world what Mick Jagger is to rock music – a legend who gets away with breaking the rules.
I’m told the National Gallery will open after hours for the painter – ‘even if it’s Sunday 8pm,’ an insider at a private view told me last week.
And if Hockney, 87, a committed smoker, wants to puff inside, staffers will turn a blind eye – but not on this occasion. ‘He chose to smoke outside before coming in,’ the insider said.
Prince Harry’s ex Cressida Bonas and her husband, Harry Wentworth-Stanley announced in January they are expecting a second child – and now I hear they’ve bought a palatial house for their growing family.
After selling their Notting Hill flat, the couple have splashed out on a five-bedroom home for £1.75 million. Cressida, 37, right, and Harry, 36, are technically staying in West London… however in the rather less aristocratic neighbourhood of Acton.
