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The kilt-wearing handsome army officer and equerry for King Charles who has won a legion of admirers has been happily married to a glamorous marketing executive for over 13 years, MailOnline can reveal.
Major Jonathan Thompson, 39, of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, was once the Queen’s highest bodyguard but now serves His Majesty and is seen constantly by his side.
The dashing soldier is seen by Royal Watchers as a sort of ‘braw darling’ – ‘hunk’ in Scottish slang – and has gained an army of fans for his dashing looks, having stood by the king’s side for the past week.
In recent days, he has been at the center of historic royal events as King Charles III’s equerry, having fulfilled the role when he was Prince of Wales.
Major Thompson, known to friends as ‘Johnny’, married marketing manager Caroline, 44, in 2010, and the couple have a four-year-old son and two black Labradors named Odin and Piper – a nod to his army time in Scotland.
Last Saturday, he was caught on camera, calm and cool, removing a pencil box that the king’s desk was overflowing with as Charles signed the proclamation naming him as the new monarch after Queen Elizabeth’s death.
Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, pictured to the left of the frame behind the Queen’s coffin, accompanied the procession
Major Thompson (pictured left) smiled as he walked through the gates of Balmoral Castle with the Queen earlier this year, before the monarch’s death
Wife Caroline (pictured) was educated at Windsor Girls School and nearby Strodes College, where she completed three A levels in media, psychology and photography before earning an HND from Southampton Institute in Design Communications
Major Thompson, known to friends as ‘Johnny’, married marketing manager and enthusiastic rider Caroline, 44 (pictured above) in 2010.
Contrary to popular belief that he is Scottish, Major Thompson was actually born in Morpeth, Northumberland, and now lives with his family in Surrey.
He joined the military in 2006 and is a platoon commander, according to his LinkedIn. He is believed to have worked as an equerry for Charles for the past two years.
His profile also reveals how he went to Aberystwyth University where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in economics and politics with international studies giving his hobbies and interests as rugby and mountaineering and he was also a member of the undergraduate training corps .
Wife Caroline was educated at Windsor Girls School and nearby Strodes College, where she completed three A levels in media, psychology and photography before earning an HND from Southampton Institute in Design Communications.
She has worked for Packard Bell, BMW and is also a gym teacher and avid equestrian, and last year she helped set up the website for the charity Horses4Health with her marketing and design skills.
A biography on the site founded last year says: ‘Caroline has been riding for over thirty years and bought her New Forest mare ‘Bonnie’ almost 16 years ago as a yearling.
The partnership has done everything from heeling and showing to show jumping and horse trials over the years, but since the birth of Caroline’s son in 2018 they have now enjoyed a slightly less competitive life.
Caroline spent 11 years in the marketing industry before marrying Jonny – a serving member of the armed forces – in 2010. It was this that prompted her to take the plunge to change careers and become a Personal Trainer and movement referral specialist.
Major Jonathan Thompson (pictured right) of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland was once the Queen’s highest-ranking bodyguard
Major Thompson (pictured right) had accompanied Queen Elizabeth II to her arrival in Balmoral earlier this summer, prior to her death
Major Thompson (right) pictured Friday with Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss (left)
This started her interest in mental health and the benefits that exercise can bring.
Her own struggles led her to discover firsthand how both exercise and horses can greatly help with mental health and it was this that encouraged her to initially volunteer to help with The Great Horses For Health Relay in January 2021.
‘Since then, she has returned to work in the world of marketing/project management as it better aligns with her other life commitments.
‘Caroline was responsible for building the first Horses4Health website and was also a member of the event’s main organizing committee.
‘Caroline currently lives in Surrey with her husband, four year old son and two dogs, Odin and Piper, but has spent a lot of time in different parts of Scotland as well as Berkshire and Wiltshire. This is the seventh house she’s lived in since she married 12 years ago… the joys of an army family!’
In May 2021, Major Thompson accompanied Princes Charles and Camilla, as she was then known, on their royal visit to Greece. This photo was taken on the Bicentenary of Independence Day in Syntagma Square, Athens
Major Thompson met Prime Minister Liz Truss outside Buckingham Palace last Friday for her first audience with the new king
Major Johnny Thompson was spotted chasing Prince Harry and Megan as they attended the National Service of Thanksgiving earlier this year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
Major Thompson was also seen in the procession on Wednesday as the Queen’s coffin was escorted from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for the four days of lying in state.
In TV footage, he stood to one side as the coffin was brought in and he spoke briefly with the Duke of Kent.
Last Friday, Major Thompson accompanied Prime Minister Liz Truss to meet the King at Buckingham Palace and, as always, wore a tartan kilt and a large fur coat.
He was also seen standing behind Harry and Meghan at the Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Major Thompson’s parents, Ian and Elizabeth, were once neighbors to Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, with their listed 300-year-old house in Deeside next door to his, but they’ve since moved on.