So, it turns out Boris Johnson's real name isn't actually Boris after all
We're sure you've already noticed, but the political world is ever so slightly on fire right now – as the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has handed his notice in after a series of resignations from his cabinet, all of which cited his poor leadership skills as the root cause.
Obviously this is all super important – and certainly something to keep in mind for when the next general election rolls around (whenever that may be) – but today we'd also like to discuss another fact that has recently come to our attention: Boris Johnson's real name is actually, err, not Boris at all.
Nope, it turns out that the Prime Minister's full moniker is the rather Tory-sounding 'Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson', so whilst Boris is in the mix there, it's actually the PM's middle name.
According to some online reports, Boris (or should that be Alexander?) only started going by his middle name when he moved from America (he was born in New York) to attend Eton College in 1977, where it's said that he suddenly adopted "the eccentric English persona" which he's now widely famed for.
As for the 'de Pfeffel' part of the Conservative Party leader's name, it was discovered during his appearance on the BBC ancestry-tracing show, Who Do You Think You Are?, that it links back to his German nobility roots.
"[Boris'] Granny Butter's mother was Marie Louise de Pfeffel (1882-1944), and her great-grandparents were Baron Charles de Pfeffel (1843-1922) and Caroline de Pfeffel (1862-1951). Her aristocratic pretensions appeared to have some substance," writes the BBC of the episode.
"One of our key discoveries among [Boris'] Aunt Birdie's archive was a death notice for Charles de Pfeffel. In the past, bereaved relatives would issue very formal notices announcing a death, detailing the former role of the deceased, the bereaved family members and the location of the funeral... The death notice also revealed that Charles had died in Germany and at some point had been Chamberlain to the King of Bavaria."
So, there you have it.
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