Boris Johnson announces birth of baby boy with fiancee Carrie Symonds

LONDON -- The U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, have announced the birth of their first child together.

"The prime minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning," a spokesperson for the couple announced on Wednesday morning. "Both mother and baby are doing very well. The PM and Ms Symonds would like to thank the fantastic NHS [National Health Service] maternity team."

The birth of their first child together marks a welcome end to a turbulent period for Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 32, who are engaged to be married.

Late in March, the then pregnant Symonds announced that she had spent a week in bed with symptoms for coronavirus, after it was announced that the prime minister himself had tested positive. Then, Johnson's condition worsened, and after being hospitalized he spent three nights in the ICU before being discharged.

The prime minister thanked the NHS for "saving his life" after his spell in St Thomas's Hospital in London.

In his absence, the First Secretary of State Dominic Raab led the government, but Johnson returned to work after his ordeal on Monday, delivering a speech outside Downing Street to warn the nation that the country was at the "moment of maximum risk" when it came to combatting the spread of coronavirus.

Senior figures in British politics joined a chorus of well wishes for Johnson and his partner after the announcement.

"Wonderful news," the leader of the opposition Labour Part, Sir Keir Starmer, posted on Twitter. "Many congratulations to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds."

Johnson's Conservative Party colleague, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who is leading the government's response to the coronavirus crisis, said the news was a piece of "unalloyed joy."

The precise number of how many children Johnson has, both inside and outside his previous marriages, is unknown.