Everything We Know About The Equerry Who Set Pulses Racing During The Queen's Procession
Many royal ceremonies and traditions have taken place in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death. This included an Accession Council for King Charles III as he immediately assumed the role of the British sovereign, in addition to the signing of proclamations across the United Kingdom and meetings with leaders and officials.
Queen consort Camilla and William, Prince of Wales, have accompanied the king at many of these royal duties, as have a collection of guards, aides, and advisors. Usually, the public would rarely take note of those around the monarch, paying attention only to members of the royal family. But ever since the queen's coffin left the Balmoral Estate on September 11 (via the Royal Family's official site), there's one member of the king's entourage that the public has had their eye on for days now — Charles' equerry Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland (via Metro).
Major Jonathon Thompson was one of Queen Elizabeth II's top bodyguards
An equerry is appointed by members of the royal family, "assisting with engagements and hosting guests," according to Tatler. They are often senior officers from the British army, like Major Jonathan Thompson. He's been working for the royal family for quite some time, having been one of the queen's most senior bodyguards (via Daily Mail). However, his role has now moved to be by King Charles III's side as he goes about his royal duties, including guiding British prime minister Liz Truss to her first meeting with the king at Buckingham Palace (via YouTube) and moving that pesky pen tray away from Charles while he signed proclamation documents at St James's Palace during the Accession Council, according to the Daily Mail.
Before the queen's death, Thompson traveled with Charles and the Queen consort Camilla during their royal tour of Canada earlier this year, and he could be seen sitting behind Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, during the Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, as Metro notes.
Outside is royal duties he is happily married with a son and two dogs
Outside of royal life, Major Jonathan Thompson is married with a young son. According to the Daily Mail, he and his wife Caroline got married in 2010, and they currently live in Surrey with his family and their two dogs, Odin and Piper. As noted on his LinkedIn profile, Thompson joined the British Army in 2006 and is a Platoon Commander. He studied at Aberystwyth University in Wales, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in economics and politics. Thompson's wife Caroline earned a Higher National Diploma in Design Communications at the Southampton Institute. She worked as a marketing manager for over a decade before changing careers to become a personal trainer and exercise referral specialist (via Horses4Health).
Caroline is a keen horse rider who soon discovered "how both physical exercise and horses can greatly help with mental health." So she started working for the charity Horses4Health, using her design and marketing expertise to help create the charity's website. Having married an army officer, Caroline "has spent a lot of time living in various parts of Scotland, as well as Berkshire and Wiltshire," where she's continued her career and charity work while enjoying family life with Thompson — when he's not working for the king, that is.