Royal fans distracted by King Charles' equerry Johnny Thompson in Italy
King Charles' right-hand man is garnering a lot of attention
King Charles’ right-hand man, equerry Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson, has a growing fan base amongst royal observers.
In fact, they can’t take their eyes off him!
Fans are going wild for King Charles’ equerry
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening for their Vatican state visit.
Today, they met with Pope Leo for the first time since his election in May 2025.
But it was their arrival in Italy that really caught the attention of royal observers. Largely because Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson was on the tarmac alongside the monarchs.
Johnny Thompson has garnered a lot of attention since he was thrust into the public eye. In fact, fans have dubbed him a total “heartthrob”.
The king’s aide first earned the nickname “hot equerry” from fans back in 2018. At the time, he was serving as Queen Elizabeth II’s bodyguard.
He went viral again in 2022 when he was spotted at royal events by the side of King Charles.
Today (October 23) fans have flocked to social media again to share their praise for Johnny.
Royal observers praise Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson
One penned on X (formerly Twitter): “I spy Johnny!”
“My eyes on Johnny,” added another.
“Ooo – hello Johnny,” gushed a third.
A fourth simply exclaimed: “Johnny!”
Another user mused: “It is nice to see them both, they have been under a lot of stress wears on a person, and the eyes of the public gotta be hard. But so nice to see Johnny there (cough) watching over them.”
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson is very popular amongst fans, as well as The Firm.
Prior to being Charles’ right-hand man, Johnny served Queen Elizabeth for many years.
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson’s bond with the royals
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson is from the Royal Regiment of Scotland and was once the late queen’s most senior bodyguard.
After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, he was reportedly promoted to the role of Super Equerry to King Charles.
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson joined the British Army in 2006. He later served as a senior officer in the British Army.
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson isn’t the only aide to King Charles that has caught the eye of observers.
A bodyguard who protects the king, whose identity hasn’t been officially confirmed, has affectionately been nicknamed “the Kingsman,” by royal fans, due to his serious manner and dapper appearance.
The appearance of King Charles’ aides haven’t been the only thing that has sparked reaction from fans.
Some fans have even speculated that the king’s security team wear fake hands.
Security expert Will Geddes, with nearly 30 years of experience, has since shed light on the viral theory in an interview with Metro.
“They definitely aren’t fake hands,” he explained. “It isn’t a tactic that is used at all in the UK. There might be all sorts of other tricks and stunts that security officers use to make sure high-profile individuals are kept safe, but this wouldn’t be one of them.”
Read more: King Charles set to visit Lichfield Cathedral as members of the public told they can ‘greet’ monarch
So, do you keep up with King Charles’ state visits? Are you a fan of Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page @RoyalInsider. We want to know your thoughts.
