Topics: King Charles III, News, Pope Leo, Queen Camilla, Royal Family, UK News, World News, Europe
King Charles III and Queen Camilla have just touched down in Rome as part of a historic state visit, but as snaps emerged of the pair disembarking their plane, royal fans were left distracted by someone else entirely.
On Wednesday (22 October), the monarchs arrived in Rome at the start of a state visit to the Vatican, where they will meet Pope Leo XIV in a symbolic display of unity between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.
The two-day state visit to the Holy See will celebrate the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years and begins in earnest later today (23 October), with a series of events beginning with the royal couple being welcomed by Pope Leo.
The event will be the first time the couple will have met the pontiff since he was elected to office in May, with Charles having met his three predecessors: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.
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Despite the historical nature of Charles and Camilla's arrival yesterday, it clearly didn't take long for fans to spot the likes of Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson, who is Charles' equerry - AKA his right-hand man.
Now, royal fans will know all too well the online lore surrounding Johnny, who was instantly labelled a total 'heart throb' when he was first thrust into the public eye.
Rushing to social media to share their excitement, one Twitter user beamed: "I spy Johnny!"
"I see Johnny!" exclaimed a second while a third chimed in: "Ooo - hello Johnny!"
A fourth gushed: "Johnny!"
"My eyes on Johnny," confessed another.
And a final user echoed: "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."
Now, while the hype over Charles' 'hot' equerry doesn't seem to be going down anytime soon, Johnny has made it clear that the online fawning and comments dubbing him 'major eye candy' are unwanted.
After first going viral a few years back in 2018 when he served as the late Queen Elizabeth II's bodyguard, he later removed himself from the internet's admiring gaze and opted for a less visible role.
However, he subsequently went viral again in 2022 when he was pictured looking dapper at royal events alongside Charles.
Over the years, the equerry has attended a whole host of key royal events, including His Majesty's coronation, as well as the King and Queen's visits to Northern Ireland, Germany and France.
He was promoted to 'super' equerry in 2022, and it's been reported that Charles' aide has since taken on a new behind-the-scenes role that's less public-facing.
