Boris Johnson nominates half-French father for knighthood: Here's why the move is so controversial

The former PM's father-son relationship has been under scrutiny for years, since Johnson became Brexit’s driving force and Stanley Johnson was granted French citizenship to ‘keep ties with the EU’, as he told a Belgian news website after getting his French passport. He was only one of the thousands of UK citizens who applied for citizenship in European countries in the Brexit aftermath.

Anyone can be nominated for honours

There is, however, no obligation for UK citizens to give up their British citizenship if they also have another nationality. It is thanks to this rule that Stanley Johnson might be eligible for knighthood in the UK, despite having another nationality as well as a British passport.

Anyone can be knighted, no matter their nationality, as long as they meet the sovereign’s criteria. However, only British citizens can use the title ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’ in the United Kingdom.

The former PM had already nominated his brother, Jo Johnson, for a peerage while he was still in office, which caused outrage in UK politics. The nominations of his brother, first, and now his father, have drawn criticism from big names in Westminster, such as OBE Nazir Afzal.

Many have accused Boris Johnson of ‘cronyism’. Against all accusations, Boris succeeded in his brother's peerage and he is now Baron Johnson of Marylebone, which indicates that his father’s nomination may well succeed too.

Now a backbencher in the House of Commons, Boris Johnson has officially given his list of nominees for honours, and his father is at the top of the list for knighthood. He also nominated up to 100 names in his resignation list, which is far more than his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron.

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A complex father figure

Stanley Johnson, now 82, is a former Conservative politician who has notably applied for French citizenship as his son was driving the country towards Brexit. Boris’ half-French, environmentalist, and anti-Brexit father's ties with France go way back, as he was born to a French mother and an English father in 1940. He was also a member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1984.

Although the pair have got different views on Brexit, they maintain a good relationship and often compliment each other on TV. Even after Boris resigned from his position as Prime Minister in 2022, his father told a journalist that he could easily beat now Prime Minister Rishi Sunakif he chose to run against him.

Stanley Johnson’s position on Brexit has not always been clear though, as he remained firmly against leaving the EU during the entire debate, but chose to support it once the referendum results were in.

Boris has chosen to support his father in nominating him for knighthood, despite accusations of sexual harassment from two women in 2003 and 2019 and accusations of domestic violence from his own mother who said Stanley Johnson broke her nose in the 1970s, as she told journalist Tom Bower while writing her autobiography, The Gambler.

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Sources used:

Evening Standard: Who is Stanley Johnson? Boris Johnson’s father ‘nominated for a Knighthood’

BBC News: Stanley Johnson becomes French to keep link with EU

Reuters: EX-UK leader Boris Johnson nominates father for knighthood - report

The Healthy Journal: Can foreigners get knighthood?

The Gazette: American citizens with honorary British knighthoods or damehoods