Who is King Charles' 'hot equerry' and why is he going viral?

In most cases, the Royal Family's many members of staff pass fairly under the radar. Not so with King Charles' equerry Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson, also sometimes known as the "hot equerry."

While Major Johnny's nickname sooort of speaks for itself — that's right, royal fans think he's very dishy — there are some other things to know about him and why he's quite so popular.

As reported by People, the handsome military man was first spotted in royal circles in 2018, when he served as a senior bodyguard for the Queen. He was then seen again at several crucial royal events, and was tasked with helping the royals after the monarch passed away.

It's around that time, in 2022, that Johnny started to go viral, as royal watchers found him so handsome and were often on the lookout for the man during royal events.

One TikTok user whose video made the rounds online dubbed him "major eye candy," which tells you pretty much everything you need to know.

Someone in the comments at the time took on the difficult task of breaking hearts everywhere when they informed Johnny's fans that he was in fact married. However, the two have since separated and he was spotted holding hands with girlfriend Olivia Lewis circa February, according to Tatler.

These days, Johnny "remains senior equerry to the King and the Queen" but is working in a "more executive and less public-facing role," and apparently it's because he didn't love being the centre of so much attention, as reported by Express.

If, like many of us, you pretty much only know what an equerry is from watching The Crown, the role means that they are "an officer of the British royal household in personal attendance on the sovereign or a member of the royal family," per Merriam Webster's definition.

Since he's now in a more behind-the-scenes role, a Major Johnny sighting is ironically even more of an event for his admirers, and he was spotted earlier this month during King Charles' visit to Scotland. After that, social media users called the equerry "dashing" and "nice to see." Incorrigible!