Sydney Johnson (c. 1921/1923 – 17 January 1990) was a Bahamian-born personal attendant who notably served as the

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

and

footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

, formerly King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, and his wife,

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

, for over thirty years. He later worked for the Egyptian-born Franco-British businessman

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

Life

Johnson was born on the island of

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

; his birth year is variously reported as 1921 or 1923. At approximately age 16, Johnson was working as a beach attendant when he met the Duke of Windsor while the Duke was serving as

governor of the Bahamas This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The loc ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and began working as a footman for the Duke and Duchess. Following the war, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

with the Duke and Duchess and was promoted to valet, and served them for over thirty years. While acting as personal valet to the Duke, he would also wear a uniform and serve as a footman at formal dinners hosted by the Duke and Duchess. He married a French woman in 1960, with whom he had four children. After the Duke's death in 1972, Johnson was retained by the Duchess. Johnson was one of a limited number of attendees at the funeral service of the Duke of Windsor on 5 June 1972. Johnson's wife died around 1972, shortly after the death of the Duke. Johnson left the Duchess's service in 1973 to care for his children, reports differ if he resigned or was dismissed. Johnson was later reportedly employed by Lady Glover, the wife of Douglas Glover. Johnson was working as a waiter at the

Hôtel Ritz Paris The Ritz Paris is a hotel in central Paris, overlooking the Place Vendôme in the city's 1st arrondissement. A member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, the Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world. T ...

when it was purchased by Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1979. Al-Fayed was impressed by Johnson's knowledge of British high society and the royal family, and hired Johnson as his personal valet. During subsequent years, he worked with Al-Fayed during the restoration of

Villa Windsor 4 route du Champ d'Entraînement, also known as Villa Windsor, is a historic villa in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, within the northwest section of the Bois de Boulogne, close to the southern edge of Neuilly-sur-Seine. The house from 1929 i ...

and served as curator of the collections. Johnson died suddenly on 17 January 1990; the cause is not publicly known. On his death, he was described by Al-Fayed as "truly a gentlemen's gentleman".

In fiction

In the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

television series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'' (2022), Sydney Johnson is portrayed by Zimbabwe-born actor

Connie M'Gadzah Connie is a given name. It is often a pet form (hypocorism) of Concetta, Constance, Cornelia, or Cornelius. Given name or nickname Women * Connie Achurra, Chilean chef * Connie Binsfeld (1924–2014), American politician * Connie Booth (b ...

in a brief appearance during

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. Johnson is the focus of the

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

episode "Mou Mou", which depicts his relationships with the Duke of Windsor and Mohamed Al-Fayed, and is portrayed by Nigerian actor

Jude Akuwudike Jude Akuwudike (born 1965) is a Nigerian actor. He has mostly worked in the United Kingdom, on screen and stage. He has appeared in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Early life Born in Nigeria, Wes ...

, while a younger version is portrayed by Joshua Kekana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sydney Servants People from Andros, Bahamas