(Bloomberg) -- The announcement that Boris Johnson’s wife gave birth to a baby girl offers the embattled U.K. prime minister some relief from the barrage of negative coverage he’s endured.

This is the second child for the couple, who married earlier this year in a low-key Catholic wedding. Wilfred, their son, was born in April 2020. The prime minister is believed to have fathered seven children, though the exact number is a matter of speculation. He himself cracked a joke about it during his speech at the Conservative party conference.

It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Johnson. He has been forced to apologize for a leaked video showing his staff making light of Covid restrictions and there have been a series of damaging reports showing Tories breaking pandemic rules and having blatant conflicts of interest. 

The timing couldn’t be more delicate with the Christmas holidays approaching. Last year he had to cancel plans for families to get together in a last-minute U-turn. This year, with the arrival of a new variant, he’s been forced to impose fresh restrictions. While critics argue the work-from-home order is too little too late, a substantial number of Tories oppose measures they say will hurt business and aggravate a pandemic-weary public.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.