PHILIP May cut a concerned figure as his wife struggled to choke back tears during her emotional farewell speech today.
But while Theresa May’s lip trembled, as she spoke about doing her best for the country, it was fitting that her husband was there standing proud, behind her.
Philip has ALWAYS been there.
While all around her plotted, rebelled and betrayed, he was the only man the PM could really rely on.
Her “rock” at times of personal struggle and a calm, supportive presence watching on from Commons Gallery or accompanying her on state visits – he had her back.
Mrs May will certainly not be remembered for the personal, human touch, but with her husband by her side the Maybot always looked like a weight had been lifted.
It was love at first sight for the couple, who met as students at an Oxford University Tory disco back 1976.
They were famously introduced by Benazir Bhutto, who would later become the prime minister of Pakistan.
After university, while Theresa set her sights on becoming a Tory MP, Philip became a stockbroker going on to work in private equity for more than four decades.
His financial expertise would be an asset, with insiders claiming he was the PM’s “secret weapon, acting as her eyes and ears in the City.
But Philip’s support went far beyond passing City tips and gossip.
After enduring a seemingly endless Tory civil war and being dragged over hot coals by EU bullies, he was even there to fix Theresa a stiff drink and takes the bins out.
Once asked if she lost any sleep over her woes, the PM laughed and said: “It depends how strong the whisky is, or how much Philip has poured for me!’
She added: “When you are PM you wake up each morning and never quite know how the day is going to pan out.”
The couple, who married in 1980, settling in Sonning, Berks, never had children with the PM revealing her sadness that they could not start a family.
She told the Mail on Sunday in 2016: “You see friends who now have grown-up children, but you accept the hand that life deals you.”
But the May’s have each other and Philip was there with a shoulder to cry on when Theresa’s beloved father died in a car crash.
She described him as “huge support”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs: “That was very important for me. He was a real rock for me.”
But despite times of personal strife and struggle, the couple are often seen smiling, hand-in-hand, as they visit their local church in Maidenhead, Theresa’s loyal constituency.
The PM perhaps relishing the quiet reflection of the pew rather than the chaos of Westminster.
Philip even managed to make his wife smile on a trip to Europe with the pair spotted beaming as they took off on a three-week holiday to Italy and the Swiss Alps in 2017.
Wearing matching walking gear and walking side by side – Theresa ditched her leopard print shoes for walking boots and seemed all the happier for it.
The couple have always looked the picture of love and support and it’s no doubt that without her rock by her side, Theresa May’s resolve would have crumbled a long time ago.
Today as she finally bows out, long after many in her own party wanted her to, it will be Philip that Theresa turns to, to pick up the pieces.
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