How will Rishi Sunak raise his family as PM? ‘Hands-on’ dad who ‘did the bulk’ when his daughters were babies may split his time between Downing Street and Kensington where his youngest goes to £23,000-a-year private school

• Rishi Sunak officially becomes prime minister today after meeting with the King
• Reports have emerged he may shun Downing Street as his official family home
• The father-of-two may keep his wife and daughters in their Kensington house
• Has claimed to be a hands-on father who ‘did the bulk’ when girls were small

As Rishi Sunak prepares to enter 10 Downing Street after being elected leader of the Conservative Party, he has made history as the first British-Asian prime minister and the youngest leader of the UK for 200 years.

But there is one thing the new PM has in common with several of number 10’s former residents – being a father to young children, who will, at least for a few years, be raised in 10 Downing Street. He will follow in the footsteps of prime ministers including Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Tony Blair.

Sunak, 42, and his wife Akshata, also 42, have two daughters, Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, nine – and reports have suggested the family may shun Downing Street as their family home altogether.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata (pictured at a campaigning event in Grantham in July 2022) have two children, Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, nine – and reports have suggested he may choose to keep them in their Kensington townhouse as he takes office in 10 Downing Street to minimise disruption in their lives

Krishna and Anoushka (pictured as infants) have attended school in South Kensington and their parents are keen to minimise disruption for them

The Telegraph reported that, six months after the Sunaks left Downing Street before he resigned as chancellor, he may decide not to move them back in as it will be too disruptive for the girls. 

It is thought the family will live between Downing Street and their Kensington family home as Sunak takes office. 

The new prime minister has previously spoken of how he moved his family out of the flat above 10 Downing Street (where the Chancellor typically lives these days) in April, just a few months before he resigned from Boris Johnson’s government, for family reasons.

Rather than a sign of tension between the then-chancellor and prime minister Johnson, he told the Sunday Times he moved his family back to their Kensington home because Krishna was about to start her final term of primary school in South Kensington, and was supposed to be walking there on her own. 

Former prime minister David Cameron (pictured as he left 10 Downing Street in July 2016 following his resignation) allowed his children Nancy, Arthur and Florence to be pictured in the press

Former prime minister Tony Blair also often allowed his children to be pictured as they spent a decade living in 10 Downing Street – and their youngest son, Leo, called it his first ever home (Pictured: Tony and Cherie Blair with their four children Euan, Kathryn, Nicky and Leo outside Number 10 as he gave way for Gordon Brown to take over)

At the time, Krishna was attending Glendower Prep School – a £22,350-per-year private school which has also educated Harper Beckham. Anoushka has since finished year 6 and is off to a new boarding school to start year 7 – with her father revealing his eldest daughter had been inspired by Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers.

As Sunak takes office and is faced with a cost-of-living crisis caused by inflation in oil and gas prices and the fallout of the pandemic, he has an enormously difficult task ahead of him – but the family man will also want to ensure he has plenty of time for his daughters.

In the same Sunday Times interview in August, when Sunak was trailing behind his rival Liz Truss in the first Tory leadership contest, he revealed he considers himself a hands-on father.

He told the publication: ‘I was very lucky because when they were born, I ran my own business with others but I was completely in control of my time and so I was very much around.’

The now-PM added his ‘parenting sweet spot’ was when the children were between the ages of newborn to three years old and said he was ‘lucky’ that he was around a lot when his daughters were that age. 

If Sunak decides to move his daughters into 10 Downing Street, they will have a new pet, ‘chief mouser’ Larry

Speaking to Grazia magazine in June, Sunak also revealed he had always been reluctant to have a third child because, as his political career progressed, he knew he would be around less to help out.

He said: ‘My wife would tell you that when our girls were babies to toddlers, I probably did the bulk of it. I love it, and I’ve really missed it.’ 

The prime minister added he wasn’t sure about having a third child because ‘I wouldn’t be able to repeat that experience’. 

Sunak also confessed he often feels broody when he’s out campaigning and meets a young child.

Speaking about a campaign event in the summer when he carried around a one-year-old girl, he admitted he thought: ‘Oh, that would be nice again’. 

As the new prime minister juggles fatherhood with running the country, his daughters will have an upbringing like no other behind the black door of 10 Downing Street – and even have a pet ready for them.

‘Chief mouser’ Larry the cat, who was rescued from Battersea Dogs and Cats home in 2011 to live in 10 Downing Street was originally intended to be a pet for David Cameron’s children, Florence, Arthur and Nancy. 

However, Larry may have to face a new rival as the Sunaks appear to be dog people, and already have a six-year-old Labrador, Nova.

The chief mouser has been known to fight with his Number 11 counterpart, Palmerston the cat, and it’s a poorly kept secret that he’s not the friendliest feline in the neighbourhood. 

David and Samantha Cameron had four children – including Florence, who was born while her father was prime minister. Their son Ivan sadly passed away at the age of six in 2009, just a year before he entered office.

When Florence was born and made 10 Downing Street her first ever home, she followed in the footsteps of Tony and Cherie Blair’s youngest son, Leo, who came along in 2000, three years after his father took office. 

Florence was followed by both Wilfred Johnson (born in April 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic and while his father Boris was prime minister) and Romy Johnson (born in December 2021).

While different prime ministers have different political philosophies, they also have different parenting styles – with some choosing to keep their children entirely out of the limelight while others appear in the public eye more often. 

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