Who Is Sydney Johnson, Valet To King Edward VIII and Mohamed Al Fayed?

Sydney Johnson, the valet of King Edward VIII, makes his first, yet brief appearance, in Episode Eight of Season Three of "The Crown," when the former king calls out, "Sydney!" as he is coughing up blood.

Johnson is in the background of a few other scenes throughout the season, but he comes fully into the spotlight in Episode Three of Season Five, where he is now serving as the valet of Mohamed Al Fayed, the Egypt-born owner of British department store Harrods and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, who also had a few royal connections.

Johnson was born in the Bahamas and started working for Edward, the Duke of Windsor, as a valet in 1940 when he was just 16 years old and when Edward was the Governor of the Bahamas, according to The New York Times.

Edward had abdicated the throne four years earlier so he could marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was twice-divorced — passing the crown to King George VI, the father of the future Queen Elizabeth II.

Johnson served as Edward's personal valet until the former king's death in May 1972. Johnson and Al Fayed crossed paths when in 1986, the billionaire took a 50-year lease on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's former Paris home, Le Bois.

"It was the romance of the century," Al Fayed told the Times in 1986. "Here was a great king of a great empire, saying goodbye to it all for a beloved woman. And I had the chance to preserve the house where he lived and all these objects. They’re the heritage of Britain, which is my second home."

The city of Paris agreed to rent Al Fayed the home because he agreed to spend about $2 million on renovations and upkeep, according to the Times. Al Fayed also planned to keep a portion of the home intact so it could serve as a museum of the late couple's belongings, and he brought Johnson on to curate the collection, the Times reported.

"Sidney is a dictionary," Fayed told the Times in 1986. "He’s a very cultured man. He got all these things out of boxes and safes and storage rooms, and he knows their history."

Johnson died on January 17, 1990 at the age of 69, according to the Associated Press. At the time of his death, Al Fayed was quoted by the Press Association as saying Johnson was ″was truly a gentlemen’s gentleman. We shall miss him very much.″

Johnson died days after the Windsors' home was reopened following Al Fayed's repairs, the Associated Press reported.

"I feel on top of the world,″ Johnson was quoted as saying at the reopening party. ″The restoration is so authentic I expect to see the duchess stepping down the staircase asking, 'How do I look?'"

This article was originally published on TODAY.com