My Grandmother on My Mother’s Side, Lois Sieff, Was a Big Patron of the Arts and She Took Us to the Theatre.

When Julia Turned 12, We Moved to London So That She Could Go to St Paul’s Girls’ School. I Went to the Hall School, a Boys’ School in Hampstead.

Boris, Leo and Jo All Went to Eton and I Always Knew That, Barring Some Kind of Massive Failure, I’d Also Go. I Got Pushed Towards Doing the Scholarship Exam for Eton.

My Father Assumed I Would Go to Oxford University. I Had to Pick a College. They Had a System That If One Boy Was Applying for a Particular College in Your Subject Group, You Couldn’t Also Apply to That College.

When I Got to Oxford University in 2003, I Was Quite Tired After Being in an Institution for Five Year's and Now in Another, Similar Institution with Dated Buildings and Archaic Traditions.

From Moscow I Went to Poland and Then to Irkutsk, Siberia, to Take up an Internship at Baikal Wave, an Environmental Ngo. There I Met Yuliya – We Were Together That Summer and I Went Back to See Her in the Christmas Holidays.

In 2016, I Was Introduced to Gabriela Maia Through Friends in Hong Kong. She Is Brazilian and Was Studying for a Master’s in Marketing and Is Now a Counsellor.

Our Daughter Ayla Was Born in the Summer of 2020. Having a Baby During Covid Was So Restrictive. Luckily, We Were Able to Spend the First Lockdown on the Farm in Exmoor.

In Early 2023 We Moved Back to London. I Come to Hong Kong Regularly for Work. I Still Work with Simon and We Have a Consulting Company Together Called Max Murray Limited.

Last Year My Father, Stanley Johnson, and I Filmed a Documentary Called in the Footsteps of Marco Polo. We Spent Seven Weeks in China and Went from the Khunjerab Pass, on the Border with Pakistan, to Kashgar, Across the Taklamakan Desert, Through Gansu Province to the Mogao Caves and Then to Lanzhou, the City of Waterwheels, Inner Mongolia and Finished up in Beijing.

Boris Johnson’s Youngest Brother Max on Hong Kong, Covid Frustrations, and a Special Trip with Dad

By Sarah Jenkins

• Oct 8, 2026 • 8 min read

Boris Johnson’s Youngest Brother Max on Hong Kong, Covid Frustrations, and a Special Trip with Dad

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

It Was Nice to Be with My Friends All the Time. Oxford Was a Lovely Place to Grow up In. I Wasn’t in the Top Set, but I Was in the One Below That. I Was Quite Clever, Vaguely Sporty and Very Competitive.

Sarah Jenkins

Senior Technology Editor & AI Specialist

Sarah Jenkins is a veteran tech journalist with over 12 years of experience covering artificial intelligence, mobile innovations, and digital ethics. Her insights have appeared in leading technology publications worldwide.

Tags: boris johnsons youngest brother max hong kong covid frustrations and special trip dad