Justin Johannesson has a penchant for extreme sports. Photo / Supplied
Justin Johannesson has a penchant for extreme sports. Photo / Supplied
As best man jokes go, it is one of the most crude and unoriginal, repeated at bawdy weddings up and down the country.
But when the bride's sister happens to be the Duchess of Cambridge, who spent some of her happiest, most care-free years living in North Wales with the second in line to the throne, it should have rung more than a few alarm bells.
Not for Justin Johannesson who is said to have stood before the cream of high society at Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Matthews, and attempted to raise a cheap laugh by joking that the newlyweds would be honeymooning in Bangor, North Wales.
According to reports, he is said to have also made a lewd gag likening the bride to a dog.
The sports mad 41-year-old has been friends with Mr Matthews for ten years, both sharing a passion for high adrenaline, extreme pursuits such as ultra marathons.
Mr Johannesson is a triathlete and mountaineer whose achievements include the Marathon Des
Sables, the Ironman, Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro. He was also part of Team Hallin, a six-strong rowing crew who broke the world record for the fastest Atlantic crossing in 2011, completing the 3,000 mile course in just under 32 days.
Pippa Middleton and James Matthews kiss after their wedding at St Mark's Church in Englefield, England. Photo / AP
He joined Pippa and James Middleton, Mr Matthews and four others for the Race Across America in 2014, raising money for the Michael Matthews Foundation, established in memory of Mr Matthews' brother who died whiklst descending from the summit of Mount Everest in 1999.
Mr Johannesson also took part in a North Pole marathon, alongside Mr Matthews, in 2012.
Family
The family home is an imposing £4.2m townhouse in Kensington, West London. His sister Samantha, 37, a model and actress, is listed there alongside their mother, Olivia Johannesson, 70, and father, Icelandic former pilot Bjarni Johannesson. His parents married in Chelsea in 1974.
That wedding speech
The cringeworthy ten minute speech, apparently included several rather inappropriate references.
It reportedly likened his new bride, Miss Middleton, to a dog, made crude punchlines about sex and included a terrible gag about the couple's honeymoon at the evening reception.
It was claimed that Mr Johannesson stepped up to the mic in the glass marquee erected in the Middleton family's back garden at 11.30pm after a five-course dinner.
According to the Daily Mail it involved a series of references to buttock clenching, lads' weekends and gay bars before Mr Johannsen apparently said: "Now to the love of James' life: beautiful, energetic, loyal, soft-mouthed, comes on command, great behind. But that is enough about James' spaniel, Rafa, I'm here to talk about James' love, Pippa.
The gag about the couple spending their honeymoon in Bangor, North Wales, did not go down terribly well with locals.
Ian Jones, town clerk for Bangor City Council, told the Telegraph: "Of course the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lived in Anglesey for a while.
"I don't think it's very good form really. I doubt if they (Mr and Mrs Matthews) will be coming here but if they do hopefully they'll take some advice from the brother-in law."
During his three years working as a pilot at RAF Valley, Prince William undertook 156 search and rescue operations, rescuing 149 people. The Duke and Duchess were often spotted around Anglesey, enjoying the beach and shopping at Waitrose.
Mr Johannesson was listed as the director of a company called Transport and Technology Services Ltd, now dissolved. It is unclear what he does now but reports suggest he may have taken on a family business.
