British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married fiancée Carrie Symonds in a quiet ceremony at the Westminster Chapel on Saturday. Before the surprise wedding, the pair had sent invitations for a July 2022 ceremony.
According to a spokesperson, the pair would celebrate again with family and friends the following summer. Their honeymoon is postponed until then. The PM has already returned to work.
The wedding ceremony was not declared in advance. According to media reports, guests were invited to the Roman Catholic cathedral in central London at the last minute. They added even senior members of Johnson's office were not made aware of the wedding plans.
PM's Office Announced the Wedding A Day After it was Held
According to the Prime Minister's office on Sunday, "The Prime Minister and Ms. Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral. The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer," reported NBC News.
In adherence to current COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, no more than 30 people could attend a wedding. Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, an environmental advocate, declared their engagement in February 2020. They share a son, 1-year-old Wilfred, reported The Indian Express.
The cathedral reportedly went into lockdown at 1:30 p.m. Visitors were ushered inside, and a limo then arrived carrying Symonds, reported NPR.
Guests were invited late to the wedding ceremony.
Johnson is the first prime minister to get married while in office in almost 200 years. The last UK prime minister to marry in office was Lord Liverpool in 1822.
A small number of church officials participated in preparations for the Catholic ceremony. It was officiated by Father Daniel Humphreys.
The couple has been living together in Downing Street since Johnson was elected into office in 2019. Symonds came in a long white dress with no veil. The marriage is Johnson's third and Symonds's first. Johnson has at least five other children from previous relationships.
Boris Johnson's Earlier Marriages
The Prime minister was earlier married to socialite Allegra Mostyn-Owen between 1987 and 1993. Then he married Attorney Marina Wheeler in 1993. The PM and Wheeler declared their separation in 2018. Johnson has four children with Wheeler. He also has one with Helen Macintyre, an art consultant, with whom he had an affair. Johnson and Symonds' son is named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson. He was born in April last year.
Johnson was once dubbed "Bonking Boris" by the UK's tabloid media for his complicated private life. He was once sacked from the Conservative Party's policy team for lying regarding an extra-marital affair.
Although the 56-year-old has been married twice before, the Roman Catholic Church could allow divorcees to remarry if the past marriages were outside the Roman Catholic Church.
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