Just a week after sending their friends’ save-the-date cards for a Summer 2022 wedding, U.K Prime Minister Borris Johnson and fiancée Carrie Symonds tied the knot in secrecy at Westminster Cathedral. The “small ceremony” took place on Saturday afternoon, as confirmed by a Downing Street spokesman. He further clarified the couple’s plans to celebrate with their friends and family next summer, with their honeymoon also delayed till then.
PA Media termed the event as a “secret wedding,” which was reportedly held in front of close acquaintances, according to numerous British newspapers. A total of 30 guests were present at the auspicious occasion- the maximum number of attendees allowed by England in Covid times.
A few of the church officials had been occupied in preparing for the Catholic Ceremony, managed by Father Daniel Humphreys, stated the Mail on Sunday. Although Borris Johnson has been married twice before, the Roman Catholic Church allows remarriages if the previous marriage was held outside the Roman Catholic Church.
The wedding seems to have taken the whole of Westminster by surprise. Considering the marriage was between the current Prime Minister and a former journalist, it couldn’t have been easy to keep the entire matter under wraps. However, the two wanted to keep it a private affair and the news was only confirmed by the Downing spokesman on Sunday morning- a day after Mr. Johnson and Ms. Symonds took their wedding vows.
Only one photograph of the newlyweds was released on Sunday, which showed Borris Johnson, 56, and Carrie Symonds, 33, in the garden at 10 Downing Street, a few hours after the ceremony took place. Later, Conservative MP James Cleverly shared a different photograph; the jubilant couple is seen enjoying their reception in all of Saturday’s morning glory.
The 56-year-old Prime Minister began a relationship with Symonds in late 2018. He moved into his official place of residence with Ms. Symonds in 2019, shortly before his divorce with wife Marina Wheeler was finalized. The couple announced their engagement and pregnancy in February 2020, a month after Britain made its formal exit from the European Union.
However, Mr. Borris Johnson’s happy phase was soon interrupted by the onset of the pandemic, which took him as one of its early victims when he became severely ill and landed in the emergency unit of the hospital. Ms. Symonds had also been infected with the virus and tweeted her fears about contracting the virus in those days. She later gave birth to a son, Wilfred in the Spring of last year, only weeks after Mr. Johnson recovered from his deadly battle with the virus.
Mr. Borris Johnson is the first British Prime Minister to be married during office since Lord Liverpool took his vows with Mary Chester in 1822. Several political figures have extended their heartfelt wishes for the newlyweds on Twitter, including home secretary Priti Patel, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi, and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey.
