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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Lifestyle
Asharq Al-Awsat

Reports: UK's PM Weds in Secret Ceremony

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds. AFP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a "secret ceremony" on Saturday, UK media reports said.

Johnson, 56, wed 33-year-old Symonds in Catholic Westminster Cathedral in front of close friends and family, the Mail on Sunday and The Sun newspapers reported.

He is only the second British prime minister to marry while in office, and the first in nearly two centuries with Robert Jenkinson the last in 1822.

The nuptials are a surprise development, after reports earlier this week said the couple had sent out "save the date" cards for a wedding on July 30 next year.

However, they have been waiting months to tie the knot after their original plans to marry last year were delayed by the pandemic.

The pair got engaged in December, 2019, and have a one-year-old baby son, Wilfred.

Around 30 guests attended Saturday's service -- the maximum currently allowed under coronavirus rules -- in central London, after being invited at the last minute, according to the Mail on Sunday.

A small number of church officials were involved and Downing Street aides were not informed, sources told the paper.

However, The Sun tabloid said the couple had been planning the "cloak and danger operation" for a secret ceremony for up to six months.

Johnson has been divorced twice.

Hi last marriage was to Marina Wheeler, a lawyer. They had four children together but announced in September 2018 that they had separated.

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