Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Catholic Wedding Raises Questions About Previous Marriages
Catholic #Catholic
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancé Carrie Symonds on Saturday in a secret ceremony. The event was confirmed by Number 10 Downing Street following media reports.
Johnson and Symonds were married at London’s Westminster Cathedral, a Roman Catholic church. 10 Downing Street falls within the cathedral’s parish but questions have been raised about how the couple could have been wed in a Catholic ceremony.
The prime minister has been married twice. His first marriage to Allegra Mostyn-Owen ended in 1993 amid claims that Johnson was having an affair with another woman, Marina Wheeler, according to The Guardian newspaper. However, news reports have differed on whether Johnson and Mostyn-Owen’s marriage ended in divorce or annulment.
Johnson married Wheeler in 1993 but the couple separated in 2018 and divorced in 2020.
The Catholic Church does not allow or recognize divorce and those who have been divorced are not permitted to marry in Catholic ceremonies.
The wedding this weekend was reportedly performed by Father Daniel Humphreys, a Catholic priest who baptized Johnson’s son with Symonds, Wilfred Johnson, last year.
There was speculation in the British press on Sunday about how the couple could have received the Catholic sacrament of marriage considering Johnson’s previous wives.
The Telegraph newspaper suggested that Johnson could have had his previous marriages annulled or that because they had not been performed in Catholic ceremonies, the Church simply does not recognize them and views Johnson’s marriage to Symonds as his first. However, the exact details are not yet clear.
The newspaper also reports that Johnson’s mother was a Catholic but he renounced her faith while attending Eton, a famous British private school, and was confirmed into the Anglican faith.
Johnson’s new wife, Carrie Symonds, has publicly discussed her Catholic faith and the couple’s son was baptized into that religion.
Just 30 guests were able to attend the ceremony due to current COVID-19 restrictions in the U.K. and those who did attend were informed of the event at the last minute, according to reports in The Sun and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Downing Street officially confirmed the wedding and released a photo of the couple on Sunday.
“The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral,” a spokesperson said.
“The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer.”
The wedding comes after reports that the couple had sent save-the-date cards to family and friends for an event to be held on July 30, 2022.
Newsweek has asked Number 10 Downing Street and the Diocese of Westminster for comment.
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