International

Johnson to marry fiancee Symonds in July 2022, report says

Boris Johnson is reportedly to marry his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, in July 2022 after sending save-the-date cards to family and friends, according to the Sun, reports The Guardian. 

They have been engaged since late 2019 but, like many couples, had put their marriage plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic with numbers able to attend ceremonies curtailed.

While this will be Johnson third marriage, it will be the first for Symonds.

It is unknown where exactly the couple will celebrate the occasion. However, the prime minister’s Buckinghamshire residence, Chequers, is tipped to host the wedding. Another possible venue is said to be the Port Lympne safari park in Kent, as Symonds works for the conservation charity.

It had also been previously reported that the pair could marry in Italy, where Symonds has relatives.

However, a source told the Sun: “It would be nice for Chequers to be in the news for happy reasons for once.” The paper said the location would remain secret but the save-the-date cards were for Saturday 30 July.

Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 33, were the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street, moving there in July 2019, and he reportedly proposed on holiday on the Caribbean Island of Mustique. The parliamentary standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, has since announced she is investigating a possible breach of the MPs’ code of conduct over the funding of the 10-day holiday.

Their engagement, and the news that Symonds was pregnant, was announced in February last year.

The same month, Johnson had formally divorced his estranged wife Marina Wheeler, with whom he has two daughters and two sons.

Johnson was also once married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen.

Symonds’ and Johnson’s son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born in April 2020. The name Nicholas was a tribute to the two doctors who treated Johnson while he was in hospital with coronavirus.

Downing Street and aides to the prime minister declined to comment on the Sun’s report.