Many Britons queried the religious doctrine of the Westminster Cathedral after it conducted a secret wedding for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Johnson, once dubbed “Bonking Boris” by Britain’s tabloid media, has a complicated private life.
He was once sacked from the Conservative Party’s policy team while in opposition for lying about an extra-marital affair.
He has been divorced twice and refuses to say how many children he has fathered.
Johnson’s last marriage was to Marina Wheeler, a lawyer. They had four children together but announced in September 2018 that they had separated.
As news of Saturday’s secret wedding spread, Tim Walker, a journalist wondered why the church joined the couple in holy matrimony.
“Congratulations and all that, but a serious question for the Catholic Church: how did this twice-married serial adulterer get a Catholic wedding?”, Walker tweeted.
Nick Tolhurst also wrote: “In a surprise move the Roman Catholic Church sanctions multiple divorces, serial adultery and having babies outside of marriage by giving its public blessing to Boris Johnson as it confers on him the honour of using Britain’s holiest Catholic church for his 3rd wedding”.
A spokeswoman for Johnson’s Downing Street office declined to comment on the report of the secret wedding.
Both newspapers said guests were invited at the last minute to the central London ceremony, and said even senior members of Johnson’s office were unaware of the wedding plans.
Weddings in England are currently limited to 30 people due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Catholic cathedral was suddenly locked down at 1:30 p.m. (1230 GMT) and Symonds, 33, arrived 30 minutes later in a limo, in a long white dress with no veil, both reports said.
Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, have been living together in Downing Street since Johnson became prime minister in 2019.
Last year they announced they were engaged and that they were expecting a child, and their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born in April 2020.
Earlier this month the Sun had reported that wedding invitations had been sent to friends and family for July 2022.