Boris Johnson wedding: How did Prime Minister marry Carrie Symonds in a Catholic church?
In order to marry in a Catholic church, Mr Johnson could have had his two previous marriages recognised as annulled
Boris Johnson's wedding to Carrie Symonds was kept so secret that even some of the most senior Downing Street aides were reportedly unaware they were going to get married so soon.
The couple announced their engagement - together with the news that they were expecting their first child - in February last year.
They have now exchanged vows in Westminster Cathedral in front of a small group of close friends and family. Downing Street falls within the cathedral's parish.
Ms Symonds has previously talked about her Catholic faith on social media.
But how did Mr Johnson, who has now married three times, manage to have a wedding in a Catholic church?
Mr Johnson renounced his mother’s Catholicism when he was confirmed in the Anglican faith whilst at Eton, according to a biography of the Prime Minister.
In order to marry in a Catholic church, Mr Johnson could have had his two previous marriages recognised as annulled.
Alternatively, sources speculated that because he was baptised a Catholic, by not participating in Catholic ceremonies in his previous marriages, for which he would have required special dispensation from the Catholic church, those marriages would have "had a lack of canonical form" and could therefore be considered invalid.
Mr Johnson becomes the first Prime Minister to marry in office since Lord Liverpool wed for a second time in 1822. DT.
