Boris and Carrie Johnson's wedding party will no longer be held at Chequers, it has been reported. The pair had married in a low-key, private ceremony at Westminster Cathedral last year and had a bigger celebration party had been planned for later this month.
A small group of family and friends had attended the wedding, organised in strict secrecy, which was followed by a reception in the gardens of 10 Downing Street. It was known Mr and Mrs Johnson planned to have a larger celebration in 2022, when coronavirus restrictions were likely to be relaxed.
It had been suggested that Mr Johnson wanted to stay on as a caretaker prime minister in part to see this through – although this claim was denied by Downing Street. The Mirror said it was told by two separate sources that the pair were keen to go ahead with the celebrations.
But on Friday, the BBC and The Sun reported that Chequers would not now be used. The Sun's political editor Harry Cole said in a tweet: "Source says the idea this has had any bearing on why the PM is staying on as caretaker is “frankly absurd” and where it happens doesn’t matter to them."
The Johnsons were said to have sent save-the-date cards to family and friends for the celebration on July 30. The Evening Standard reported last month that this would take the form of a “champagne-soaked soiree” at the PM’s country residence to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary.
Newly-installed Education Secretary James Cleverly had earlier told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a new prime minister should let the couple have their wedding party at Chequers even if Mr Johnson is gone by then. Mr Cleverly said: “I think that if that is done by that point in time, I suspect that it would be a rather generous action of the new prime minister to allow that to go ahead.
“Private functions like that do not impose a burden on the public purse… I think it’s churlish to be negative about two people who want to celebrate their marriage and their love for each other.”
