An army veteran organised a Cinderella-style proposal for his partner of seven years on the steps at Buckingham Palace.
John Brady, 29, bought a Disney Enchanted Cinderella ring for his fiancée Natasha O’Brien, 27, and proposed in front of 2,000 people on May 12. The couple first went to the palace as tourists a year after they started dating in December 2015 – and, 2,350 days later, John has asked Disney fan Natasha to marry him.
The couple, who are from Bootle and now live in Aintree, have three kids and with a fourth baby on the way. They have been together since November 2014 when John messaged Natasha on Facebook to ask her on a date.
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She initially said no but, after some persistence, John secured a date. After a three-month stint in the Falklands, he came back to the UK, met Natasha’s daughter and knew he wanted to be involved in their lives.
Seven and a half years later, the veteran was invited to Buckingham Palace for a garden party hosted by the Not Forgotten Association, which provides support for soldiers and veterans. John was discharged from the army for health reasons in 2017 after serving for five years.
He realised it would be a special place to propose and asked Natasha’s dad for permission to marry her before they travelled to London. John organised a photographer and only had 15 minutes to propose before meeting Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence.
He said: “In that moment I was really nervous. She couldn’t believe how organised I’d been and that I’d managed to keep it a secret. She seemed really surprised and shocked but really happy.
“Natasha’s a huge Disney fan and Cinderella has been her favourite princess ever since she was a little girl.
“I still don’t think she’s over the shock. Now every time we see Buckingham Palace we’ll be reminded of our own piece of history that we’ll have forever.”
John and Natasha want to go all out for their big day and hope to get married in a castle. They plan to wait a few years so that kids Lily Rose, 10, Taylor James, four, and Logan John, three can fully understand what’s going on and be involved as much as possible. Their home in Aintree is a busy one as they also own three dogs, two cats, two guinea pigs and a tortoise.
John said: “We’ve obviously been together several years and have kids so she already knows how much I care about her. She’s my best friend and we make each other laugh all the time.”
John works in Peel Ports in Liverpool, while Natasha is a stay-at-home mum. He said their happiest moments together have been spending time with the kids but they also enjoy going to the cinema together with their unlimited pass.
The Not Forgotten Association hosts a garden party each year at Buckingham Palace. John is planning to give back to them by running a marathon in New York in a few months' time.
