The first to have their ceremony, however, were Matthew Roche, 46, and Christopher Cramp, 37, a couple for seven years, who were granted a waiver to proceed at St. Barnabas Hospice in Worthing, West Sussex where Roche lay dying of cancer.
“We are extremely happy and feel a great sense of achievement,” he said, surrounded by 20 friends and family members.
Roche passed away on Tuesday, having made history.
John and Furnish registered at Windsor’s Guild Hall, the same locale as Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, who became the Duchess of Cornwall, recorded their union. John has been knighted and is eligible to use the honorific Sir. No word on what title Furnish will acquire once he and John complete getting hitched.
More than a thousand same-sex couples registered on opening day. Civil partnerships are not available to opposite-sex couples. Some local registrars are refusing to conduct the ceremonies, but the government is guaranteeing that someone in each local council will be available to perform them.
Gay.com celebrated the introduction of the new law by projecting an image of two grooms onto the House of Parliament at midnight. The projection occurred simultaneously with the tolling of Big Ben.
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