Miliband to marry partner in May

Labour leader announces that he and his partner will marry in a civil ceremony in front of about 50 guests at a country house hotel near Nottingham on 27 May The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, and his partner, Justine Thornton, are to get married on 27 May, the couple announced today. The pair, who have been together for six years and have two sons, made the announcement to the Doncaster Free Press , the local newspaper in Miliband’s constituency. Miliband, 41, and 40-year-old Thornton will marry in a civil ceremony in front of around 50 guests at the Langar Hall country house hotel near Nottingham, close to the bride’s childhood home. Ed’s brother, David, whom he defeated for the Labour leadership, would be among the guests, the paper added. However, he will not be best man as Ed has opted to do without the role. Some newspapers and conservative social critics have condemned the pair for setting a poor example by having two children outside of marriage – Daniel, 21 months, and Samuel, four months – particularly after Miliband said he had simply been “too busy” for a wedding. The couple told the paper that they had agreed a year ago they would get married. Thornton said: “Ed wasn’t even an MP when I met him and at the end of the day I am marrying him because of who he is and not because of what he’s doing now. We’re planning on a small ceremony, all at the hotel with everything at the same place and we’re looking forward to it very much.” Miliband said: “This is going to be a fantastic day for us both and I feel incredibly privileged to be marrying someone so beautiful and who is such a special person. It’s the right time for us to do this and I’m really looking forward to a lovely day.” He added: “At the end of the day we’re in our 40s and we’ve got two kids – so it wasn’t a case of me suddenly popping the question. This is just something we think is right for us.” While he was doing without a best man, Miliband said he had not ruled out a “low key” stag night. The ceremony will come just less than a month after Prince William marries Kate Middleton, and will be a notable contrast for its small scale and relative lack of convention. Ed Miliband Labour Marriage Peter Walker guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 30, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.