Pop star Elton
John tied the knot with longtime partner David Furnish
Wednesday in a civil union ceremony seen as a watershed in
the struggle for gay rights--and as the party of
the season by celebrity-spotters.
Fans turned up before sunrise in the cobbled
streets around Windsor, England's town hall, the
Guildhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker
Bowles wed in April. John and Furnish strode into the
building for the ceremony at about 10:50 a.m., pausing
briefly to smile and wave at the cameras.
"It's a special day for Elton. I want to be a
part of it, really--it's good fun and it's
interesting to see what's going on," said Andrea
Lever, who traveled 200 miles from Torquay in southwest
England for the event.
Suzi Uprichard, 33, of Maidenhead, was excited
to take part in what she described as a historic day
for same-sex couples. "It's a long time coming,
really," Uprichard said. "Admittedly, it's Elton and
David's day, but it's the first day that gay couples can
engage in civil ceremonies in...England. So I think
it's something to celebrate."
Police erected security barriers outside the
sturdy building of brick and Portland stone partly
designed by Christopher Wren, but they expected
no trouble. Relaxed officers, some on horseback,
chatted with photographers, who stood four and five deep on
the streets outside the Guildhall. "It's not a major
police operation--it's not a royal wedding,"
Windsor police spokeswoman Sue Mahoney said. "The
general atmosphere seems to be jolly, very good-humored."
Fans got into the spirit of the event with
posters featuring the couple and Queen Elizabeth II,
who has a castle in Windsor, a centuries-old seat of
British royalty west of London. A nearby shop wished the
couple well with a hand-painted sign reading, "Go for it."
John and Furnish are the most prominent of
hundreds of same-sex couples who were planning to form
civil partnerships in England and Wales on Wednesday,
the first day that such ceremonies become possible.
Ceremonies were held earlier this week in Northern
Ireland and Scotland.
Three couples signed their documents moments
after the register office opened at 8 a.m. in
Brighton, the south coast city known as the United
Kingdom's gay capital. "I'm really excited! I'm very
happy to be one of the first," said Gino Meriano, who
was with his partner, Mike Ullett.
Gay rights activists see the unions as
joyous--and important in advancing efforts to
give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals.
Peter Tatchell, spokesman for the gay rights group
OutRage! said the wedding "would raise the profile of
gay love and commitment."
"Their same-sex civil partnership ceremony will
be reported all over the world, including in countries
where news about gay issues is normally never
reported," he said. "This will give hope to millions of
isolated, vulnerable lesbian and gay people, especially
those living in repressive and homophobic countries."
Furnish, a Canadian-born filmmaker, and John
have been together for 12 years. The couple plans a
low-key private ceremony, with only John's mother and
stepfather and Furnish's parents expected to attend. The
reception, by contrast, is expected to be a star-studded
extravaganza costing an estimated $1.75 million.
Two giant white tents have been erected on the
grounds of the pop star's Windsor mansion for the
bash, which British tabloids claim will be heated
adequately to warm the hundreds of guests in skimpy evening
gowns. Guests at the couple's bachelor night on
Monday--a prelude to the bigger reception on
Wednesday--included heavy metal rocker-turned-reality
TV star Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon; model and
actress Liz Hurley; and musicians Bryan Adams, Gary
Barlow, and Kid Rock.
The new law--passed last year despite some
opposition from Parliament's unelected House of
Lords--allows civil ceremonies that will give same-sex
couples the same social security, tax, pension, and
inheritance rights as married couples.
John and Furnish acknowledged that their
ceremony might have broader ramifications. "As far as
I'm concerned, I've always considered myself committed
to Elton, and he's the person that I want to spend the
rest of my life with. So in that sense I don't feel like the
dynamic of our relationship is going to change,"
Furnish told Attitude magazine. "But from a social
standpoint, I think it's hugely significant. It is a major,
major change. It is one of the defining issues of our
times." (AP)
