Fri. April 29, 2011
London -
Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish waved to cheering crowds as they arrived fashionably late to Westminster Abbey for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday.
The couple become the first civil partnership to attend a Royal wedding. Civil partnerships were legally recognized in the UK with a 2004 Act. John and Furnish affirmed their relationship in a 2005 ceremony.
John was a close friend of Prince William's mother, the late Princess Diana, so the moment was bittersweet for him. It was the first time John has been there since the funeral of his good friend, where he performed his tribute to her, ‘Candle in the Wind.'
The couple donned morning suits for the Royal wedding. John wearing a Richard James morning suit with gold waistcoat and purple tie, Furnish in a morning suit designed by Henry Poole.
Gareth Thomas, the first international rugby player to come out as openly gay, also attended.
The official wedding poem was written by out lesbian Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
Despite the fact that the Queen's guest list included several prominent gay wedding guests, one of Britain's best-know human-rights activists is attacking the British royal family.
In a commentary published in The Advocate, Peter Tatchell says that never in her 58-year-reign has Queen Elizabeth II acknowledged the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
"The words ‘gay' and ‘lesbian' have never publicly passed her lips. For more than half a century she has ignored LGBT Britons," writes Tatchell. "If she treated black or Asian people in the same way, she'd be denounced as a racist. Why the double standards?"
Tatchell was among several gay-rights supporters who on Monday assembled at Buckingham Palace, waving pink versions of the Union Jack, to present William and Catherine Middleton with a card asking for their support for same-sex marriage.
The card read: "Congratulations William and Kate on your Wedding Day. We wish you a happy life together. You can get married, gay people can't. Wa are banned by law. We ask you to support marriage equality. Equal = Love."
The event was organized by the Equal Love campaign, which advocates for marriage equality.
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