BoJo & Carrie Reportedly Move Wedding Bash From Chequers After Backlash

The outgoing prime minister and his wife Carry got married in a secret ceremony last year, only inviting 30 guests because of coronavirus restrictions. A larger party was supposed to take place at Chequers, the prime minister’s grace-and-favor home in Buckinghamshire, at the end of July.

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie have moved their July wedding party from Chequers to another location, The Guardian reported citing sources.

The alleged change of plans comes in the wake of Johnson's Thursday resignation as Tory Party leader, with critics immediately blasting the delayed wedding bash as an attempt to cling to power.

However, sources close to Johnson denied the accusations, saying that plans to hold the wedding party at the prime minister’s country retreat were not connected to his departure, and the couple has switched to another undisclosed venue.

For his part, new Education Secretary James Cleverly suggested that the next prime minister – if there is one by then - should allow the Johnsons to have their wedding party at Chequers. According to Cleverly, it would be "a generous action".

Johnson and his wife Carrie married in a small ceremony last year, with the number of guests restricted due to coronavirus rules. At the time, their spokesperson said that they would celebrate again in summer 2022.

But this time, it was not a pandemic that shadowed the celebration.

Having resigned as Conservative Party leader on Thursday in the wake of dozens of his ministers stepping down from their positions, Johnson said he would stay on as PM until the Tories decide on his successor. Several Conservative MPs, including former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) Tom Tugendhat, have already voiced their intention to run.

Johnson's ministers resigned amid the fallout from the partygate scandal, a parliamentary investigation, and the most recent incident that involved former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher. The latter was accused of groping two men in a club while intoxicated, only for him to admit having "drank too much" the next day and resign. It was not the first time that Pincher has faced sexual harassment allegations. Johnson apologized and said that appointing him for the position was "a bad mistake".