Two young-at-heart lovebirds have married and become
Britain's oldest newly-weds, with a combined age of
188.
Ted Parsons, 98, and Jean Reed, 90, have been dating for 20
years and live together in New Malden, south
London. They married at Kingston Register Office, Surrey, in
front of friends and family, and narrowly missed making it into the
Guinness Book Of World Records.
The title of world's oldest newlyweds is currently held by
widower Lillian Hartley, 95, and retired vet Allan Marks, 98, who
married in California last March and boast a combined age of
193.
Speaking about his courtship with Jean, Ted said: 'We used to
go out for dates, but nothing too romantic - we were grown up. We
never went mad - might have been different if we were 17 or
18.
'If I had gone down on one knee I would have needed help to
get up again.'
They couple met 20 years ago when Ted, a painter, visited Jean's
home in Stuart Lodge, New Malden, and they have lived there
together ever since.
They opted for a simple ceremony on Saturday, with Ted
wearing a pale blue suit, and the couple walked in arm-in-arm with
the youngest of Ted's five children, Andrew, as best
man.
Andrew, 63, said: 'One of dad's neighbours - she is very
operatic - sang Here Comes The Bride as we went through to the
registry. That took us all by surprise.
'It's not the norm to get hitched, when most people are
getting divorced.
'It's just one of those things where they are not going to
live forever - happiness in their last few years of life is all
they want.
'I told my dad I could take him paintballing or quad-biking
for his stag but he declined - no sense of fun. He said to me,
"Andrew I just want a quiet day, I don't want any
fuss".'
Ted, who served in the Royal West Kent Infantry regiment,
said the couple hoped to get out more now they were
married.
They are considering driving to the south coast for their
honeymoon, as Ted has just had his licence renewed for three
years.
He said: 'I love her very much. It grows with age - it
started as a friendship and then it grew into something different.
I have got to look after Jean now for the rest of my days and she
has got to look after me.'
They got married at a registry office in Kingston-upon-Thames,
Surrey, last week
They opted for a simple ceremony, with Ted wearing a pale blue
suit, and the couple walked in arm-in-arm with the youngest of
Ted's five children, Andrew, as best man