Australian PM Anthony Albanese marries partner while in office

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese became the first sitting PM in the country’s history to marry while in office, tying the knot with his partner Jodie Haydon in a private ceremony on Saturday.

The wedding, long anticipated after Albanese proposed on Valentine’s Day last year, was kept strictly private, with only family and close friends in attendance at The Lodge in Canberra, the prime minister’s office said.

“We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends,” Albanese said in a statement released to the media.

Haydon, who has been by Albanese’s side at several public events, including his 2022 election campaign and his party’s May election victory, wore a dress designed by Sydney-based label *Romance Was Born*, while the prime minister wore a suit from MJ Bale.

The couple’s five-year-old niece, Ella, served as the flower girl, and the prime minister’s dog, Toto, took on the role of ring bearer. Guests were served beer from a special can produced by Willie the Boatman, a brewery in Sydney’s Inner West.

After the ceremony, the couple walked down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”, and shared their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Albanese and Haydon will honeymoon in Australia from Monday to Friday next week, with all expenses covered privately by the couple, the prime minister’s office confirmed.