Sixth anniversary of the first civil partnerships celebrated today

More than 46,000 civil partnerships have been held since the December 2005, with 18,049 of those taking place in the first year.

Some ceremonies took place before the official date of introduction. Scotland celebrated its first civil partnership on December 20th 2005 due to a misunderstanding over the date.

The first ceremony to take place in England was on 5 December, between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp in Worthing, East Sussex. In their case the usual 15-day waiting period was waived as Mr Roche was suffering from a terminal illness. He died the following day.  Read More