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A couple in England got a royal surprise as they celebrated a major milestone in their marriage.
On Sept. 10, Rosemary and John Marshall, from Hawkshaw, marked their 60th wedding anniversary, per the Bury Times. In addition to gathering with loved ones for a family dinner, they say they were delighted to receive a card from King Charles and Queen Camilla congratulating them.
The royal couple’s message read, “We are so pleased to hear that you are celebrating your Diamond Wedding Anniversary on 10th September, 2026. This brings you our warmest congratulations and heartfelt good wishes on this happy occasion.”
“We’re very proud to receive that, so proud,” Rosemary said of the card. “It was such an honor to receive the card.”
Rosemary and John first met as teenagers when they were both working in the same shop in Manchester. Rosemary had a role in the millinery department, and John was part of the team that was painting and decorating the store.
“He asked me if I’d like to go to the pictures, and I said yes, but I had to ask my mom first,” Rosemary recalled to the Bury Times.
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She and John got engaged when they were 18 and 19, respectively.
Their 1966 wedding, Rosemary said, was a big celebration that brought their two families and cultures together.
“I was the first daughter getting married, so my mom went all out, and we had a beautiful big white wedding,” she told the outlet. “John’s the Italian side, and I’m the Irish, so the Irish and the Italians got together. It was a great, wonderful wedding.”
After the nuptials, the newlyweds headed off on a honeymoon in Llandudno, a seaside resort on the north coast of Wales. The trip included the pair’s very first taxi ride.
As they settled into married life together, the couple bought their first home.
“In those days everybody rented, so it was unusual to buy your own house, especially a young couple,” Rosemary noted, explaining, “John wouldn’t think about renting, so we bought straight away.”
Rosemary went on to work as a nurse for 43 years, and John continued his career as a painter and decorator. They welcomed three children together and now have five grandchildren.
As for their secret to a long-lasting marriage, Rosemary said she and John have stuck to a simple piece of advice a woman gave them when they wed: “Don’t ever go to bed on an argument.”
“It’s a true saying because it festers,” she said.
