There's nothing particularly special about James Wharton who's 23 or Thomas Macaffrey who's 21. They're two ordinary guys from the small working class town of Wrexham in Wales. Just two ordinary guys who happened to fall in love and decided to show that love by entering a civil partnership.
Thom is an air steward- so far, so sterotypical. James on the other hand is a serving soldier. Not just that. He's a member of the Household Cavalry, better known as the "Blues and Royals". As well as carrying out ceremonial duties the regiment has recently been on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Princes William and Harry, the second and third in line to the British throne are currently serving soldiers in the "Blues and Royals" and the regiment is amongst the most prestigious in the British Army having fought in most major battles from Waterloo onwards. So what was the regiment's reaction to the Lance Corporal's marriage?
Here's a quote from Lance Corpral Wharton in his hometown paper the Daily Post.
"When I went to ask the Squadron Leader, Major Nana Twumasi-Ankrah, for permission to get married he just said:'This is fantastic, congratulations'.
The lads joked it was the gay event of the year. Everyone was excited. It was the talk of the barracks."
The paper goes on to report that the happy couple were surrounded by James'comrades at the ceremony for as he himself says;
"This generation of soldiers is completely liberal."
It's only ten years since the ban on gays in the military in the UK was lifted.
The move was unpopular with the public at the time with some of the top brass and a gaggle of retired generals issuing lurid warnings about the dangers to "unit cohesion" and morale. Sound familiar?
Since then the British armed forces have been at full-stretch fighting two wars as well as carrying out their normal duties. Just over a month ago the 256th British soldier was killed in Afghanistan making the death-toll greater than that suffered during the Falklands War.
There has been no evidence at all that unit cohesion or morale has been effected in any way by the presence of gay men and women in the ranks of the army. Yet we still read reports like this;
A retired U.S. general says Dutch troops failed to defend against the 1995 genocide in the Bosnian war because the army was weakened, partly because it included openly gay soldiers.
Where's the evidence? What's the proof? There is none.
At about the same time as James and Thom were holding their wedding reception at the regiment barracks near Buckingham Palace, just over a mile away, another Welshman was getting hitched in another palace.
Chris Bryant is older and isn't in the military. He's a Member of Parliament and this weekend he and his partner, Jared Cranney, became the first gay couple to wed within the confines of the Houses of Parliament.
After the ceremony yesterday,(House of Commons speaker)Mr Bercow hosted a drinks party in Speaker’s House followed by an evening reception in the State Dining Room for the couple, who met on the local election campaign trail in April last year.
In a statement the couple said;
We never thought this day would come – and never thought we’d have to worry about cakes and flowers and rings.It’s amazing how much things have changed in such a short time.
Change does come quickly once leaders have to courage to lead and to challenge bigotry. The speed of change in the UK has surprised even the most optimistic of campainers. Most surprising of all has the been the virtual disappearance of the term "civil partnerships" with the public and media almost invariably using the word "marriage" instead.
Congratulations to both couples.