Richard Branson has worn many hats, but did you know he’s also an ordained minister who carries out weddings?
His latest ceremony was for Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates, who tied the knot with longterm partner Suzanne Sercombe on his private island in the Caribbean.
The Virgin tycoon invited Sir Alan to Necker Island after he read an interview where he cheekily asked for a holiday.
He ended up getting more than this, when he found a wedding venue there too, the Sunday Times reported.
Sir Richard reportedly invited the couple to the island after Sir Alan, 70, said in an interview in January: ‘If Richard Branson is reading this, I’d love a holiday.’
The wedding came as a surprise to the new Lady Bates, 69, who had to wear a patterned sundress she had packed for the holiday.
Sir Alan joked that his hand was forced having been given a knighthood in June, as nobody was sure how to address his partner of 34 years given they hadn’t made things official.
‘I thought, “It’s only fair. It’s time to resolve that.” Personally, I blame the King,’ he told the paper.
Sir Richard said: ‘It was an absolute joy to play a small part in Alan and Suzanne’s love story, and I know they will continue to spread the beautiful light they share with everyone around them.’
Campaigner Sir Alan shot to fame after a TV drama shone a spotlight on how he was forced to lead a campaign on behalf of subpostmasters following one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
He was played by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alan’s wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is ‘the wind beneath his wings’.
The Post Office Inquiry will resume on September 23.
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