Margaret and Tony say ‘I do’ at Royal Surrey | News

Long-term couple Margaret Green and Tony Howard tied the knot in an unusual venue last week, surrounded by five of their six children and staff from Albury Ward at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. 

The couple praised staff on Albury Ward for making their wedding a beautiful and special occasion.

Margaret, 78, said: “Tony was recently admitted to Royal Surrey after breaking his leg and was initially deemed unfit to operate on as he’s 82 and has cardiac and respiratory problems.

“The respiratory team have been marvellous and helped him improve his condition so that the operation could go ahead, and thankfully it was a success.

“Tony and I have been together for 28 years and we’ve often discussed getting married but not got round to it, but this made us realise that we should do it.”

The couple met when they both lived in Elstead in the 1970s. Sadly, Margaret’s first husband died of Lymphoma in 1996 and Tony’s first wife died of breast cancer two weeks later.  

United by grief and friendship, Margaret and Tony became a source of support for each other and they moved in together in 1997 and have been inseparable ever since, enjoying many years of travel and quiet companionship.

Tony worked as an electrical engineer and became General Manager of the Frimley branch of Marconi. Margaret was a research biochemist and worked in Histopathology at Royal Surrey before starting a research department in the trust’s Pathology unit.

For the wedding, Tony was moved to a private room, which was decorated by staff who organised tea and sandwiches for the couple and their family. A special licence allowed the wedding to go ahead in hospital with help from Surrey registry office staff.

Margaret added: “Our whole experience at Royal Surrey has been fantastic. The staff have been amazing, very caring and kind. We feel extremely lucky to have this as our local hospital and it’s been a special place to get married in.”