If Sir Elton has a title, why don’t I? asks hubby
HIS MARRIAGE to Sir Elton John was deemed a triumph for equality when, two years ago, David Furnish and the superstar singer became one of the first gay couples to legally wed in the UK.
But now David has claimed it’s unfair that he was denied a noble title when the couple exchanged their vows.
The Canadian-born film producer claims that not receiving a title when he married Elton, who was knighted in 1998, is a form of ‘discrimination’ because a woman in the same situation would be known as ‘Lady’.
‘I am for 100 per cent equality across the board for everybody, in all walks of life,’ David, 53, tells me. ‘So the designation of a title is an example of something we need in order to get there.
‘ The reality is, if a woman is married to man with a title, she gets a title.
‘I think everybody should have the same opportunities and the same privileges and the same honours.
‘I think if we could just level the playing field in life as much as possible, then we’d all be in a much better place.’
Sir Elton, 69, converted his eightyear civil partnership with David into a marriage in December 2014, just months after gay marriage was legalised in the UK.
Guests at the ceremony, held at their estate in Windsor, included David and Victoria Beckham, Elizabeth Hurley and Burberry chief Christopher Bailey.
But while gay marriage is now legal in the UK and the U.S. — where the couple also reside with their two sons, Zachary, five, and Elijah, three — there is no system by which a male can gain a title when he marries a knight.
THIS discrepancy does not just affect gay couples, but also heterosexual couples, for when a man marries a titled woman — such as a dame or princess — his title also remains unchanged.
David, however, has not yet decided which title he would like.
‘I haven’t thought about what would be an appropriate designation for the husband of a Sir,’ he adds.
‘I don’t really understand the history of titles and the aristocracy in this country that much anyway.
‘It’s not out- dated; it’s a special thing when it goes to the people who have really earned it.’