Newly-weds Murdoch, Jerry blessed in London church

LONDON: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and actress and model Jerry Hall celebrated their marriage with a blessing service on Saturday at St Bride’s church on London’s Fleet Street, the spiritual home of British journalism.

A star-studded guest list included actor Michael Caine, Irish rockstar Bob Geldof, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and British Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a senior figure among those who want the UK to leave the European Union.

But conspicuous by their absence were Prime Minister David Cameron and finance minister George Osborne, who want Britain to stay in the 28-member bloc.

Murdoch and Hall wed on Friday in a private ceremony in central London, after which the now four-times married 84-year-old said he was the happiest man in the world.

Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp and owner of 21st Century Fox Inc, and Hall, 59, posed for photographs after the service at the historic church, which is famed for its wedding-cake spire, but simply smiled and made no comment to the waiting media.

Texan model and actress Hall was wearing a pale blue chiffon and silk wedding gown, reported to have been designed by Vivienne Westwood, while Murdoch was dressed in a navy suit, white shirt and brown shoes. He sported a single white rose in his breast pocket.

The couple’s 10 children from previous relationships attended the service, as did Rebekah Brooks, who returned to run Murdoch’s British newspapers in September, and Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp.

Other guests included former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, artist Tracey Emin, photographer David Bailey and UK employment minister Priti Patel, who like Gove is backing Brexit.

Murdoch is an influential figure in Britain through his ownership of a clutch of newspapers.

Last month his Sun on Sunday publication said Cameron had failed to get a proper deal for Britain from other EU leaders and on Thursday he tweeted that the UK government had made false claims about the implications of Brexit aimed at scaring voters.

Murdoch and Hall began dating last summer after being introduced while in Australia and were first seen in public together at the Rugby Union World Cup Final in London in October. They got engaged in January.

Hall was previously in a long-term relationship with Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger.

St Bride’s is located on Fleet Street, where Britain’s major newspapers were located from the 1700s to the 1980s.

Murdoch had an instrumental role in Fleet Street’s demise as a press hub when he moved his print works to east London.

"Within months the printing dinosaur that was Fleet Street was dead.

By 1989 all the national newspapers had decamped as other proprietors followed Murdoch’s lead," the church’s own website says.