Terminally ill man marries his childhood sweetheart in a ceremony by his hospital bed… after waiting 50 years to pop the question

Leaning in to her husband for a kiss, Val Cowen looks as happy as every bride should on their wedding day.

In the touching photograph, the 64-year-old holds her bouquet in one hand and her groom’s hand in the other as the newlyweds share the intimate moment beneath bunting that reads ‘Mr and Mrs’.

But behind the smiles of the smartly-dressed couple, there is a tinge of sadness. As just weeks ago the groom, 69-year-old Arthur Holland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

And his wedding wasn’t in a church, but at his bedside in ward 47 of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle.

But their story is as remarkable as it is heartbreaking.

In saying ‘I do’, Arthur fulfilled his lifelong wish of marrying his childhood sweetheart, nearly 50 years after he first fell in love with Val as a teenager.

Speaking before her wedding on Thursday, Val said: ‘It’s a love story tinged with sadness, but we’re determined to make it as special as possible.

‘Arthur says he has carried in me in his heart since we were kids so it’s nice that we can finally make things official. He knows he’s terminally ill and all he has ever wanted was to marry me.’

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