Like-minded Lanarkshire couple vowed to always be on the same side when they tied the knot

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A dazzling Lanarkshire couple were delighted to receive congratulatory cards on their Diamond Wedding Anniversary from both King Charles and Pope Francis.Duncan and Mary Darragh received the communications as they marked their special day.Duncan, who is now 81, is originally from Newmains while Mary, 79, is Shotts born and bred.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Mary has a lifelong love of music and singing and was a member of Shotts St Patrick’s Opera Group, she first met her future husband at rehearsals for an opera group show.“It was at rehearsals for a television show which went round all different places,” Mary recalled. “Duncan wasn’t in it, but his girlfriend at the time was.

I also had a boyfriend but that was the first time we met.“I didn’t see him for ages after that then it was one night at Allanton Miners’ Welfare Late Night we met again.

He asked me out and that’s been us together since.”The young couple would marry a couple of years later on February 23, 1963 at St Patrick’s Church in Shotts.“At that time not a lot of people bought houses, we stayed at my mother’s and applied to the council to get on the housing list,” Mary continued. “We stayed there for about three years and then the first house we got was in Dykehead, a pre-fab in Kilfinnan Road.”Mary worked as an Enrolled Nurse at