AP STORY
LONDON - A British husband and wife revealed the secrets of the longest marriage of any living couple on Wednesday as they celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary — don't sleep on an argument, always share a kiss and hold hands before going to bed.
Percy Arrowsmith, 105, and his 100-year-old wife Florence, were married on June 1, 1925, after meeting at their local church in Hereford, western England, where he sang in the choir and she was a Sunday school teacher.
Queen Elizabeth sent her congratulations to the Arrowsmiths, who celebrated their anniversary Wednesday with coffee and nibbles at home with family and friends.
"What a splendid achievement. I send you my warm congratulations and best wishes for your 80th wedding anniversary," the Queen wrote in a card to the couple.
The Arrowsmiths, who have three children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, claim the key to their long marriage is not to go to sleep on an argument. They say they always kiss each other and hold hands each night before going to bed.
"He can't settle down if I'm not holding his hand," Mrs. Arrowsmith was quoted as saying last month.
The couple's daughter Jane Woolley said her parents were both "very perky."
"She (Mrs. Arrowsmith) says she can't dance any longer but it feels good to have been married for 80 years. She says she can still have a drink," Woolley said.
Guinness World Records said the pair held records for the longest marriage for a living couple and the oldest aggregate age of a married couple.
