On This Day in Beatles History: George Harrison Marries Pattie Boyd – January 21st, 1966

January 21, 2026

George Harrison Marries Pattie Boyd – 21 January 1966

Friday 21 January 1966 | George Harrison

On 21 January 1966, George Harrison married model and muse Pattie Boyd at Epsom Register Office, Surrey, after a romance lasting just shy of two years. The ceremony was deliberately low-key, arranged by manager Brian Epstein to avoid press attention.

Pattie Boyd recalled in her memoir Wonderful Today:

“It was not the wedding I had dreamt of – I would have loved to be married in church, but Brian didn’t want a big fuss… He also said it had to be secret – if the press found out, it would be chaotic…”

Despite Epstein’s efforts, dozens of photographers lined the street to capture the couple leaving the register office. Pattie wore a Mary Quant pinky-red shot-silk dress with a red fox-fur coat George had given her. George gifted her a black Mongolian lamb coat.

Who Was There

Paul McCartney – George’s best man
Brian Epstein – The Beatles’ manager
Family members on both sides

John Lennon and Ringo Starr were on holiday and could not attend. After the ceremony, the newlyweds left in a Rolls-Royce for a reception at Kinfauns, George’s bungalow in Esher. They flew to Barbados for their honeymoon on 8 February 1966.

A Beatles Muse

George and Pattie’s marriage inspired some of The Beatles’ most enduring songs, including ‘I Need You’, ‘For You Blue’, and the classic ballad ‘Something’. Pattie later became the muse for Eric Clapton, inspiring ‘Layla’ and ‘Wonderful Tonight’.