Former journal editors to wed

If medical journals were a monarchy, this would be a royal wedding.

Two former editors of the New England Journal of Medicine are tying the knot this morning, formalizing a longtime relationship.

Dr. Marcia Angell and Dr. Arnold Relman, who have each held the top spot at the prestigious publication, are getting married today at Cambridge City Hall, Angell said this morning, taking a break from playing Tinker Toys with her grandson.

The two doctors met when Angell was a medical student at Boston University and Relman was on the faculty some 40 years ago, but they did not become romantically involved until 15 years ago, she said.

So why get married now?

"We thought we knew each other well enough," Angell said with a soft chuckle. "It just seemed the thing to do."

Angell's brother, two daughters, grandson, and Relman's daughter and one of his two sons will attend the ceremony.

Angell, 69, is a senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School. Relman, 85, is an emeritus professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard.

They were colleagues at the New England Journal and continue to write together, especially about conflicts of interest in medicine.

"I read everything he writes and he reads everything I write," she said. "It's a working relationship in both senses."