Married women are increasingly likely to be older than their husbands, figures reveal。

　　They show 26 per cent of brides have a younger groom, compared with 15 per cent in 1963.

　　The trend is seen in the 29-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, who is five months older than her new husband, Prince William, 28. There has also been an increase in the number of married ‘cougars’ – women with significantly younger ‘toy-boys’。

　　Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of women who are five years older than their husbands has doubled from 1 per cent in 1963 to 2 per cent in 2003.

　　High-profile examples include Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold, 50, whose second husband, Dan Cunningham, is 17 years her junior。

　　‘Age has become less of a defining factor in social identity and therefore larger age gaps may be more acceptable to the partners themselves and to society,’ said ONS researcher Professor Ruth Hancock。

　　The figures show 9 per cent of marriages are now between couples of the same age。

　　In the 1960s, men were typically two years older than the women they married。

　　Anastasia de Waal, of the think-tank Civitas, said that in the past, ‘for many women, marriage was their identity – you were a wife – but now it’s much more about partnership’。

　　She said: ‘Deciding on future spouses seems to be more about companionship developing into romance. We should move away from thinking of marriage as a career move in itself.’

　　ONS researcher Professor Ruth Hancock, said: 'Our findings suggest that in England and Wales people's reasons for marrying may be becoming less concerned with social status and more with fulfilment of individual goals.'

　　数据显示，越来越多步入婚姻的女性年龄比丈夫大。

　　26%的新娘比新郎年纪大，而在1963年这一比例为15%。

　　29岁的剑桥公爵夫人印证了这一潮流，她比自己的新婚丈夫——28岁的威廉王子大五个月。越来越多的熟女和比自己小很多的男友结婚。

　　来自英国国家统计局的数据显示，年龄比丈夫大五岁的女性比例在2003年为2%，相比1963年的1%翻了一番。

　　曝光率高的例子有著名内衣品牌Ann Summers公司的老总——50岁的杰奎琳•果尔德，她的第二任丈夫丹•康宁汉姆比她小17岁。

　　英国国家统计局的研究人员露丝•汉考克教授说：“年龄已不再是界定社会身份的决定性因素，因此情侣们和社会都更能接受较大的年龄差距。”

　　数据显示，现在9%的夫妻双方年龄相同。

　　在20世纪60年代，男性一般比他们的配偶大两岁。

　　英国智囊团Civitas的阿纳斯塔西娅•德•瓦尔说，在过去，“对于许多女人来说，婚姻就是她们的身份，已婚女人的身份就是一个妻子，但现在婚姻更多的是一种伙伴关系”。

　　她说：“在选择未来配偶时，更多人是从友情发展成爱情。我们不该再用进行职业发展的思维方式来看待婚姻。”

　　英国国家统计局的研究人员露丝•汉考克教授说：“我们的发现表明，在英格兰和威尔士，人们结婚越来越多地是为了实现个人目标，而不是为了获得社会地位。”