Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles

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The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles took place in a civil ceremony at Guildhall, Windsor on 9 April 2005. The ceremony, conducted in the presence of the couples' families, was followed by a Church of England service of blessing at St George's Chapel. The groom's parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, did not attend the civil wedding ceremony but were present at the service of blessing and held a reception for the couple in Windsor Castle afterwards.

The marriage culminated the controversial romantic relationship between Prince Charles and his long-time mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, who has since been styled, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. Charles, 56, and Camilla, 57, were both married once before their union. The proceedings of the Service of Prayer and Dedication were covered by the BBC network. Notable figures in attendance included international political, religious, and royal figures, and various celebrities.

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[edit] Engagement and preparations

On 10 February 2005, it was announced that Camilla Parker Bowles and the Prince of Wales would marry on 8 April 2005, at Windsor Castle with a civil service followed by religious prayer. Mrs Parker Bowles' engagement ring, reported to be an "enormous" diamond by Sarah Lyall of The New York Times on 11 February 2005, is a Windsor family heirloom that belonged to the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. With a 1920s platinum setting, it is composed of a square-cut central diamond flanked by six diamond baguettes.After the engagement announcement, the couple were congratulated by Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, indicating that consent had been granted under the Royal Marriages Act 1772;[1] the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; the Prime Minister, Tony Blair; the Leader of the Opposition, Michael Howard; the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy; the Leader of the House of Commons, Peter Hain; and the Prime Ministers of the other Commonwealth Realms.

The Prince was the first member of the royal family to marry in a civil ceremony in England. Dr Stephen Chetney, a Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford questioned whether Charles and Camilla could marry in a civil ceremony, as the Royal Family was specifically excluded from the law which instituted civil marriages in England (the Marriage Act 1836). On 14 February the BBC's Panorama uncovered government documents dating from 1956 and 1964 which suggest that it may not be lawful for members of the royal family to marry in a civil ceremony in England and Wales, though it would be lawful in Scotland.[2] Clarence House rejected this. Lord Falconer of Thoroton told the House of Lords that the 1836 Act had been repealed by the Marriage Act 1949 which had different wording, and that the British Government were satisfied that it was lawful for the couple to marry by a civil ceremony in accordance with Part III of the 1949 Act.[3] Eleven objections were received by the Cirencester and Chippenham register offices but were all rejected by the Registrar General (and National Statistician) Len Cook who determined that a civil marriage would in fact be valid,[4] the Human Rights Act 1998 apparently superseding any previously enacted legislation barring members of the royal family from civil marriages. There were calls for a short piece of legislation to remove all doubt, but no legislation was in fact introduced. In fact the matter was never seriously in issue, however, as it is a truism of English law that a statute is pro tanto repealed by a subsequent statute to the extent of any inconsistency, whether or not the prior inconsistent statute is expressly repealed for that or any purpose. (To what extent such an inconsistency exists however was itself a point of contention.)

On 17 February, Clarence House announced the marriage's change of venue from Windsor Castle to the Guildhall, Windsor, immediately outside the walls of the castle.[5] This substitution came about when it was discovered that the legal requirements for licensing the royal castle for civil weddings would require opening it up to other prospective couples for at least three years. On 22 February, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would not attend the wedding ceremony, but would attend the church blessing and host the reception afterwards.[6] The reason stated by the palace was the couple wanted to keep the occasion low key. It was unofficially known that the Queen, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, could not endorse a civil wedding by her presence. On 4 April, it was announced that the wedding would be postponed 24 hours until 9 April, so that the Prince of Wales could attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II as the representative of the Queen. The postponement also allowed some of the dignitaries that were invited to the funeral to attend the wedding. In keeping with tradition, the Prince of Wales spent the night apart from his bride-to-be at Highgrove, his country mansion in Gloucestershire, with his sons Princes William and Harry.

[edit] Wedding and blessing

The wedding took place at the Guildhall in Windsor at 12.30pm BST (12:30 UTC) on 9 April 2005. Crowds had gathered on the streets since dawn ahead of the service. A civil ceremony was planned because of controversy within the Church of England regarding the remarriage of divorcés. This was attended by all the senior royals apart from the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. When Princess Anne married Timothy Laurence after having divorced Mark Phillips, she chose to do so in the Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian body in Scotland. Remarriage of divorcees is less controversial in the Kirk (as it is known), and the sovereign is an ordinary member of the Kirk. The Prince of Wales and his bride did not elect this course of action.

At the wedding, the couple's witnesses were Prince William of Wales and the bride's son, Tom Parker Bowles. In keeping with tradition, the couple's wedding rings are crafted from 22 carat (92%) Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu. The design of the wedding rings is by Wartski, a London jeweller that has held the Royal Warrant to The Prince of Wales since 1979. The Prince wears his on the small finger of his left hand.For the wedding, the duchess wore a cream-coloured dress and coat with a wide-brimmed cream-coloured hat. For the blessing afterward, she wore a floor-length embroidered pale blue and gold coat over a matching chiffon gown and a dramatic spray of golden feathers in her hair. Both ensembles were by Antonia Robinson and Anna Valentine, London designers who work under the name Robinson Valentine; both hats were made by the Irish milliner Philip Treacy.

The wedding was followed by a televised blessing at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, led by The Archbishop of Canterbury.

[edit] Public and commercial interest

Manufacturers of pottery and other commemorative items faced a late rush to change the dates on their products after the delayed wedding date became known. However, sales of those with the incorrect date soared when people began to think that they would become collectors items. For the wedding day, the theme park Alton Towers changed the name of "Rita: Queen of Speed" to "Camilla: Queen of Speed". Television commercials and signs around the park were all updated to reflect this change.[7]

The BBC gained the rights to broadcast the event where there was live coverage of the Service of Prayer and Dedication from St George's Chapel. On BBC One Huw Edwards and Sophie Raworth presented the live coverage of the event and fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine contributed as the contemporary social commentators. The BBC had around thirty cameras at the event and shared footage with broadcasters throughout the world. BBC News 24 also had coverage during the day with Jane Hill and Simon McCoy reporting live from Windsor.[8]

[edit] Wedding guest list

[edit] Family of the Prince of Wales

[edit] Family of Camilla Parker Bowles

[edit] Blessing guest list

[edit] Family

[edit] Foreign royals

[edit] Dignitaries

[edit] Politicians

[edit] Religious representatives

[edit] Celebrities and personalities

[edit] References

  1. ^ Buckingham Palace press releases > Marriage of HRH The Prince of Wales
  2. ^ BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Possible bar to wedding uncovered
  3. ^ Lords Hansard text for 24 Feb 2005 (250224-51)
  4. ^ Marriage Statement
  5. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Prince and Camilla change venue
  6. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Queen denies 'snub' over wedding
  7. ^ "Theme park to rename ride Camilla" at Newsround, BBC News. Accessed 12 April 2005.
  8. ^ BBC - Press Office - The Royal Wedding: Charles and Camilla

[edit] External links

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