'No gifts, please'
2005-03-06 20:21
London - Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles have asked their guests kindly to refrain from giving wedding presents, in the hope of avoiding thousands of unwanted items, the Daily Mirror said on Saturday.
It printed a statement included in the royal invitation, which has gone out to some 800 guests, asking them to refrain from using mobile telephones, cameras and stating the couple had no wedding list.
At Charles' first wedding to Diana, the late Princess of Wales, in 1981 a large amount of the 6 000 gifts the royal couple received had to be burned or given away.
The wedding specifics are the latest twist to the April 8 ceremony that has faced some significant setbacks.
Several legal objections have been lodged against the wedding between the heir to the throne, 56, and his longtime mistress, 57.
Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, the country's top legal authority, has had to explain emphatically that the union will be legal, in response to the continuous swirl of questions since their sudden engagement announcement in February.
Royal watchers have also said Queen Elizabeth II is snubbing her son with her decision not to attend the civil marriage ceremony at Windsor town hall.
Even the initial choice of Windsor Castle for their ceremony had to be changed, after it was discovered the queen's residence west of London lacked the appropriate license to host a wedding.
A blessing ceremony and prayer service will be held inside the castle, at St. George's Chapel, after the civil ceremony in town.