Royal wedding postponed
2005-04-04 19:13
London - Prince Charles has postponed his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles by one day so it does not coincide with the funeral of Pope John Paul II, his office announced on Monday.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said Charles would represent Queen Elizabeth II at John Paul's funeral and added, "That must take priority." She said engagements were being rescheduled to fit in the royal wedding.
Prince Charles and Parker Bowles made the decision to move the wedding after he cut short his Swiss skiing holiday on Monday, a spokesperson for his Clarence House office said.
Charles returned to attend a Monday afternoon memorial service for the pope at London's Westminster Cathedral, which Parker Bowles also planned to attend, the spokesperson said. She will not be going to the pope's funeral, he added.
The Vatican confirmed earlier on Monday that the pope's funeral would be held on Friday.
Charles' wedding had previously been scheduled for Friday and the major ceremonial occasion, a service of blessing, had been set for 13:30. The couple plan to marry in a civil ceremony in the town hall at Windsor, west of London, followed by the blessing in the chapel of Windsor Castle and a reception in the royal residence.
Charles' office didn't immediately announce the time of Saturday's wedding.
The postponement was the latest in a series of glitches that have struck the prince's marriage plans.
Glitches
Charles and Parker Bowles initially planned to get married at Windsor Castle, but it wasn't licensed for a civil wedding and the couple chose the decidedly more downscale town hall.
Then the queen decided not to attend the civil ceremony, immediately prompting rumors of a royal snub, although she had planned to attend the wedding when it was to be held in the castle and she does plan to attend the blessing ceremony.
Speculation later surfaced about whether the wedding would be legal, but the registrar general dismissed a series of objections and the government's chief legal advisor said there were no legal obstacles.
There followed a debate over what title Parker Bowles would have after the wedding. Charles has said that if he is crowned, Camilla will become princess consort. The British government says, however, that if Charles is king, she automatically becomes queen - whether or not she uses the title.
- AP