'Small bash' for Charles
2005-02-16 10:26
London - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is insisting her son Prince Charles holds a low-key wedding reception with fiancée Camilla Parker Bowles rather than the lavish bash he had wanted, a report said on Wednesday.
Citing "palace sources", the tabloid Sun newspaper also reported that the queen had instructed the courting couple to sleep in separate rooms on the night before their marriage at Windsor Castle on April 8.
Charles, 56, had hoped to celebrate tying the knot with his long-time mistress by throwing a huge party at the castle, with royal guests as well as celebrities and politicians present, the daily said.
The heir to the thone also wanted to serve up treasured organic vegetables from his countryside residence, Highgrove, for dinner, but the queen was having none of it, according to the newspaper.
Over-the-top celebration 'inappropraite'
"She believes it would be inappropriate to have an over-the-top celebration," the Sun quoted an anonymous source as saying.
"Most of all, she does not want to irritate the public with an ostentatious display. The reception will still be lavish by normal standards, but the queen does not want it to be turned into a jamboree," the source said.
News of Charles's engagement to Parker Bowles, a 57-year-old divorcee, made headlines across the world and revived memories of the prince's late wife Princess Diana - one of the most popular members of the royal family before her death in 1997.
Diana's marriage with Charles, which ended in divorce in 1996, had been blighted by his ongoing romance with Parker Bowles and the decision to marry his mistress has sparked criticism in some quarters.