Wedding to 'end up in court'
2005-02-26 09:37
London - The planned marriage of Britain's Prince Charles to his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles is set to end up in court to test its legality, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
The Daily Express said an investigation into the marriage is expected to be referred to family law judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss to test whether the civil wedding at Windsor Guildhall is legal.
Other challenges have effectively put the April 8 ceremony on hold, it said.
The register office service is overseeing the inquiry in which Butler-Sloss, president of the High Court family division, will be consulted informally by England's Registrar General Len Cook.
Legal experts said that depending on the outcome of the discussion, the dispute may be referred to the court for a ruling, the newspaper reported.
There is also a chance that any decision will be challenged in a High Court judicial review, threatening to delay the wedding, the Daily Express said.
A court case is still regarded as the most likely outcome, even though the country's top legal authority, the lord chancellor, Charles Falconer, insisted on Wednesday that the government concluded that the civil ceremony is legal.
Some legal experts had argued that only a religious marriage between Charles, 56, and Parker Bowles, 57, would be legal, but this is impossible according to Church of England law as both are divorced.