Prince Charles to marry Camilla
Ceremony planned for April 8 at Windsor Castle
MICHAEL MCDONOUGH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON - Prince Charles surprised Britain by announcing today that he will marry Camilla Parker Bowles, his long-time lover whom Princess Diana blamed for the breakdown of her marriage to the heir to the throne.
The Prince of Wales and Parker Bowles will marry on Friday, April 8, at Windsor Castle, Clarence House said. Camilla will use the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall after the marriage.
The announcement received the blessing of Queen Elizabeth, who said she was very happy that her son and Parker Bowles will marry.
Charles said the marriage will be a civil ceremony, not a Church of England service.
“The wedding will be a largely private occasion for family and friends. There will be a civil ceremony in Windsor Castle,” said House, Charles’ residence and office. “There will subsequently be a service of prayer and dedication in St. George’s Chapel at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside.”
Charles divorced from Diana in 1996, a year before she was killed in a Paris car crash. Camilla obtained her divorce from army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995.
Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, first met Camilla at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 and over the next few years they became very close. The relationship cooled after Charles joined the Royal Navy and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, a long-standing admirer.
Throughout the late 1970s, Charles and Camilla kept up contact and became close friends again toward the end of the decade. They remained so after Charles’ 1981 marriage to Diana.
Diana blamed the friendship for the failure of her marriage to the Prince of Wales. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana said in a 1995 TV interview.
In 1994, Prince Charles admitted in a TV documentary that he had strayed from his marriage vows, but insisted the infidelity happened only after the marriage was “irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.” It was widely assumed, but never confirmed, that Camilla was the other woman.
Camilla soon became a recognizable figure and in April 1997 took a tentative step into public life when she became patron of the National Osteoporosis Society. An official photograph was released to mark the occasion. In July that year, Charles hosted a party for Camilla to celebrate her 50th birthday.
The couple appeared less frequently in public after Diana’s death in August 1997, but in 1999 Camilla met Charles’ sons Prince William and Prince Harry for the first time.
In recent years, she has regularly accompanied Charles to galas and become accustomed to appearing in front of the media. She now lives with Charles at his Clarence House residence in central London.
Their planned marriage is nevertheless a sensitive issue because Parker Bowles is divorced and her former husband is still alive. Charles would be the supreme governor of the Church of England if he took the throne, and some Anglicans remain opposed to remarriage of divorcees.
The church is officially neutral on the issue, but former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey recently urged the couple to marry.
Last year, a poll indicated that more Britons support Prince Charles marrying Camilla Parker Bowles than oppose it. Thirty-two per cent of respondents to the Populus poll said they would support Charles if he remarried, while 29 per cent were opposed. Thirty-eight per cent said they didn’t care and two per cent had no opinion.
The Prince of Wales and Parker Bowles will marry on Friday, April 8, at Windsor Castle, Clarence House said. Camilla will use the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall after the marriage.
The announcement received the blessing of Queen Elizabeth, who said she was very happy that her son and Parker Bowles will marry.
Charles said the marriage will be a civil ceremony, not a Church of England service.
“The wedding will be a largely private occasion for family and friends. There will be a civil ceremony in Windsor Castle,” said House, Charles’ residence and office. “There will subsequently be a service of prayer and dedication in St. George’s Chapel at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside.”
Charles divorced from Diana in 1996, a year before she was killed in a Paris car crash. Camilla obtained her divorce from army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995.
Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, first met Camilla at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 and over the next few years they became very close. The relationship cooled after Charles joined the Royal Navy and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, a long-standing admirer.
Throughout the late 1970s, Charles and Camilla kept up contact and became close friends again toward the end of the decade. They remained so after Charles’ 1981 marriage to Diana.
Diana blamed the friendship for the failure of her marriage to the Prince of Wales. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana said in a 1995 TV interview.
In 1994, Prince Charles admitted in a TV documentary that he had strayed from his marriage vows, but insisted the infidelity happened only after the marriage was “irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.” It was widely assumed, but never confirmed, that Camilla was the other woman.
Camilla soon became a recognizable figure and in April 1997 took a tentative step into public life when she became patron of the National Osteoporosis Society. An official photograph was released to mark the occasion. In July that year, Charles hosted a party for Camilla to celebrate her 50th birthday.
The couple appeared less frequently in public after Diana’s death in August 1997, but in 1999 Camilla met Charles’ sons Prince William and Prince Harry for the first time.
In recent years, she has regularly accompanied Charles to galas and become accustomed to appearing in front of the media. She now lives with Charles at his Clarence House residence in central London.
Their planned marriage is nevertheless a sensitive issue because Parker Bowles is divorced and her former husband is still alive. Charles would be the supreme governor of the Church of England if he took the throne, and some Anglicans remain opposed to remarriage of divorcees.
The church is officially neutral on the issue, but former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey recently urged the couple to marry.
Last year, a poll indicated that more Britons support Prince Charles marrying Camilla Parker Bowles than oppose it. Thirty-two per cent of respondents to the Populus poll said they would support Charles if he remarried, while 29 per cent were opposed. Thirty-eight per cent said they didn’t care and two per cent had no opinion.
3 comments:
But, really, who cares? They are both old and ugly. When I marry the king of Cambodia, that will be news!
some anglicans oppose the remarriage of divorcees??? so what? some anglicans doubtless oppose lots of things, that we do anyhow. who cares. it's not an issue that's reared its head in our lifetimes within the anglican church, so really they can just piss off, no?
I'm sure if the conservative Anglicans really want, Charles could have Mr. Parker Bowles whacked, but, really, hasn't Mr. Parker Bowles been through enough?
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