Charles and Camilla to wed

[irishgrl]

Civil Ceremony for Charles and Camilla

By MICHAEL McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Prince Charles said Thursday he will marry his divorced lover Camilla Parker Bowles in April, putting an official seal on a long romance that Princess Diana blamed for the breakdown of her tempestuous marriage to the heir to the throne. The announcement ruled out the possibility that she would become queen.

The Prince of Wales and Parker Bowles will marry on Friday, April 8, at Windsor Castle, said Clarence House, Charles' residence and office.

During a visit to London's financial district Thursday, Charles accepted congratulations on his pending nuptials.

"Thank you very much, you're so kind." he said. "I am very excited."

Parker Bowles will use the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall after the marriage. When Charles becomes king, she will not be known as Queen Camilla but as the princess consort, Charles' office said.

That decision by the prince appeared to be a nod to public opinion, which has never warmed to Camilla.

The marriage will be a civil service and not a Church of England service.

"There will subsequently be a service of prayer and dedication in St. George's Chapel at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside," Charles' office said.

The decision on the type of service reflects the fact that both are divorcees, and that Parker Bowles' ex-husband is still living. In general, the Church of England, the legally established faith of the nation, disapproves of the remarriage of divorced people in church.

As Britain's monarch, Prince Charles would be the supreme governor of the Church of England. Some Anglicans could oppose him holding this role as a divorcee who remarried outside the church.

The announcement received the blessing of Queen Elizabeth II, who said she was very happy that her son and Camilla Parker Bowles will marry.

Prime Minister Tony Blair also said he was "delighted."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the wedding service plans "have my strong support and are consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage."

Neither Charles nor Camilla possess the star-power of Diana, whose memory remains strong in Britain, but theirs has been a peculiarly deep love story ? one that has endured time, scrutiny and such intense criticism that Parker Bowles was once regularly insulted in the street.

"It had to happen sooner or later," said Dina Pine, 73, a retired restaurant owner. "But I don't think she should be queen."

Charles, 56, divorced from Diana in 1996, a year before she was killed in a Paris car crash. Camilla, 57, obtained her divorce from army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995.

"Diana is still in so many people's hearts," said Chris Morris, 54, a building engineer. "Queen Camilla wouldn't be so popular."



Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, 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.

In the early days of their romance, when Parker-Bowles was still single, she reportedly told the prince: "My great-great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress, so how about it?"

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.

While the saga of the disintegrating royal marriage played out publicly, Parker Bowles was often cast as the villain, the object both of invective for being a "marriage breaker" and of ridicule over tapes of intimate conversations between her and the prince that emerged in 1992.

In 1994, Prince Charles admitted in a TV documentary that he had strayed from his marriage vows, but he 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 before the media. She now lives with Charles at his Clarence House residence in central London.

Last year, a poll indicated that more Britons support Prince Charles marrying Parker Bowles than oppose it. Thirty-two percent of respondents to the Populus poll said they would support Charles if he remarried, while 29 percent were opposed to the remarriage. Thirty-eight percent said they did not care and the rest had no opinion.

can I just say EWWWWWWWWWW? I'd like to see the Queen pass him over and go straight to William

[irishgrl]

interesting! I always thought he was bright! btw: I dont have a problem with people marrying for love. Its just that historically, a King didnt marry a Divorced woman--that is why that other English Prince (WHY am I not remembering people's names? Guess I better start taking Ginko supplements!) stepped down to marry Wallace Simpson, a (GASP!) Divorcee....If a country has certain protocol, shouldnt it be followed? I just resent Camilla because of her part in the breakdown of Diana's marriage (and I DESPISE Charles).
Oh well.......at least Diana wont have to live with the humiliation...

[ThePenguin]

I think Charles was an A-hole for fooling around while he was married to Diana, yet part of me feels bad for the chap because he didn't just marry Camilla to begin with. They obviously love each other, this is not a fling... their relationship has lasted for many years now. I doubt that Diana, where-ever she is, is too surprised.

-Lis

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Lux

That was King Edward VIII. I certainly don't think a protocol should be followed if it's out of date and particularly if they are willing to modernise. I mean, should they continue to colonise and send their criminals to Australia aswell? Or if France still had a monarch (just forget world history for a moment) would it be appropriate to continue the protocol that did not allow female monarchs? I thought modernisation was what it was all about.

by all means, change it via proclamation or legislation or somesuch, but dont flout it! The laws should apply to the Rulers/lawmakers FIRST or they have no meaning at all! Therefore, if something is out of date, by all means change it and THEN take advantage of it.

as for their love story, it is amazing and they have weathered quite a bit, and no, I dont think Diana would be surprised. I hope her boys are ok with this.

[ShangriLaTroubl]

I dont think it should be a problem if a future king remarries---doesnt really matter--I guess I always just had a dislike for Camilla because I liked Diana so much


Chris

[gldstwmn]

I am suprised by this. It was reported last year that Camilla had lung cancer, wasn't it?

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

interesting! I always thought he was bright! btw: I dont have a problem with people marrying for love. Its just that historically, a King didnt marry a Divorced woman--that is why that other English Prince (WHY am I not remembering people's names? Guess I better start taking Ginko supplements!) stepped down to marry Wallace Simpson, a (GASP!) Divorcee....If a country has certain protocol, shouldnt it be followed? I just resent Camilla because of her part in the breakdown of Diana's marriage (and I DESPISE Charles).
Oh well.......at least Diana wont have to live with the humiliation...

Is this Mary the great liberal being conventional and somewhat conservative Will wonders never cease

I say let him marry who he wants. Have they learned nothing from the last 100 or so years of many many bad marriages and broken lives all in the name of a convention that few (except Mary ) care about. I mean loiok at Margaret and how her mother and sister stopped her from marrying the guy she loved.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by ShangriLaTroubl

I dont think it should be a problem if a future king remarries---doesnt really matter--I guess I always just had a dislike for Camilla because I liked Diana so much


Chris

I liked Diana in the beginning. But, I thought she behaved like as ass in the end. I get that she may have been "wronged" but two wrongs do not make a right She was a woman scorned and she behaved like an ass because of it. While I cannot say I blame her or really even judge her for it, I can say that I think people's perception that she was this poor little lamb who could do no wrong is not supported by the facts. I mean according to most sources including Diana herself, Charles had only Camilla - Diana had a string of men. Then, when her marriage was ending, she, in IMO an attempt to get as much money as she could and revenge, went public with their dirty laundry - that was a class act There are more, but those two are pretty bad and IMO dispositive.

I am not saying Diana did not do many good things and inspire many - she did. I am just saying she was not the innocent many paint her as

[wondergirl9847]

I ain't saying she was a saint, not by ANY means, but she must have been under huge pressure to be the good wife (to the public, not privately) and put on a good show for royalty. There may have been a double standard there as well, in that, Charles can have a mistress, but you have to be good. As soon as Diana found out about Camilla, she should have divorced him, but that was no good, because of many reasons, so she stuck with him, until towards the end. Knowing that the public adored her, I'm sure the royals were aware of that and used that as a sort of shame for her to put on the good show.

But what do I know. LOL

[Villavic]

Good for them! They love from long ago so it's a happy ending (or beginning at last) for those two.

Of course people love fairy tales and that's why the monarchy tried when Charles married Diana. And we all loved Diana, in spite of some ugly behavior people commented sometimes (for example I was in shock when Fran Drescher told her episode in his autobi about meeting the Princess).

And Charles & Camilla story is opposite to a fairy tale, and Camilla is far from the image of a modern queen, but.. that's not how the world moves. In this case, love finally succeeded. I just hope media don't kill their marriage with the typical harrassment (paparazzi, gossip, etc..)

As a fairy tale, I'd like William marrying a new "Diana" and becoming king after Elizabeth, but being realistic, who cares?!

[wondergirl9847]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I just hope media don't kill their marriage with the typical harrassment (paparazzi, gossip, etc..)

Yeah, that'll happen....when hell freezes over.

Cuz I'm nosy, what did Fran Drescher say about Diana?

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by wondergirl9847

Cuz I'm nosy, what did Fran Drescher say about Diana?

I knew somebody will ask!
I read the book long ago but I'll try my best to tell:

Ok, it was a benefit event, with Elton John, Sting, some politics, etc, in NYC.

Fran was at the top of success during the best time of The Nanny, she was invited. So some host introduce the Princess to her, telling she was starring a show about a nanny of a british family in NYC. Diana smiled and said something good but told she didn't know the show.

So Fran trying to "break the ice" told the Princess that last year they both appeared on the best dressed list of a famous designer or fashion magazine (that's what I don't remember, she mentioned the exact name).

But Diana answered something like... "the difference was that I was in the BEST dressed list and you were in the WORST"....

"Nobody likes a bitchy princess", thought Fran, so she answered..
"Yes, but I am with Demi Moore and Madonna, and you are with Princess Anne and Margaret Thatcher; honey you are in the wrong list!", and Fran did the "Z" (zorro) sign with her finger and leave her.

Later, during the event when she had to say a speech to the audience, she said "Well, the Prince of Wales just met the QUEEN of QUEENS!"

(ok, if this story is true, ..maybe Diana didn't like Fran, but she didn't have to say that about her in the worst list , I guess Fran just tried to be nice)

[amber]

That's funny. But i have the desire to be really mean to Fran Drescher whenever I see her, too. I also have a horrified look on my face. Still, I guess that wasn't the most princess like show of decorum. But, maybe she was joking. She could've laughed afterwards, but Fran didn't get it...

[amber]

Originally Posted by Lux

Amber, who's that in the first picture in your signature?

Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. It's from the movie Possession. There is a weird gross sex monster at the end of that movie.

[strandinthewind]

Actually - it would be great if you would identify all the people in those pics. PPPLLLEEEAAAAASSSEEEEE!!!!!