LONDON, 11 February 2005 — Prince Charles will marry longtime companion Camilla Parker Bowles, it was announced yesterday amidst a public outcry. Charles, however, ruled out Mrs. Parker Bowles, the woman blamed for destroying his “fairytale” marriage to the late Princess Diana, becoming the queen once he is enthroned. She will take the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall after the April 8 marriage at a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle. When the Prince of Wales, 56, becomes king, 57-year-old Camilla will not be known as Queen Camilla but as the Princess Consort, said Clarence House, Charles’ residence and office.
Princes William and Harry said they are “very happy” and wish the couple “all the luck in the future”. The queen, who had been slow to accept the divorced mother of two into the royal family, wished the pair well.
The couple, lovers during Charles’ tumultuous marriage to Diana, plan a quiet, civil ceremony. It will be in sharp contrast to the dazzling church wedding of Diana, which was beamed worldwide from St Paul’s Cathedral.
Charles was divorced in 1996 from Diana, who blamed “rottweiler” Parker Bowles and the prying media for the breakup of what promised to be a dream union. A spokeswoman for Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, said he would not be making any comment on the wedding announcement.
Parker Bowles is the great love of Charles’ life — the pair met in their 20s at a polo match and share a passion for country pursuits — but she has faced an uphill struggle to rival his former wife in the public’s affection. Opinion polls show most Britons have gradually accepted the idea of their marrying but baulk at Camilla ever becoming queen. Once Charles succeeds, he will be titular head of the Church of England, which overcame clerical objections to his marrying a divorcee. The marriage is likely to be a sensitive issue because Mrs. Parker Bowles is divorced and her former husband is still alive. The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “I am pleased that Prince Charles and Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles have decided to take this important step.”
In general, the Church of England, the legally established faith of the nation, disapproves of 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.
Last year, a poll indicated that more Britons support Prince Charles marrying Camilla Parker Bowles than oppose it. Of those who responded to a poll, 32 percent said they would support Charles if he remarried, while 29 percent were opposed. However, most people — 38 percent — said they did not care, while 2 percent had no opinion.
Mrs. Parker Bowles has joined the prince at numerous engagements in recent years — mostly at evening events for The Prince’s Trust.
