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| 10 April 2005 | Sunday | 30 Safar 1426 |
Charles and Camilla marry after 35-year affair
After a 35-year affair spanning two failed marriages, Camilla Parker Bowles has gone from commoner to the second most senior woman in the royal family after the queen.
Thousands of diehard royalists waved flags and cheered as the smiling newly-weds emerged arm-in-arm to a chilly breeze in the riverside town of Windsor, west of London, before heading off in a Rolls-Royce for the nearby family castle.
“Thank you very much,” Charles mouthed to the crowd, while Parker Bowles, in an ivory silk coat over her chiffon dress beamed happily.
The heir to the throne, his tangled love life finally in order, now hopes the British who so adored and still revere the memory of the late Diana will learn to accept Parker Bowles.
Despite the lively atmosphere, there was none of the national frenzy that erupted when Diana married Charles in London’s grandiose St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981 before a TV audience of millions.
Charles and Camilla had just 30 witnesses in Windsor.
Police estimated 15,000 people had come, a fraction of the 600,000 who lined the streets of London 24 years ago.
Around the Commonwealth of mainly former UK colonies, there were some celebrations but again none of the enthusiasm generated by Diana.
Charles’ elder son Prince William, who inherited his mother’s box-office looks, acted as witness at the Windsor ceremony with Camilla’s son Tom, a food columnist.
A service of blessing was to be held afterwards in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, to be conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the world’s 77 million Anglicans. Then comes a reception for 800 guests, ranging from American comedienne Joan Rivers to TV host David Frost, before Charles and Camilla fly off to Scotland for their honeymoon.—Reuters
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