Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles

The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles took place at the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005. The civil ceremony, which was performed in the presence of the families of the couple, followed by a Mass according to the rite of the Church of England at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The groom's parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were not present at the civil wedding ceremony, but visited the subsequent service.

The couple, Charles, Prince of Wales, then 56, and Camilla Parker Bowles, then 57, who with Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall ( Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall) has since been addressed, were both married once already.

• 3.1 family of the Prince of Wales
• 3.2 Family of Camilla Parker Bowles

• 4.1 Family
• 4.2 Deputy of the British monarchy in the world
• 4.3 Foreign Royals
• 4.4 Further guests

Engagement and preparations

On 10 February 2005 it was announced that Camilla Parker Bowles and the Prince of Wales will marry on April 8, 2005. The engagement ring of the bride is an heirloom of the Windsor family, which belonged to the Queen Mum. After the announcement of the engagement the couple were congratulated in-law of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, which means that the wedding according to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 was approved. Then congratulated the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams; the Prime Minister, Tony Blair; the opposition leader, Michael Howard; the head of the Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy; chairman of the House of Commons, Peter Hain; and the Prime Minister of the States of the Commonwealth Realms.

Change in the place and date

On February 17, the Clarence House announced that the wedding will not take place as planned at Windsor Castle, but in the Windsor Guildhall. This change in location was initiated when it was noticed that for a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, the future spouses must be engaged for at least three years. On February 22, Buckingham Palace was announced that Her Majesty the Queen not participate in the ceremony itself, but to attend the subsequent worship and will give the newlyweds a reception. The official reason for this was that the palace wants to keep the cost low. On April 4, it was announced that the wedding would be moved by one day to 9 April to allow the Prince of Wales could attend as a representative of Queen Elizabeth II of the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Following the tradition of the groom spent the night before the wedding is not at his bride, but together with his sons, the Princes William and Harry at his country residence Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

Wedding and church

The wedding took place at the Windsor Guildhall at 12:30 clock BST ( 11:30 UTC clock ) held on 9 April 2005. Large crowds gathered in the early morning hours on the streets around Windsor Castle.

Since Camilla Parker Bowles ' first marriage was divorced with the cavalry officer Andrew Parker Bowles, there was a public discussion about the remarriage of divorced persons within the Church of England, which led to that first a civil wedding was consummated. When Princess Anne Timothy Laurence after his divorce from Mark Phillips married, this was done in the Church of Scotland, as there are distinctions discussed less controversial.

The entire British aristocracy with the exception of the Queen and Prince Philip attended the civil ceremony. The groomsmen were the eldest son of the groom, Prince William, and the Son of the Bride, Tom Parker Bowles. Following the tradition of the wedding rings are made of 22 -carat Welsh gold.

The service was followed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, performed.

The wedding cake was created by Mary Robinson and Dawn Blunden, who run the store " Sophisticake " in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. In April 2005, a hotelier bought for £ 215, a piece of cake.

List of guests at the civil ceremony

Family of the Prince of Wales

• Prince William of Wales
• Prince Harry of Wales
• The Duke of York
• Princess Beatrice of York
• Princess Eugenie of York
• The Earl and Countess of Wessex
• The Princess Royal and Timothy Laurence RAdm
• Peter Phillips
• Zara Phillips
• The Honorable Lady Ogilvy, Princess Alexandra
• Viscount Linley and his wife
• Daniel Chatto and Lady Sarah Chatto

Family of Camilla Parker Bowles

• Major Bruce Shand
• Tom Parker Bowles and Sara Buys
• Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes
• Mr and Mrs Parker Bowles
• Mark Shand
• Simon Elliot and his wife
• Ben Elliot
• Katie Elliott
• Luke Irwin and his wife

Guests in worship

Family

• Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
• As well as the above

Representative of the British monarchy in the world

• The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda and Lady Carlisle
• The Governor-General of Australia and Marlena Jeffery
• The Governor-General of Barbados
• The Governor General of Canada and John Ralston Saul
• The representative of the Queen in the Cook Islands and Lady Goodwin
• The Governor-General of Grenada and Lady Williams
• The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Clare de Lore
• The Governor-General of New Zealand and Peter Cartwright
• The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Lady Matane
• The Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis

Foreign Royals

• King of Bahrain
• King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Anne -Marie of Greece and Denmark
• Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Princess Mette -Marit of Norway
• Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
• Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands
• Princess Margarita of Romania and Prince Radu of Romania
• Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and Princess Nouf bint Fahd bin Khalid Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
• Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia

Additional guests

Other guests included representatives from political parties and the church.

• Charles, Prince of Wales
• House Mountbatten -Windsor
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Event ( UK )
• 2005 event