Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
On 10 February 2005, it was announced that Camilla Parker Bowles and the Prince of Wales would marry on 8 April 2005 at Windsor Castle with a civil service followed by religious prayer.
The engagement came 35 years after the couple originally met at a polo match, and followed several years during which the Prince of Wales carefully prepared the British public for the day that Camilla would become his wife.
Camilla was presented with a platinum engagement ring consisting of a central, emerald cut diamond, with three diamond baguettes on each side. The ring originally belonged to the Prince of Wales grandmother, The Queen Mother.
After being postponed by 24 hours so that the Prince of Wales could attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the civil service took place on the 9th of April 2005, at the Guildhall, Windsor Castle.
The service was moved to the Guildhall, instead of the castle, due to the constraints that obtaining a wedding licence for the castle would impose. The service was attended by close members of the couple’s family, including Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Laurence, Major Bruce Shand and Laura Parker Bowles. Prince William and Camilla’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, served as witnesses to the civil wedding ceremony.
Notably, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh did not attend the civil service, with Buckingham Palace explaining that the Queen did not want to overshadow the wedding. Others commented that this was a snub to Charles and Camilla, or explained by the Queen’s reluctance to attend a civil wedding due to her religious beliefs.
However the Queen and Duke attended the service of religious prayer at St George’s Chapel following the civil service, and hosted a reception for the couple in Windsor Castle afterwards.
Following the wedding, the couple travelled to Birkhall, the Prince’s country home in Scotland, near Balmoral Castle for their honeymoon.
Since her marriage, Camilla has been known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall except in Scotland where she uses the title HRH The Duchess of Rothesay. It has been announced that when the Prince Charles assumes the throne Camilla will be styled as Her Royal Highness The Princess Consort.
Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding has been documented in the book, Charles and Camilla: A Royal Occasion
In February 2005 Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles announced the date of their wedding. At an engagement at Windsor Castle they spoke to the press and showed off the engagement ring.
Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles at Windsor Castle, England in April 2005. The happy couple received a blessing at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor then registered their marriage at Guildhall, Windsor.
