Queen to Stay Away From Royal Wedding
LONDON (AP) - Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that Queen Elizabeth II would not attend the civil marriage ceremony of her son Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. However, the sovereign will attend the church blessing after the civil ceremony, the palace said. The blessing will be led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Britain's Press Association reported that Prince Charles' sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and Parker Bowles's children, Tom and Laura, were expected to be present for the April 8 wedding in the Guildhall at Windsor, west of London.
The Church of England - of which Charles will become titular head when he takes the throne - traditionally frowns on church remarriages for divorcees whose spouses are still alive.
Charles, 56, divorced Princess Diana in 1996. She died in a car accident the next year. Parker Bowles, 57, also is divorced, and her ex-husband is still living.
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02/22/05 16:07