Royal wedding is legal, says Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer has said today that the forthcoming wedding between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles can lawfully be a civil wedding.
Lord chancellor Lord Falconer released a written statement today, in which he says the Government is “satisfied” that a civil wedding adheres to the regulations set out by the Marriage Act.
There had been speculation that the April 8 wedding, which has already had to be moved from its original proposed location of Windsor castle, would be unlawful if it were a civil ceremony.
But Lord Falconer stated that the plans for the wedding, due to take place at the Windsor guildhall, are in accordance with the Marriage Act 1949.
The announcement follows the revelation that the Queen will not attend the ceremony.
As the prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wished to keep the occasion a “low-key” affair, the Queen announced that she will honour their plans and stay away, Buckingham Palace said.
“The Queen’s prime concern is that the civil ceremony should be as low key as possible, in line with the couple’s wishes,” a palace spokesperson said.
She will join the congregation at a church blessing service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in St George’s Chapel at Windsor castle, following the civil wedding. The spokesperson stressed that the Queen’s decision was not a “snub” to her son’s wedding plans.
Some sources have cited security concerns for the Queen’s decision not to attend the civil ceremony, which was changed to the town hall in Windsor because of problems with licensing the chapel at Windsor castle.
