Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
The groom's parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, did not attend the civil wedding ceremony, but were present at the Service of Prayer and Dedication and held a reception for the couple in Windsor Castle afterwards."[2][3][4][5] On 10 February 2005, it was announced that Camilla Parker Bowles and Charles, Prince of Wales, would marry on 8 April 2005, at Windsor Castle with a civil service followed by religious prayer.In the newspaper The Times on 22 February 2005, the lawyer David Pannick wrote: "It is difficult to understand how the happy couple can marry in a civil marriage ceremony, as they intend, without causing a right royal nullity ...Eleven objections were received by the Cirencester and Chippenham register offices but were all rejected by the Registrar General (and National Statistician) Len Cook, who determined that a civil marriage would in fact be valid.[26][27] In keeping with tradition, the couple's wedding rings are crafted from 22 carat Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu.The civil wedding was followed by a televised blessing, officially termed a Service of Prayer and Dedication[28] by both the Prince of Wales's office and the press.[32] This was attended by 800 guests and all the senior members of the royal family, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.[33] During this ceremony Charles and Camilla joined the congregation in reading "the strongest act of penitence from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer",[34] widely quoted in press reports of the wedding:We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, by thought, word and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.[36] The "strongly-worded"[37] act of penitence recited by the couple was a confessional prayer written by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury to King Henry VIII.For the Service of Prayer and Dedication afterward, she wore a floor-length embroidered pale blue and gold coat over a matching chiffon dress and a dramatic spray of golden feathers in her hair.[44][45] A cut-price replica of Camilla's diamond engagement ring went on sale at a British supermarket and immediately became the chain's fastest selling jewellery item.On BBC One, Dermot Murnaghan and Sophie Raworth presented the live coverage of the event and fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine contributed as the contemporary social commentators.[49] Many self-described fans of Diana, Princess of Wales opposed the wedding of Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, with some referring to the event as "Black Thursday" and writing to national newspapers to express their disapproval.