Future British monarch Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles

Today at 11:30 UTC His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The union was blessed at 13:30 UTC in a church ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Local police estimated that 20,000 people lined the street of Windsor in order to catch a glimpse of the Royal party.

The civil ceremony was attended by

the Prince's two sons, TRH Princes William and Harry;

his brother, HRH The Duke of York;

his nieces, TRH Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie;

HRH The Princess Royal and her children Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips; and

Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Parker Bowles.

Prince William and Tom Parker Bowles formally witnessed the marriage.

At 6pm the couple left Windsor Castle for RAF Northolt, where an aircraft from the Queen's flight took them to Aberdeen in Scotland to begin their honeymoon.

A wedding delayed

The wedding had suffered from a series of delays and changes to arrangements.

Initially the couple had been planning to use Windsor Castle for the ceremony, but were unable to do so since it was not licensed for civil ceremonies. After it moved to Windsor Guildhall, the Queen decided not to attend, immediately generating rumors of a royal snub.

The wedding had originally been scheduled for Friday April 8, 2005. However, the Prince of Wales's commitment to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II required that the wedding be postponed until the following day.

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