England has a new royal.
Culminating a three-decade affair generally frowned upon by Brits and at times even his family, Prince Charles made it official Saturday, tying the knot with Camilla Parker Bowles in a brief civil ceremony.
The no-frills service at the town hall in Windsor--far removed from the fairy-tale extravaganza that marked the marriage of Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales--was followed by a blessing at St. George's Chapel and a tea party hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle.
The day's events were covered live by several media outlets, including CNN and Fox News, which rehashed the details of Charles and Camilla's long-simmering romance, which ultimately undermined the marriage of Charles and Diana, who divorced in 1996, a year before she was killed in a car crash. (CNBC even reran its coverage of the 1981 nuptials of Charles and Diana.)
In the United Kingdom, an estimated 6.2 million viewers tuned in to the BBC's televised ceremony, a 49 percent share of potential viewers. Meantime another 1.1 million chose to watch on the rival commercial channel ITV.
Camilla, now the Duchess of Cornwall, wore a blue long coat and dress for the blessing and an oyster silk ensemble for the civil ceremony, both designed by the fashion team of Robinson Valentine. Philip Treacy, whose hats are the rage at Ascot and British high society weddings, made Camilla's headgear for both occasions--eschewing a tiara for feathers in her blonde hair.
The finally united couple refrained from exchanging public kisses after sealing a love story begun some 35 years ago on a polo ground near Windsor Castle.
Despite a day's postponement, caused by Charles' decision to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II, friends and family showed up in force. Additionally there weren't too many dissenters among the 20,000 fans who gathered in the streets of Windsor to watch the drive-bys, which included the unlikely sight of Princes William and Harry, along with those known as the minor royals, climbing into mini-buses for the short but steep ride between castle and chapel.
There was also--as has become a virtual tradition at British events--a streaker, a 25-year-old man, whom police say was "detained" for his unique, um, wedding gift.
Aside from Charles' sons, his mum and dad, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, aka the Duke of Edinburgh, were on hand for the blessing ceremony and hosted the post-nuptial tea (complete with scones and Cornish clotted cream and jam). Also on hand were Camilla's son, Tom, and daughter, Laura, and her ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, and his wife, Rosemary. The heads of all the British political parties were there with their wives, including ex-model Sandra Howard, wife of Tory leader Michael Howard, who next month will be challenging Labour leader Prime Minister Tony Blair in a general election.
Show-biz types were also in attendance, including Trudie Styler (aka Mrs. Sting), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Joanna Lumley (of Ab Fab fame), Kenneth Branagh and even Joan Rivers, who has become friends with the Prince through their mutual love of painting.
Taking part in the service, reading verses by William Wordsworth, was Timothy West, an actor who has portrayed Charles' great-great grandfather, the philandering Edward VII, whose most beloved mistress was Camilla's great grandmother, Mrs. Alice Keppel. Also there was West's wife, Prunella Scales, most famous as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in Fawlty Towers.
The public ceremony also featured choirboys in full throat and Handel's Water Music.
According to actor Stephen Fry, the Queen opened her tea party by quipping, "I've got two things to announce to you of the greatest importance." First she revealed the winner of the Grand National, the country's annual steeplechase, the start of which was pushed later in the afternoon to avoid conflicting with the ceremonial portion of her son's wedding celebration. The name of the victorious horse was Hedgehunter. Then, referring to the high fences the horses have to jump during the race, she said, "The second is to say to you that despite...all kinds of terrible obstacles, my son has come through and I'm very proud and wish them well."
Charles reportedly made a joke at the expense of the media, whom last month he dubbed "bloody people". He also spoke of his sorrow that his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother, wasn't alive to witness his happiness, and thanked his "two wonderful boys" for being so supportive.
Rivers, meantime, told the Associated Press that her wedding gift to Camilla was lingerie and that "it was so obvious how happy they were, that just radiated from the whole room...When Charles made his toast a whoop went up when he said, 'I love Camilla.' "
And some royal pranksters also spraypainted "Prince" and "Duchess" and "Just Married" on the car that ferried the newlyweds away from the castle at the end of the day.
On Sunday Camilla, 57, still sported sharp feathers in a jaunty beret as on the first day of her honeymoon as she and Charles, 56, attended church in Scotland. Meanwhile, Britain's notorious tabloid press, which long blasted the couple's not so clandestine romance, was unusually subdued in its appraisal of the wedding.
The Sunday Express featured the headline "So Happy," while the Sunday Mirror and the Mail on Sunday both went with "At Last!" The left-leaning broadsheet the Observer wrote, "On a cold day in April, a warm welcome for Camilla," accompanied by a picture of the couple with the Queen, who had incited speculation that she disapproved of her new daughter-in-law, because she chose to attend only the church blessing, but not the actual civil wedding ceremony.