Plus

Plus

Queen and Philip only royals to snub wedding
EVERY senior member of the royal family will attend Prince Charles's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles - except the two they would most like to be there. The Queen and Prince Philip will be the only significant adult absentees from the civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, it was revealed recently.

When it was announced that the bridegroom's parents would not attend, the explanation by Buckingham Palace officials was that the Queen wanted to respect Charles and Camilla's wishes that it be a "low-key, unfussy" event.

Originally Clarence House indicated the only guests at the wedding would be princes William and Harry and Camilla's two children, Tom and Laura, as well as a handful of witnesses.

But last week it was disclosed that Charles's brothers Andrew and Edward, as well as Edward's wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, will attend the April 8 ceremony. Charles's sister, Princess Anne, has also agreed to attend with her husband, Rear Admiral Timothy Laurence, and children Peter and Zara Phillips.

Even minor members of the Windsor dynasty - such as Princess Margaret's children, Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto - will join the 30-strong group crammed into the tiny Ascot room at the Guildhall. Camilla's frail father, Major Bruce Shand, is also making the journey from his Dorset home with her sister, Annabel Elliot, her husband and their three children. Friends say Major Shand, a frail 87-year-old widower, is determined to see his daughter wed "come hell or high water".

Although she gave Charles and Camilla a private dinner at Buckingham Palace last week, the Queen remains uneasy about the wedding.

Fit for a princess
The April 8 wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles raises many questions. Is the queen snubbing the happy couple? Doesn't the title "Princess Consort" sound a little racy? Will Camilla take his name, and then will she have a triple surname?

Most importantly: What will she wear?
After 30 years of off-and-on dating, Charles, 56, is making an honest woman of Camilla, 57. But the wedding won't be a royal spectacle.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman says the lovers want to keep the occasion "low-key." They initially planned for a civil ceremony inside Windsor Castle. But because the venue is unlicensed, Charles and Camilla are now to exchange vows at the town hall. That means there will probably not be a cathedral-length train.

"I don't picture her at all wearing a grand white or ivory ball gown," said Diane Forden, editor of Bridal Guide magazine's New Etiquette for Today's Bride. "She should probably just wear a lovely gown or cocktail-style dress, or even a suit."

Will that appease the masses?
"There are always going to be critics," sighed Forden.
We asked some area experts how they would dress Camilla for the big day, and accentuate her unconventional beauty. "Elegant," "clean," "regal," said Cavett Hill of For Richer or Poorer. "We would work with Camilla on her needs -- the colour of her skin, would she like a suit with a camisole underneath, and so on," said Mira Horoszowski of Mira Couture. Camilla certainly can't top Princess Diana's wedding gown (the power-puffed sleeves!). And let's be thankful for that.

-Page Wiser

Back to Plus