Royal Wedding Postponed A Day

Latest Glitch: Timing Conflicted With Pope's Funeral

(CBS)  The pope's funeral is the latest glitch to hit the nuptials of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

The royal wedding was slated for Friday, about midday, London-time.

But that's when Pope John Paul will be buried.

So, says the prince's office, Charles and Camilla will get married Saturday, instead.

"This is a wedding that, frankly, didn't need any more problems," notes CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips in London. But one appeared.

"This (timing) conflict was serious for a number of reasons," Phillips explains, "one of which was that there was an overlap of the guest list here.

"The queen was due to throw a party in the afternoon at Windsor Castle, which people like the prime minister and Archbishop of Canterbury were expected to attend. Now, it seems very likely that those people will be in Rome."

Charles himself was en route back to London Monday from a ski trip that itself became somewhat controversial. Charles cut short the vacation to attend a service in London in commemoration of the pope, Phillips says.

The latest development led to "a lot of head-scratching here as to what else can go wrong," Philips observed. "There has been a whole history of little trips along the road to the altar here," from where it would be held, to whether the Queen would attend, and even over Parker Bowles' title.

There was even some question about whether Charles' father, Prince Phillip, would make it back to Britain in time for the wedding. He was due to arrive Friday morning.

So that's one problem the postponement may actually have resolved.

"The hits just keep on coming here," Phillips summarized. "People's heads are just spinning, and in fact with a little bit of bemusement, I think, as well."