Big Day For Charles And Camilla

After 30 Years Of Waiting, Prince Charles Weds His True Love

(CBS/AP) 
Seward also observed that "she hadn't even quite mastered the royal wave. She sort of got her hand caught up in her hat."

To lend family legitimacy to the occasion, Charles' sons, Princes William and Harry, were there, William as a witness to the marriage. The blessing ceremony lent the legitimacy of the church to the marriage.

The dedication service was followed by a reception for 800 people at Windsor Castle, a large reception hosted by the queen.

Earlier in the day, guests began to arrive at the wedding venue about half an hour before the ceremony was to begin. Excited cheers greeted Prince William and Prince Harry as the formally attired young men arrived. William smiled at the crowd, and Harry waved shyly.

Hundreds of people lined the streets of Windsor to show support for (or disapproval of) the marriage. Waving Union Jack flags or raising banners honoring the late Princess Diana, modest crowds waited in chilly sunshine for the nuptials, postponed a day for the pope's funeral.

The British public seems keenly aware that the moment Camilla Parker Bowles was married to Prince Charles, she became the Princess of Wales and potentially a queen of England. As far as the royal family is concerned, however, she is Duchess of Cornwall — a concession to public opposition to the new wife assuming any of the titles of the late Princess Diana. Public opinion polls show 70 percent of the population is opposed to her being queen.

That is, if they care at all.

The monarchy may still perform a constitutional function in Britain and still contribute to the Old World hail Fredonia appeal to tourists, but its days as an institution at the center of British life are over.

From mugs to mocking masks, perhaps the casual eye with which the British view their monarchy is indicative of its decline in significance as years tick by.

In fact, on Friday's The Early Show, Ingrid Seward paraphrased Camilla as having said, "I'll marry you, but I want to have fun people at my wedding. I don't want a lot of 'have-to-haves.' I want the people who have been really good to us…and that we really like."

And that's the route they've taken, Seward adds: "Looking at the guest list, there's a lot of extremely rich people going who have helped Prince Charles. There's a large American contingent. Joan Rivers is going."