Royal Newlyweds In Scotland
Honeymoon plans for royal newlyweds Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones remained officially a mystery Monday, but British newspapers contended the couple would take only four days off at the queen's Scottish retreat before returning to work.
Â"Too busy for a proper honeymoon,Â" read the headline in the Daily Mail, which said the couple chose to spend their brief honeymoon on the royal Balmoral estate partly to deter the paparazzi.
They reportedly spent the first night at Birkhall Lodge, a house on the estate usually used by Edward's grandmother, the Queen Mother Elizabeth.
The new Earl and Countess of Wessex, married Saturday evening at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, flew by helicopter to Balmoral Castle on Sunday afternoon after hosting a family lunch at Bagshot Park, the estate near Windsor where they will live.
The British public is now forced to get by on a diet of description of what they didn't get to see, reports CBS News Correspondent Jesse Schulman. For example, they read that Prince Edward toasted the queen as the best mother in the world.
Several newspapers also reported that the Band of the Royal Marines played hits by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Monkees, before dressing as the Blues Brothers and bringing out the saxophones. Guests reportedly danced to 1970s hits such as YMCA, and American Pie.
Opinions on the wedding and the new title bestowed upon the newlyweds also filled Monday's newspapers.
Hours before the wedding, the queen revived an ancient defunct title and made Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn. His bride, who has the status of princess, will be Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex.
Â"If royal advisers imagine that a mere earldom -- instead of a much grander dukedom -- demonstrates that the palace is becoming just a little more informal and low-key, then they misjudge the national mood,Â" wrote the Daily Mail.
The paper contended that no title was necessary for the modern couple and that treating them as ordinary people would have been a significant symbol of a new approach.
Meanwhile, wax figures of the couple took their places in Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum in London on Sunday.
The museum said designers and dressers worked through the night to ensure that the depiction of the countess was ready. Standing among wax figures of other members of the royal family, she wears an exact replica of her wedding dress.
When they return from their honeymoon, the couple have said they will return to their careers -- he as a television producer and she as a public relations executive.
The countess set up her own company with a partner, and her public-relations experience is seen as a valuable asset in coping with the aggressive British press.
The prince has long sought a life outside royal circles.
He remarked during a recent television intervew with British television that Â"the most precious thing that anybody possesses is their anonymity.Â"