Royal Wedding To Be At Town Hall

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles will not wed at Windsor Castle, but at the local town hall.

The Prince's Clarence House office said Thursday that the April 8 civil ceremony would take place at the Guildhall in Windsor, west of London, rather than at the castle as announced last week. A blessing led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams after the ceremony will take place at the castle's St. George's Chapel.

Windsor's town hall, the Guildhall, was built in 1690. It is a sturdy building of brick and Portland stone, partly designed by Christopher Wren.

It is one of 29 approved venues for civil wedding ceremonies in the Windsor area. Local authorities charge 265 pounds ($500) for a weekday ceremony - plus 20 pounds extra if, like Charles and Parker Bowles, a couple wishes to wed on a Friday.

Clarence House said the new venue would allow the public to see the couple arrive and leave.

The prince's office also said Parker Bowles, 57, has chosen Robinson Valentine to design her wedding outfit and Philip Treacy to design her hat.

The heir to the British throne and his longtime love announced a week ago that they were to wed, after a 30-year romance that endured through Charles' rocky marriage to Princess Diana. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996 and she died in a car crash a year later.

To salve concerns among traditional Anglicans, who frown on the remarriage of two divorcees, the couple said they would have a civil ceremony rather than a church wedding.

Parker Bowles will take the title of Her Royal Highness Princess Consort, rather then Princess of Wales - Diana's title - and will not become queen when Charles accedes to the throne.