WINDSOR (AFP) - Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, the true love of his life, in a private civil ceremony that inevitably paled against his storybook wedding to Princess Diana more than 20 years ago.
Illicit lovers during their previous marriages, they went on to vow in public to be faithful to each other, after repenting for their "manifold sins and wickedness" on Saturday.
Charles, 56, the heir to the British monarchy, and Camilla, 57, exchanged vows at the 17th century Guildhall in Windsor, west of London, a marriage followed by a mid-afternoon service of blessing and reception at next-door Windsor Castle.
Some 20,000 people, many cheering and waving Union Jack flags and hats, lined Windsor's picturesque streets under blue skies to catch a glimpse of the new royal couple, according to police estimates.
That was far fewer than the 600,000 who turned out in London in July 1981 when Charles wedded Diana inside the domed splendour of St Paul's Cathedral, and a measure of the limited interest that Saturday's nuptials have aroused in the British public.
Charles and Camilla smiled and waved as they emerged arm-in-arm from the red front doors of the Guildhall after their 25-minute civil wedding and climbed into a dark Rolls Royce limousine for a three-minute ride to Windsor Castle, the royal family's weekend residence.
Later, in a sober Church of England service of blessing in Saint George's Chapel, within the castle, Charles and Camilla were asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, if they resolved to be faithful to each other, "forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live".
They replied: "That is my resolve, with the help of God."
With the rest of the congregation of nearly 800, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, they also acknowledged "our manifold sins and wickedness which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed ... We do earnestly repent."
The mood looked set to lighten up at a reception afterwards, also in Windsor Castle, with guests ranging from continental European royals to pop stars and actors. The newlyweds were then to slip away to Scotland to honeymoon on the royal estate of Balmoral.
Charles and Camilla have had an on-and-off intimate relationship going back more than 30 years, and in recent years have effectively lived as man and wife, often appearing together at official functions.
But many still hold the practical, country-loving Camilla responsible for the break-up of Charles's marriage to the glamorous Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997, a year after her divorce from Charles.
Saturday's wedding, originally planned for Friday, was hastily rescheduled in order not to clash with the Vatican funeral of Pope John Paul II attended by Charles and by Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the guests at Saturday's blessing.
The arrangements were dogged by gremlins from the beginning, with the wedding venue being switched from Windsor Castle to the Guildhall for licensing reasons and Queen Elizabeth opting not to be present when they tie the knot.
A handful of royalty purists raised objections right up to wedding day, when three were lodged and swiftly rejected, while a tabloid newspaper on Thursday exposed security flaws by driving into Windsor Castle in a rented van with a fake bomb inside.
Even on Saturday, Charles woke up to see himself on the front pages of newspapers shaking hands at the pope's funeral with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is accused by the British government of gross human rights violations.
In keeping with tradition, Charles spent the night before the wedding apart from his bride-to-be at Highgrove, his country mansion in the west of England, with sons William and Harry, while Camilla remained at Clarence House, the couple's official residence in London.
They were declared man and wife by Windsor registrar Clair Williams in the upstairs Ascot Room of the Guildhall where William and Camilla's eldest son Tom acted as witnesses. There were only 38 guests, and no media, for the wedding which Queen Elizabeth did not attend.
Camilla, now officially Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, wore an ivory-cream dress, matching full-length coat from Robinson Valentine and a broad, lace-brimmed hat topped with feathers from Philip Treacy. Charles opted for a classic black and grey morning suit.
For the service of blessing, Camilla switched into a porcelain blue silk dress with handpainted ikat design, with hand-embroidered gold thread work.
from http://uk.news.yahoo.comhttp://uk.news.yahoo.com/050409/323/fg07x.html
□ 彭丽 ( 中国国际广播电台特稿 )
也许教皇的葬礼是查尔斯王储与卡米拉婚礼前的最后一个 “ 始料不及 ” ，婚期为此又推迟了一天。但与他们 35 年的坎坷历程相比，这可以算成是忽略不计的瞬间。今天，他们将在温莎市政厅为这段 “ 荡气回肠 ” 的爱情长跑画上一个句号。
如果说查尔斯的第一场婚礼像一个童话，这一次却在接近真实。来自英国广播公司 (BBC) 的消息称，英国下院议员迈克尔 · 古宁斯等人相信，查尔斯为了迎娶卡米拉为妻，已经与英国女王达成了秘密协议。古宁斯说： “ 我和我的同事都相信，查尔斯为娶卡米拉和女王达成了一项协议：那就是他娶卡米拉为妻，而威廉王子将可以直接当国王。 ”
查尔斯的 “ 远见 ”
江山与情人能否兼得
担心当不上英国国王
查尔斯的传记作家安东尼 · 赫尔登曾说： “ 查尔斯身体内的每一个细胞都渴望成为一个国王。这是他生命的意义，如果没有这一等待，他的生命将什么也不是。 ”
然而，白金汉宫发言人证实，英国女王伊丽莎白二世已经做出决定，她将一直担任女王直到死去，中间不会退位，按照英国王室女性成员一向长寿的传统，如果英国女王活到王太后一般年龄 (101 岁 ) 才去世，那么王储查尔斯到时已经 79 岁，如此年纪的人继承王位，肯定会在英国引发巨大的争议。
查尔斯的密友也透露说，查尔斯私下里一直担心他永远也不会成为英国国王，他对自己的前景有时充满了悲观态度， “ 他一直担心自己不能继承王位，他也总是跟朋友谈起这一点。也许他会比母亲先去世，也许当他等到继承王位时，他已经太老或太衰弱，无法履行国王的职责。 ”
因此，一直苦苦等待而仍没有当上国王的查尔斯很可能会失去耐心，于是宁可像爱德华八世一样 “ 为爱弃江山 ” ，选择迎娶情人归。至于查尔斯和女王之间是否真有这样的交换协议，也许只能用时间来证明了。
不错的王储
事实上，除了麻烦的感情生活，查尔斯是一个不错的王储。
他并不是只懂儿女情长的纨绔子弟，他曾因攻击现代建筑、支持有机农场和非常规药物而受到嘲笑，但这些观念现在都得到了共识。
自 1976 年开始，王子信托基金已帮助培训超过 50 万境遇不佳的年轻人，指导和帮助他们开始自己的事业。他的 “ 公爵原创 ” 美食和有机食品的生产线使有机农场生机勃勃，销售 125 种产品，去年盈利近 200 万美元，全部捐给慈善事业。
所有的爱情童话在男女主人公战胜了妖魔鬼怪或经历了千难万险、最终走到一起后，都以同样的话结尾 —— 他们从此过上了幸福的生活。但人们都明白，童话每每到此便戛然而止，那是因为婚姻中不再有童话。
那么查尔斯与卡米拉从此会过上幸福的生活吗？当然没人能够准确预测这个结果。
查尔斯与戴安娜一度被认为是那么美满的一对儿，结果他们的悲剧证明，全世界的人都看走了眼。
不过，人们在分析了卡米拉的个性后推测，这个被称为 “ 年龄是戴妃两倍、美貌是戴妃一半的女人 ” 的幸福指数可能会高于戴安娜。
卡米拉的 “ 童话 ”
幸福指数高于戴安娜
多年沉默让人们刮目
卡米拉年轻时的一位朋友回忆说，上个世纪六十年代中期，卡米拉开始参加社交活动，她希望在上流社会的圈子里找到一位门当户对的如意郎君。每当有帅气的小伙子进入她的视野，她的眸子会立即闪烁出热情的光彩。
她正是以这样的方式俘虏了当时年轻而风流的王子。
在查尔斯与戴安娜结婚以后，卡米拉作为 “ 第三者 ” 、 “ 查尔斯的情妇 ” 和 “ 胆敢破坏童话的坏女人 ” 声名远扬，她曾经被外国的肥皂剧塑造成反派人物，甚至还有过在超市里被人当面谩骂和往脸上扔面包圈的屈辱经历。而卡米拉深知自己角色的不光彩和舆论的强大力量，她自己从没辩解过，也反对别人为自己辩解。她多年的沉默最终让人们刮目。
老派女人与王储更般配
不久前，英国宪法事务大臣证实，一旦查尔斯王储继位，从法律上讲，卡米拉将自动成为王后。
尽管有人暗示，查尔斯王储当初在宣布卡米拉不封后的决定时态度并不真诚，因为他非常清楚，国王的妻子自动成为王后的法律自 1936 年就有了，但是很多熟人都出面证明，卡米拉并不是贪恋王后头衔的人。
卡米拉从来都没有漂亮过，当她与王储即将正式结婚的消息传出后，人们委婉地评价说， “ 他们很般配 ” 。卡米拉的为人一向和风细语，这是她最明显有别于年轻气盛、容易脾气急躁的戴安娜的地方，她充满母性的关爱与呵护让王储感到舒服和轻松。有人说，与戴安娜相比，卡米拉仍然属于老派的女人，她性格坚定，彬彬有礼，能忍辱负重，永远支持丈夫。她更适合查尔斯这样古板的国王。所以她的幸福指数可能要高于戴安娜。
【婚礼日程】
- 当地时间 9 日 12 时 30 分，婚礼将在伦敦西部的温莎市政厅举行。查尔斯长子 22 岁的威廉和卡米拉长子 30 岁的汤姆 · 帕克 · 鲍尔斯将作为见证人出现，现场只有 28 名最亲近家庭成员。
-20 分钟后，卡米拉成为 “ 康沃尔公爵夫人 ” 和 “ 威尔士王妃 ” 。
- 下午 2 时 30 分，约 800 名来宾将聚集温莎堡圣乔治礼拜堂，参加由坎特伯雷大主教罗恩 · 威廉斯主持的祈福仪式。
- 下午 3 时 15 分，新人在宣誓对彼此忠诚后，彼此祝福，然后前往温莎堡参加由女王伊丽莎白设宴款待的庆祝舞会。
- 舞会大致于下午 5 时 45 分结束。
【忏悔词】
由于查尔斯和卡米拉被认为对各自的婚姻不忠，因此他们必须在祈福仪式上为自己的不忠行为请求宽恕。而二人的忏悔词将来自 17 世纪的英国国教祈祷书。
“ 我们承认自己犯下的严重罪孽，并为之感到悲伤， ” 其中一句这样念道。
仪式上，坎特伯雷大主教罗恩 · 威廉斯将问王储： “ 查尔斯，你肯定会对自己的妻子忠诚，并为了你们的生活抛弃其它一切吗？ ”
主教还会问女王和参加仪式的 800 多名宾客： “ 你们，他们 ( 查尔斯和卡米拉 ) 的家人和朋友，会在现在以及将来支持他们吗？
