Prince Charles to marry Camilla Parker Bowles, but she won't be queen

LONDON — Prince Charles said Thursday he will marry his divorced lover Camilla Parker Bowles in April, putting an official seal on a long romance that Princess Diana blamed for the breakdown of her tempestuous marriage to the heir to the throne. The announcement ruled out the possibility that she would become queen.

The Prince of Wales and Parker Bowles will marry on Friday, April 8, at Windsor Castle, said Clarence House, Charles' residence and office.

During a visit to London's financial district Thursday, Charles accepted congratulations on his pending nuptials.

"Thank you very much, you're so kind." he said. "I am very excited."

One of Charles' titles is Duke of Cornwall, so Parker Bowles will use the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall after the marriage. When Charles becomes king, she will not be known as Queen Camilla but as the princess consort, Charles' office said.

That decision by the prince appeared to be a nod to public opinion, which has never warmed to Parker Bowles, the object of ridicule after tapes of her intimate conversations with Prince Charles emerged in 1992.

Prince Charles' sons, William and Harry, were "delighted" by the news and want the couple to be happy, a spokesman for Charles' office said Thursday.

Charles and his future wife will attend a dinner at Windsor Castle later Thursday, a spokeswoman said. Parker Bowles will wear her engagement ring, but the spokeswoman gave no details about it.

The marriage will be a civil service and not a Church of England service.

"There will subsequently be a service of prayer and dedication in St. George's Chapel at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside," Charles' office said.

The decision on the type of service reflects the fact that both are divorcees, and that Parker Bowles' ex-husband is still living. In general, the Church of England, the legally established faith of the nation, disapproves of the remarriage of divorced people in church.

As Britain's monarch, Prince Charles would be the supreme governor of the Church of England. Some Anglicans could oppose him holding this role as a divorcee who remarried outside the church.

The announcement received the blessing of Queen Elizabeth II, who said she was very happy that her son and Camilla Parker Bowles will marry.

Prime Minister Tony Blair also said he was "delighted."