Prince Charles plans to wed Camilla Parker Bowles

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.\nThe Prince of Wales and Parker Bowles will marry Friday, April 8, at Windsor Castle, said the Clarence House, Charles' residence and office.\nDuring a visit to London's financial district Thursday, Charles accepted congratulations on his pending nuptials.\n"Thank you very much, you're so kind." he said. "I am very excited."\nOne 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.\nThat 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 Charles emerged in 1992.\nThere is no law saying the wife of a king should be queen, but it is a historic convention. Charles' office said there was no legal reason why Parker Bowles could not become queen, saying the decision was made by the couple.\nPrince Charles' sons, William and Harry, were "delighted" by the news and want the couple to be happy, a spokesman for Charles' office said Thursday.\nThe marriage will be a civil service and not a Church of England service.\n"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.\nThe 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.\nAs 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.\nThe announcement received the blessing of Queen Elizabeth II, who said she was very happy that her son and Parker Bowles will marry.\nPrime Minister Tony Blair also said he was "delighted"