Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles Wed
WINDSOR, England - Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in a modest town hall ceremony Saturday with the blessing of the queen and the Church of England, sealing a tangled love affair ignited at a polo match more than 30 years ago.
Once married, the royals knelt beneath the towering Gothic arches of St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, nervously pledging their undying love and confessing their "sins and wickedness" — a phrase from the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer — as their vows were blessed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Despite years of public and media criticism, even ridicule, Charles and Camilla's shared affection appeared to finally to have won them a measure of acceptance from the British public, many of whom blamed their relationship for poisoning Charles' marriage to Britain's beloved Princess Diana.
"He did a bit of a dirty job on Diana," said Tina Quinney, 59, one of the thousands of people lining the streets of this royal town. "But the past is the past."
The ceremonies went off flawlessly on a bright, sunny day despite sinister omens: A change of location for the civil wedding vows, unsubstantiated reports of the queen's "fury" that the couple would wed at all, and a one-day postponement for Pope John Paul II's funeral.
Camilla is now officially the Princess of Wales, though she will be known as the Duchess of Cornwall in deference to enduring public affection for Diana. When Charles is crowned, she will be queen — but the prince's office says she will use the title Princess Consort.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the bride will ever be known as Queen Camilla.
Throughout the day, the couple suffered from jitters and displayed tenderness, even playfulness. Their hands knocked against one another several times before they found a comfortable clasp during the church blessing. Outside, Camilla clutched her hat awkwardly in a blustery wind as she waved to well-wishers with her bouquet of spring flowers.
But the affection between the couple, who first met and fell in love in the early 1970s, was apparent. Charles, 56, reached over to help his new wife, 57, find her place in her prayer book as they stood before the archbishop. He gently touched her arm as a signal when it was time to kneel.
Camilla appeared emotional at times during the service; he was fidgety and somber. Even the normally reserved queen — whose views about her son's wedding have been the subject of endless media speculation — beamed as she emerged from the chapel.
The couple sped away for their honeymoon on the prince's Balmoral estate in Scotland in a car festooned with red, blue and white balloons and the words "Just Married" scrawled on the back window.
The wedding, the second for both Charles and Camilla, was far simpler than his spectacular 1981 nuptials with 20-year-old Diana. Saturday, the local registrar, Clair Williams, conducted the 25-minute civil ceremony at Windsor's 17th-century Guildhall, or town hall, before fewer than 30 guests — mostly relatives of the bride and groom.
Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, stayed away out of respect for their son's wish that the ceremony be "low key." But they were very much a presence at the religious blessing afterward, being the last to arrive in their sleek, maroon and black Rolls-Royce.
The blessing ceremony, conducted by Archbishop Rowan Williams, was broadcast live and drew about 800 guests, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and Camilla's ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
Charles and Camilla chose a civil wedding because the Church of England, which Charles will one day symbolically head as king, frowns on divorcees remarrying. But the religious blessing led by the Archbishop of Canterbury demonstrated the Anglican hierarchy's approval of the union.
"Heavenly father, we offer thee our souls and bodies, our thoughts and words and deeds, our love for one another," bride and groom said while kneeling before Williams. "Unite our wills in thy will, that we may grow together in love and peace all the days of our life."
Feelings about Camilla and her new royal role were mixed among the 15,000 people who crowded the streets of Windsor. Most of those interviewed said the couple deserved happiness, though some couldn't shake the memories of Charles' infidelity during his marriage to Diana.
"This time Charles gets to make his choice," said Irene Bellamy, 59, of Manitoba, Canada, standing across from the Guildhall. "Much as we loved Diana, this is his choice ... a love match."
Charles has admitted an adulterous relationship with Camilla after his first marriage had "irretrievably broken down"; Diana also acknowledged that she had been unfaithful. Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles until 1995, and the couple had two children. He attended the Windsor Castle ceremony, smiling and chatting with other guests.
Charles and Camilla met in their early 20s and quickly became romantically involved, but they made no commitment before he went to sea with the Royal Navy. She married Parker Bowles while the prince was gone. They remained close friends, and eventually became lovers again.
Their effort to win public acceptance was put on hold after Diana's 1997 death in a Paris car crash but eventually resumed in a carefully choreographed series of steps.
Charles and Camilla's confession to sinning is a standard element of an Anglican blessing of a civil wedding. However, they chose a particularly stark wording from the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, which some took as public acknowledgment that their relationship was at one time adulterous. They publicly resolved to be faithful.
The outdoorsy Camilla, more often photographed in sportswear, was elegant in a cream chiffon dress and long, matching oyster silk coat for the civil service. Her straw hat was overlaid with ivory French lace and trimmed with a fountain of feathers.
At the Windsor Castle blessing, she wore a long, fitted silk porcelain-blue dress and high-collared coat embroidered with gold thread, with a slight train. Both outfits were designed by Robinson Valentine, a design team with a salon in London's Kensington district.
Charles wore a morning coat and gray pinstripe trousers with a gray waistcoat. The couple's rings were made of Welsh gold. Charles put his on his left little finger.
Prince William and Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla's son, served as witnesses to the marriage.
April 10, 2005
April 08, 2005
Pope Laid to Rest As World Bids Farewell
VATICAN CITY - With presidents and kings looking on, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square sang, applauded and chanted for the church to declare John Paul II a saint as the pope was laid to rest Friday in an unprecedented gathering of the mighty and the meek.
John Paul, who spread his message of peace to all corners of the planet, was buried among his predecessors back to the apostle Peter while tens of millions followed the funeral rites in their homes, in overflowing churches and on giant television screens set up in fields, sports stadiums and town squares.
In St. Peter's Square, at the center of it all, the book of the Gospels lay on a simple cypress coffin, adorned with a cross and an "M" for the Virgin Mary. A brisk wind lifted the book's pages and rippled the red vestments of cardinals, along with the turbans, fezzes and yarmulkes worn by leaders of other faiths touched by the global pope.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a confidant of the pope and a possible successor, delivered a homily that traced John Paul's path from a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to the leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics.
"Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude," Ratzinger said. Usually unflappable, the German-born cardinal choked with emotion. "Santo! Santo!" the crowd responded, waving banners reading "Santo Subito" — "Immediate Sainthood."
"I'm here not only to pray for him, but also to pray to him, because I believe he's a saint," said Therese Ivers, 24, of Ventura, Calif., holding high an American flag in the middle of the crowd on the broad Via della Conciliazione, which stretches from St. Peter's Square to the Tiber River.
The dignitaries from 138 countries reflected the extraordinary mix of faiths and cultures that John Paul courted during his 26-year papacy: Orthodox bishops in long black robes, Jews in yarmulkes, Arabs in checkered head scarves, Central Asians in lambskin caps and Western political leaders in dark suits.
In a gesture the pope would certainly have applauded, Israeli President Moshe Katsav said he shook hands and chatted briefly with the leaders of his country's archenemies, Syria and Iran.
Bells tolled as the delegations took their places on red-cushioned wooden seats. President Bush, accompanied by his predecessors Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, was the first American president to attend a papal funeral.
The 2 1/2-hour Mass began with the Vatican's Sistine Choir singing the Gregorian chant, "Grant Him Eternal Rest, O Lord."
Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, said John Paul was a "priest to the last" who offered his life for God and his flock, "especially amid the sufferings of his final months." He was interrupted by applause at least 10 times.
The Mass ended with cardinals, dignitaries and pilgrims standing and singing: "May the angels accompany you into heaven, may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and lead you to Holy Jerusalem."
Twelve white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin back into St. Peter's Basilica, where it was nested inside a second casket of zinc and a third of walnut.
In a spontaneous gesture of respect, cardinals standing along the aisles removed their "zucchettos," or skull caps as the coffin went by, according to Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. "It was the last tribute to the Holy Father," he said.
In a grotto beneath the basilica, the casket was lowered into the ground in a plot inside a small chapel, between the tombs of two women: Queen Christina of Sweden and Queen Carlotta of Cyprus, said a senior Vatican official who attended the ceremony.
"Lord, grant him eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon him," said Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who performed the private service.
The Vatican grottoes — cramped, narrow passageways below the existing basilica — hold the remains of popes of centuries past, including the tomb traditionally believed to hold those of the apostle Peter, the first pope. Royals and the Roman Emperor Otto II are also buried there.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Vatican would announce in a few days when the grottoes would be reopened to the public. Keeping them closed was a way of clearing the city of the throngs of pilgrims.
A drizzle began to fall Friday afternoon as exhausted travelers with overstuffed backpacks trudged toward bus and train stations. Poles whose 24-hour trips to Rome had ended only hours earlier got back in their cars for the long drive home.
During the ceremony, at least 300,000 people who camped out overnight on chilly streets filled St. Peter's Square and spilled out onto the Via della Conciliazione. Millions more watched on giant video screens set up across Rome, from university campuses to the Circus Maximus, where ancient Romans held chariot races centuries before Christianity was born.
Funerals in the last century for Mohandas Gandhi of India, Mao Zedong of China and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran drew millions, too, but they lacked the presence of leaders from so many nations.
The Israeli president said his handshake with Syrian President Bashar Assad came at the point in the service when members of the congregation "exchange the peace." Britain's Prince Charles drew criticism from two European Union legislators for shaking hands at that same moment with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, whose government is reviled internationally.
Despite the crowd's size Friday, there were few disturbances, and strangers shared food, water and umbrellas for shade in an outpouring of kindness that honored John Paul's message. When pilgrims broke out into song, others joined the hymns in different languages.
"We are the generation of John Paul II," said Mara Poole, a 27-year-old housewife from St. Paul, Minn., tears streaming down her face.
Hundreds of thousands of Poles who came for the funeral waved their red-and-white national flag. Some carried banners with the logo of "Solidarity," the Polish labor movement the pope supported in his confrontations with communism.
"He was all people's father, especially for us, the Poles," said Dominika Bolechowska, 29, a teacher from the pope's favorite mountain town of Zakopane, who traveled 28 hours by bus and spent a night on the streets with her 2-year-old son.
Across Africa, Asia and the Americas, church bells tolled and millions of people gathered in open fields, sports stadiums, town squares and cathedrals to watch the funeral on large screens. Millions more mourned privately at home.
Live footage was beamed across the Middle East by the television station al-Jazeera, and Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs joined Roman Catholics in church services and prayers throughout Asia to honor the pope.
Rome itself, where an estimated 4 million pilgrims doubled the population, was at a standstill as extraordinary security measures went in place. Authorities banned vehicle traffic throughout the city and combat jets, anti-aircraft batteries and an AWACS surveillance plane enforced an order to close airspace.
Two hours after the funeral, two Italian F-16 fighter jets intercepted an executive plane heading to Rome that intelligence sources worried might be carrying a bomb, an Air Force spokesman said. No bomb was found. Authorities searched and cleared a second plane on the ground.
Naval ships patrolled both the Mediterranean coast and the Tiber near Vatican City, the tiny sovereign city-state encompassed by the Italian capital. Carabinieri armed with automatic rifles stood at virtually every major intersection, and snipers were posted on rooftops.
School was canceled in Rome, and government workers got the day off. Many stores were shuttered, with signs reading: "Closed for mourning in honor of His Sanctity John Paul II."
"The entire world is here," said Sister Claudira Ribeira Santos, a Brazilian nun. "John Paul managed to speak for all humanity in an era of wars and natural disasters, for peace and reconciliation. He tore down the walls of countries, of classes, of religions."
VATICAN CITY - With presidents and kings looking on, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square sang, applauded and chanted for the church to declare John Paul II a saint as the pope was laid to rest Friday in an unprecedented gathering of the mighty and the meek.
John Paul, who spread his message of peace to all corners of the planet, was buried among his predecessors back to the apostle Peter while tens of millions followed the funeral rites in their homes, in overflowing churches and on giant television screens set up in fields, sports stadiums and town squares.
In St. Peter's Square, at the center of it all, the book of the Gospels lay on a simple cypress coffin, adorned with a cross and an "M" for the Virgin Mary. A brisk wind lifted the book's pages and rippled the red vestments of cardinals, along with the turbans, fezzes and yarmulkes worn by leaders of other faiths touched by the global pope.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a confidant of the pope and a possible successor, delivered a homily that traced John Paul's path from a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to the leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics.
"Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude," Ratzinger said. Usually unflappable, the German-born cardinal choked with emotion. "Santo! Santo!" the crowd responded, waving banners reading "Santo Subito" — "Immediate Sainthood."
"I'm here not only to pray for him, but also to pray to him, because I believe he's a saint," said Therese Ivers, 24, of Ventura, Calif., holding high an American flag in the middle of the crowd on the broad Via della Conciliazione, which stretches from St. Peter's Square to the Tiber River.
The dignitaries from 138 countries reflected the extraordinary mix of faiths and cultures that John Paul courted during his 26-year papacy: Orthodox bishops in long black robes, Jews in yarmulkes, Arabs in checkered head scarves, Central Asians in lambskin caps and Western political leaders in dark suits.
In a gesture the pope would certainly have applauded, Israeli President Moshe Katsav said he shook hands and chatted briefly with the leaders of his country's archenemies, Syria and Iran.
Bells tolled as the delegations took their places on red-cushioned wooden seats. President Bush, accompanied by his predecessors Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, was the first American president to attend a papal funeral.
The 2 1/2-hour Mass began with the Vatican's Sistine Choir singing the Gregorian chant, "Grant Him Eternal Rest, O Lord."
Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, said John Paul was a "priest to the last" who offered his life for God and his flock, "especially amid the sufferings of his final months." He was interrupted by applause at least 10 times.
The Mass ended with cardinals, dignitaries and pilgrims standing and singing: "May the angels accompany you into heaven, may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and lead you to Holy Jerusalem."
Twelve white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin back into St. Peter's Basilica, where it was nested inside a second casket of zinc and a third of walnut.
In a spontaneous gesture of respect, cardinals standing along the aisles removed their "zucchettos," or skull caps as the coffin went by, according to Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. "It was the last tribute to the Holy Father," he said.
In a grotto beneath the basilica, the casket was lowered into the ground in a plot inside a small chapel, between the tombs of two women: Queen Christina of Sweden and Queen Carlotta of Cyprus, said a senior Vatican official who attended the ceremony.
"Lord, grant him eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon him," said Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who performed the private service.
The Vatican grottoes — cramped, narrow passageways below the existing basilica — hold the remains of popes of centuries past, including the tomb traditionally believed to hold those of the apostle Peter, the first pope. Royals and the Roman Emperor Otto II are also buried there.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Vatican would announce in a few days when the grottoes would be reopened to the public. Keeping them closed was a way of clearing the city of the throngs of pilgrims.
A drizzle began to fall Friday afternoon as exhausted travelers with overstuffed backpacks trudged toward bus and train stations. Poles whose 24-hour trips to Rome had ended only hours earlier got back in their cars for the long drive home.
During the ceremony, at least 300,000 people who camped out overnight on chilly streets filled St. Peter's Square and spilled out onto the Via della Conciliazione. Millions more watched on giant video screens set up across Rome, from university campuses to the Circus Maximus, where ancient Romans held chariot races centuries before Christianity was born.
Funerals in the last century for Mohandas Gandhi of India, Mao Zedong of China and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran drew millions, too, but they lacked the presence of leaders from so many nations.
The Israeli president said his handshake with Syrian President Bashar Assad came at the point in the service when members of the congregation "exchange the peace." Britain's Prince Charles drew criticism from two European Union legislators for shaking hands at that same moment with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, whose government is reviled internationally.
Despite the crowd's size Friday, there were few disturbances, and strangers shared food, water and umbrellas for shade in an outpouring of kindness that honored John Paul's message. When pilgrims broke out into song, others joined the hymns in different languages.
"We are the generation of John Paul II," said Mara Poole, a 27-year-old housewife from St. Paul, Minn., tears streaming down her face.
Hundreds of thousands of Poles who came for the funeral waved their red-and-white national flag. Some carried banners with the logo of "Solidarity," the Polish labor movement the pope supported in his confrontations with communism.
"He was all people's father, especially for us, the Poles," said Dominika Bolechowska, 29, a teacher from the pope's favorite mountain town of Zakopane, who traveled 28 hours by bus and spent a night on the streets with her 2-year-old son.
Across Africa, Asia and the Americas, church bells tolled and millions of people gathered in open fields, sports stadiums, town squares and cathedrals to watch the funeral on large screens. Millions more mourned privately at home.
Live footage was beamed across the Middle East by the television station al-Jazeera, and Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs joined Roman Catholics in church services and prayers throughout Asia to honor the pope.
Rome itself, where an estimated 4 million pilgrims doubled the population, was at a standstill as extraordinary security measures went in place. Authorities banned vehicle traffic throughout the city and combat jets, anti-aircraft batteries and an AWACS surveillance plane enforced an order to close airspace.
Two hours after the funeral, two Italian F-16 fighter jets intercepted an executive plane heading to Rome that intelligence sources worried might be carrying a bomb, an Air Force spokesman said. No bomb was found. Authorities searched and cleared a second plane on the ground.
Naval ships patrolled both the Mediterranean coast and the Tiber near Vatican City, the tiny sovereign city-state encompassed by the Italian capital. Carabinieri armed with automatic rifles stood at virtually every major intersection, and snipers were posted on rooftops.
School was canceled in Rome, and government workers got the day off. Many stores were shuttered, with signs reading: "Closed for mourning in honor of His Sanctity John Paul II."
"The entire world is here," said Sister Claudira Ribeira Santos, a Brazilian nun. "John Paul managed to speak for all humanity in an era of wars and natural disasters, for peace and reconciliation. He tore down the walls of countries, of classes, of religions."
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