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Charles Reportedly Gets Permission to Wed Camilla
British Prince Charles' office says he hasn't changed his plans, and Buckingham Palace won't talk at all. But a published report claims that Queen Elizabeth II has agreed that her son, Prince Charles, may marry his longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles, perhaps in 2003.
"It is not the sort of speculation we would ever comment on," Buckingham Palace said Thursday in response to a story in the current issue of The Spectator. At Charles' official residence, St. James's Palace, the official line remained that Charles had no plans to marry. "The position has not changed," said a spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The William Hill betting shops did take the report seriously, shortening the odds of the couple tying the knot within the next two years from 5-1 to 3-1.
A marriage is thought to be problematic because both are divorced. Charles would be free to marry in the Church of England because his former wife, Princess Diana, is dead, but Parker Bowles' former husband is alive. The Church of England frowns on such second marriages, but is in the process of reconsidering that policy.
Under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, royal heirs need the monarch's approval to marry.
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