Thursday, February 10 2005 20:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, today (Feb 10, 2005) announced that he would marry his lover Camilla Parker Bowles in April this year, ending years of speculation whether their three-decades-old romance would be solemnised in nuptials.

Camilla, would not be called queen, once Charles becomes king but would be known as the Princess Consort. After her marriage she will also carry the title of Duchess of Cornwall, The Clarence House, official residence of Prince Charles said.

It said the ceremony will take place at Windsor Castle on Friday, April 8 in "a largely private occasion for family and friends" without the pomp and circumstance of Charles's wedding to Diana in 1981.

"Mrs Parker Bowles and I are absolutely delighted. It will be a very special day for us and our families'," Prince Charles said in a statement.

Charles and Diana divorced in 1996, and Diana had blamed Parker for ruining the marriage, famously revealing in an interview that "there were three people" in their marriage.

In a statement, Queen Elizabeth II said, "The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) and I are very happy that the Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles are to marry. We have given them our warmest good wishes for their future together."

The marriage will end years of speculation on their relationship which has spanned decades.

The question of whether Prince Charles, 56, could marry his 57-year-old divorced companion has been contentious within the Anglican church. He would become head of the church on becoming king.

But the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in a statement today endorsed Prince Charles's plans to marry Bowles. "These arrangements have my strong support and are consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage which the Prince of Wales fully accepts as a committed Anglican and as prospective Supreme Governor of the Church of England," he said in a statement.

"I am pleased that Prince Charles and Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles have decided to take this important step," he added.

Alastair Bruce, a royal commentator, today said that there were no constitutional impediments for the couple to marry, although it might provoke some soul-searching in the Church of England.

In a snap poll on Sky News television, 70 percent of respondents said they did not approve of the wedding, and 30 percent were in favour.

"As far as the constitution is concerned, it is completely acceptable, perfectly all right," Bruce said. "It ends this long period of waiting and wondering, it will allow Clarence House to move forward and allow Prince Charles and his fiancee to live a full and happy life."

Prince Charles and Camilla first met at a Windsor polo match in 1970 and kept contact with each other since, as Charles's marriage to Diana, which produced two sons, Prince William, 22, and Prince Harry, 20 collapsed.

Last June, Parker Bowles was mentioned in the Prince's accounts moving into a new realm of acceptance. This week, there was further controversy over the cost of her lifestyle and how it was funded by the Prince.