Wednesday, February 23 2005 12:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Queen Elizabeth II has surprised royal family watchers by announcing that she will not attend the civil marriage ceremony of her son Prince Charles to his long time companion Camilla Parker Bowles at the Guildhall in Windsor on April 8.

After the announcement last night (Feb 22, 2005), the Buckingham Palace went into damage control mode, stressing that "this is not a snub" as the Queen took the decision as the "Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wanted to keep the occasion low key".

The palace said that the Queen would attend the church blessing afterwards and was happy to host the reception.

"The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family will, of course, be going to the service of dedication at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle," Palace spokeswoman said.

"She is very pleased to be giving the wedding reception at the Castle."

Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Mrs Parker Bowles' children, Tom and Laura, are planning to attend the civil ceremony.

The Palace declined to comment on speculation that police had warned the Queen to stay away on security grounds.

The spokeswoman said, "The Queen's prime concern is that the civil ceremony should be as low key as possible, in line with the couple's wishes."

"Clearly if the Queen were to attend, the occasion would no longer be, by definition, low key."

Asked if this was a royal snub, the spokeswoman said, "The Queen is attending the service of dedication and paying for the reception - this is not a snub."