On April 8, Britain's Prince Charles will marry his longtime girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony to be held at Windsor Castle. A service of prayer and dedication, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury will be held at St. George's Chapel following the ceremony.

The couple's wedding will be witnessed only by family and friends, a far cry from Prince Charles' first wedding, which was witnessed by somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 million people all over the world. This ceremony culminates a romance that has always seemed almost as though it were a made-for-TV movie!

Charles' relationship with Camilla was the source of continuing angst for his first wife, and one has to wonder how she would have reacted to this development. Diana blamed Charles' continuing relationship with Camilla for the breakup of her marriage, and many Brits have continued to hold this against Camilla. Some speculate that had Diana not died tragically in 1997, Charles would not have been able to take this step even though the couple was divorced.

After the wedding, Camilla will become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, and if Charles becomes king, she will be known as the Princess Consort. She will also become the Duchess of Cornwall

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have wished the couple well, and Charles' sons Harry and William are also said to be comfortable with their father's relationship.

Both Charles and Camilla are divorced, and their marriage breaks a long-standing tradition that heirs to the throne are not permitted to marry divorcees. Charles divorced Diana in 1996 and Camilla divorced her husband, Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995.