Prince Charles, Camilla tie the knot

The blessing included the couple and the congregation confessing "manifold sins and wickedness" — words from the Book of Common Prayer. They later pledged to be faithful in their marriage. The blessing ceremony was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and about 800 guests, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and the bride’s ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla takes on Diana’s previous status as Princess of Wales but she plans to defer to public sentiment by avoiding using the title and will instead be known as the Duchess of Cornwall.

The bride wore an oyster-coloured silk coat with a herringbone stitch, a matching chiffon dress and a straw, lace and feathered hat. For the blessing ceremony, she changed into a long, porcelain-blue silk dress and a gold-leafed feather headdress. She carried a small, simple floral bouquet bound with silk from her dress. Instead of the military uniform he wore at his first wedding, Charles was in formal morning wear, and the simplicity of the wedding stood in contrast to the pomp and grandeur of the first royal nuptials in St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Excited cheers greeted Charles’ sons Prince William and Prince Harry when the formally attired young men arrived at the Guildhall. William smiled at the crowd, and Harry waved shyly. Jasmine and lily of the valley —known to symbolise the return of happiness — lined the hall where the civil ceremony took place. After the reception at the castle, the pair left for their honeymoon at a Scottish hunting lodge that had belonged to the prince’s grandmother. The couple was driven in a car adorned with red, white and blue balloons. Scrawled on the windshield was "Prince and Duchess." The back window read: "Just married." The front had "C&C." "I think it’s fantastic that it’s ... formalised and recognised," said Verity Lee, 30, wearing a tiara and holding a placard with Charles and Camilla’s images. "They deserve to be happy."

Nearly eight years after Diana’s death, some have bridled at accepting Parker Bowles as a future queen, seeing her relationship with Charles as the reason his first marriage fell apart. Diana fans stood outside her former London home. About 15 decked the gates with flowers and pictures of the late princess. The wedding represents a break in tradition for the fifty-something divorcees who were married in a civil ceremony. Lining the streets of this handsome old town buffed to a royal luster for the wedding, the crowds waited in chilly sunshine for the nuptials, postponed a day for the Pope’s funeral.

"It’s up to him who he marries," said Barbara Murray, 41, who camped out in this royal hub overnight with her two daughters to stake out a vantage point to see the couple. "Whoever he chose wouldn’t be the same as Diana." "She broke up their marriage," said Yvonne Williams, 67, who raised a banner that read "Long live the Queen, Diana Forever: King Charles, Queen Camilla — Never." Security was tight with snipers on rooftops, plainclothes officers moving around in the crowd, sniffer dogs and police armed with handguns watching over streets around Windsor Castle.

Police detained two people, including a smiling streaker who broke away from the crowd. Another was also detained for causing a public disturbance. Thames Valley Police, responsible outside the castle, had 550 officers on duty and Scotland Yard, which is in charge inside the castle had dozens, including sharpshooters. Inside Windsor Castle’s gates, tents were erected for the world’s media which had descended upon the township, while every vantage point, from private balconies to the roof of a local liquor store, was converted into a temporary broadcast location. Hotels were fully booked, and souvenir shops were doing a brisk trade in royal wedding mugs and tea towels.