It was a marriage for the history books but the bride and groom
soon discovered that even royalty has to play by some rules.
When King Charles and Queen Camilla announced their engagement
in February 2005, they said almost straight away that they would
marry in April that year in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle.
They also announced they would have their union blessed later that
same day in a service at St. George’s Chapel. Just a week later,
they had to rearrange their civil ceremony – but why?
It all came down to the terms of a licence. Until the mid-1990s,
civil marriages in England and Wales could only be held in register
offices. The Marriages Act 1994 allowed these ceremonies to take
place in other buildings, like castles, as long as the venue is
licenced. Windsor Castle wasn’t licenced and almost as soon as
applications began to allow this royal wedding to take place within
its ancient walls, a rather large problem arose.
The terms of a licence state that the venue must ‘’be regularly
available to the public for the solemnization of marriages’’. If
the couple did get the go ahead to hold their civil wedding at
Windsor Castle then, for the next three years, the ancient building
had to be open to others to say ‘I do’ there as well.
Which is why, on February 17th 2005, the couple
announced they would instead get married at the nearby Windsor
Guildhall in the town’s High Street. It’s not far from Castle Hill
which leads to the royal residence and it’s steeped in history. The
17th century Grade I listed building was designed
by Sir Christopher Wren and restored in the
19th century. King Charles and Queen Camilla wed in
the smaller of the two locations available for civil marriages, the
Ascot Room, and their marriage is now included in the venue’s story
on the local authority’s website.
Since then, a lot has changed. Civil marriages now account for
the majority of weddings in England and Wales and there are
thousands of venues licensed for ceremonies including several
present and former royal homes. Kensington Palace has a licence as
do Hampton Court Palace, Kew Palace and the Banqueting House. But
not Windsor Castle. The only weddings that take place there are
religious ceremonies with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank among the recent couples to
say ‘I do’ there.
A government consultation into wedding laws has just been
launched. However, it’s unlikely to change the status of Windsor
Castle as a marriage venue.
