A giant Royal Standard flag over Windsor Castle heralded the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, the focus of a week of celebrations in Britain. The queen has received more than 20 000 cards and 17 000 e-mails wishing her a happy birthday, Buckingham Palace said.
Britain’s most famous gay couple — Sir Elton John and Canadian filmmaker David Furnish — tied the knot on Wednesday in a star-studded event that capped the first week of civil-partnership ceremonies in the United Kingdom. Furnish, a Canadian-born filmmaker, and John have been together for 12 years.
A wedding day is always special, but for British couples getting married on Saturday at the Windsor Guildhall, their nuptials had an added sprinkling of second-hand royal glamour. Three weddings took place after Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles tied the knot inside the 17th-century civic building.
Britain’s Prince Charles wedded Camilla Parker Bowles on Saturday, turning his true love into a duchess and formalising an on-off relationship that has endured for more than three decades. The private civil ceremony and televised religious blessing drew a cheering crowd of 20 000 into the streets of Windsor, west of London.
Panic briefly gripped Windsor after Prince Charles postponed his wedding by 24 hours to Saturday but organisers and hoteliers managed to juggle their plans and now expect an even busier day. Britain’s future king and his partner, Camilla Parker Bowles, altered the date on Monday to enable Charles to attend the pope’s funeral on Friday.