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Royal wedding to be delayed for Pope's funeral
Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles will delay their civil ceremony until Saturday so that the prince may represent Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.By ROBERT BARR
The Associated Press
LONDON, April 4 -- Prince Charles will delay his wedding by a day to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II on Friday, his office announced Monday.
Britain's Prince Charles and his bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles, seen here leaving church, have delayed their wedding by a day in order for Prince Charles to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II. (AP/Tim Ockenden)The heir to the British throne was to have wed Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony on Friday but instead will represent Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral.
Charles and Parker Bowles made the decision to move the wedding to Saturday after he cut short his Swiss skiing vacation Monday, a spokesman for his Clarence House office said.
Charles returned to attend a memorial service for the pope at London's Westminster Cathedral, which Parker Bowles also planned to attend, the spokesman said. She will not be going to the funeral, the spokesman added.
Charles and Parker Bowles plan to marry in a civil ceremony in the town hall at Windsor, west of London.
Meanwhile, a replica of Parker Bowles' diamond engagement ring went on sale at a British supermarket Monday _ and immediately became the chain's fastest selling jewelry item.
Asda is offering copies of the royal ring in sterling silver and emerald-cut cubic zirconia that retail for $34, and as of Monday morning, 30 percent of the 2,500 replicas had been sold, said Asda spokesman Ed Watson.
Parker Bowles' ring formerly belonged to the late Queen Mother Elizabeth and is made of platinum with a square central diamond with three diamond baguettes _ rectangular diamonds _ on either side.
Asda is also promising an upscale, made-to-order version priced at $54,000. It will be platinum with one 3.8-carat diamond and six others weighing a total of 1 carat.
Justine Reid, Asda's jewelry buyer, said the store has been "inundated with requests from royalists from as far afield as Australia and Japan" for the less expensive replica.
Office clerk Sandra Wall, 50, from Kent county south of London, was one of the first to buy a replica ring Monday at a store in south London.
"I'm a great fan of the royal family," she said. "I think it's great that they are finally getting married. I hope they will be very happy for the rest of their lives."
Story Produced by: Beth Jenkins
