ALSO AT THE TIMES:

... Meanwhile doubts have been raised by senior lawyers over the legality of Charles and Camilla's marriage. The couple are due to marry in the register office at Windsor Guildhall.

In a paper submitted to Lord Goldsmith, the attorney- general, Stephen Cretney QC, an emeritus fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, argues that members of the royal family are barred by a 19th century law from marrying in civil ceremonies.

...

Senior lawyers have also voiced opposition.

They include Cretney, whose view is supported by one former attorney-general and two other former senior law officers. He argues that the Marriage Act 1836 disallows members of the royal family from marrying in a civil ceremony.

This exclusion, Cretney argues, was updated in every subsequent amending statute, including the Marriage Act 1949 which governs civil weddings today.

Cretney recommends a "simple bill putting beyond doubt the capacity of members of the royal family to contract civil marriages".

~S~