Britain's 56-year-old Prince Charles and his long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles, 57, tied the knot Saturday at a short civil service inside the Guildhall of Windsor, west of London.

Parker Bowles, in an ivory silk coat over her chiffon dress, and Charles, wearing a classic black and grey morning suit, emerged arm-in-arm, smiled and waved to the crowd.

Thousands of people waved flags and cheered. However, amid the cheers, there were also boos for the two divorcees.

The service, intended to be a "low-key" one, was attended by 28 royals apart from the Queen who, as the supreme head of the Churchof England, deems it improper for her to take part in a civil wedding.

The newly-weds were later blessed by the Queen in St. George's Chapel and later the Queen mother held a reception for 800 in the Windsor Castle.

Parker Bowles emerged from the wedding as the Duchess of Cornwall, which she preferred, instead of Princess of Wales. Afterthat, the couple will head for Scotland for their honeymoon.

The wedding was postponed from Friday so that Charles, the heir to the throne, could attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome which fell on the same day.

The simple ceremony contrasted sharply with Charles' spectacular cathedral wedding in 1981 to his former wife Princess Diana, who divorced with Charles in 1996 and died in a car accident in Britain in 1997.