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British royal wedding site a modest building in regal town
Windsor's Guildhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles are marrying on Saturday, is a handsome building but undoubtedly a touch modest for a royal wedding ceremony.
Windsor's Guildhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles are marrying on Saturday, is a handsome building but undoubtedly a touch modest for a royal wedding ceremony.
In the heart of Windsor, a prosperous, historic community about 30 miles (50 kilometres) west of London, the Guildhall is a late-17th-century, two-storey building which serves as the local town hall as well as a venue for civil weddings.
The sturdy red-brick structure, somewhat overshadowed by the vast royal residence of Windsor Castle nearby, was designed by Sir Thomas Fitz and then completed after his death by Sir Christopher Wren.
Wren, perhaps Britain's most celebrated architect, created London's domed St Paul's Cathedral, one of the capital's best-loved landmarks and also the venue for Charles's first wedding in 1981 to Diana Spencer.
The Guildhall is known for its four neo-classical columns in its street-side entrance chamber which end about an inch (25 millimetres) from the ceiling -- meaning they therefore serve no structural function.
Legend has it that when the building was commissioned, town elders refused to believe the roof would not collapse without such pillars, and while Wren acceded to their demands he left the gaps to prove a point.
The royal couple will be married in the Ascot Room, which is much less grand than the main chamber but has the advantage of being hidden from view from the street.
After the civil wedding, the pair will have their marriage blessed in a religious ceremony at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The castle itself is the oldest royal residence in Britain as well as being its largest castle, first built by Norman invader William the Conqueror in the 11th century, giving Windsor a millennium-long link to royalty.
Within the grounds stands St George's Chapel, the resting place of dozens of royals over the past 200 years, among them monarchs such as George III and Edward VII.
Founded by Edward IV in 1475 and completed by Henry VIII, the chapel is dedicated to the patron saint of the Order of the Garter, Britain's highest order of chivalry, traditionally used as a royal reward for loyalty and military merit.
