Prince Charles Weds Camilla Parker Bowles

Prince Charles and his bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Guildhall in Windsor after their civil wedding. (Peter Tarry - AP)

The service at St. George's Chapel began promptly at 2:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. EDT) with the couple walking arm-in-arm into the church while a string orchestra played. They knelt before the archbishop for his blessing. Along with the entire congregation, the newlyweds confessed to "manifold sins and wicknedness" as they recited from the Book of Common Prayer. They also individually pledged to be faithful to each other "with the help of God." Following that, their exchange of rings was recognized by the archbishop as they held hands.

The new duchess of Cornwall had changed into another Robinson-Valentine outfit for the church blessing. Palace officials described it as long, fitted silk porcelain blue dress. Over that she wore a similarly colored high-collared coat, which featured a slight train and embroidered gold thread. She chose a feather headdress by Irish-born milliner Philip Treacy and carried a small bouquet of blue and yellow flowers.

"Robinson Valentine believed the dress required a sense of occasion for St. George's Chapel and so the aim was a flowing, elegant line, concentrating on proportion, fit and silhouette," Charles' office said, according to the Associated Press. "The print and the embroidery create texture whilst retaining the lightness and subtlety of the fabric."

The couple marched out of the church at the end of the 40-minute ceremony, followed by the rest of the royal family. When they emerged at the front door, they stood briefly on the stairs just ahead of Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip. Then the newlyweds moved across the steps and for about 15 minutes greeted onlookers who cheered them from behind the police barricades.

After the reception at the castle, they left for a honeymoon in Scotland.

Charles met Camilla Shand in 1970 at a polo match in Windsor. She reportedly reminded him of a long-running affair between two of their forebears. "My great-great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress, so how about it?" she jokingly asked him. Although a romance ensued, it apparently faded when Charles joined the navy and Camilla eventually married Andrew Parker Bowles, a friend of Charles's.

Still, they remained good friends and rekindled their affair sometime before Charles met and married Diana Spencer.

As the marriage of Charles and Diana broke apart, it is still unclear who strayed first. Charles admitted in a 1994 interview that he had committed adultery, but only after the marriage had "irretrievably broken down." Charles and Diana divorced in 1996.

The Parker Bowleses divorced in 1995.

In recent years Charles has sought steadily to bring Parker Bowles into the public eye. In 1998 she met Prince William and Prince Harry for the first time, and she and the prince co-hosted a party to celebrate Charles's 50th birthday. They were photographed vacationing together in 2000 and kissing in public in 2001.

Staff writer Lexie Verdon in Washington contributed to this story.