On Thursday the gray-haired prince announced April 8th as the day of his second marriage. The 56-year-old Prince Charles and his long-time mistress Camilla Parker Bowles, 57, first met 33 years ago at a polo match, and preserved their passion through their lives and their marriages. Charles and Princess Diana divorced in 1996, a year before she died in a car crash in Paris. Parker Bowles divorced her husband in 1995.

Queen Elizabeth II and both young princes William, 22, and Harry, 20, are happy to see Charles getting married. In a statement issued by Clarence House, Charles's London residence, Diana’s children said: "We are both very happy for our father and Camilla and we wish them all the luck in the future."

The wedding is set to take place in Windsor Castle, according to Reuters. "It will not be huge like St Paul's. It is a largely private, family affair," a senior palace official said.

All the time before the big day Prince Charles is going to spend in Australia, with stops in Perth, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

Although most Britons approved of Charles’s decision to make Camilla an honest woman, most of them wouldn’t like to see her as the queen of their country. The royal family also said on Thursday - Camilla Parker Bowles will never hold the title of queen but eventually will be called Her Royal Highness Princess Consort instead.

In their first public appearance together since the announcement at the Windsor Castle Thursday night the future bride was wearing a fuchsia gown, also showing off her impressive engagement ring, said to be a royal heirloom, with a square-cut central diamond and three diamond baguettes on either side.

AP Photo: Camilla Parker Bowles