BRITAIN: Queen Elizabeth's decision to stay away from the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles was described as unprecedented last night, as Buckingham Palace moved swiftly to deny it was a snub.
"The queen will not be attending the civil ceremony because she is aware that the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wanted to keep the occasion low key," Buckingham Palace said.
"The queen and the rest of the royal family will, of course, be going to the service of dedication at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
"She is very pleased to be giving the wedding reception at the Castle," the Palace added.
"We are into unknown territories with this decision and one can only speculate on the reason why," said constitutional historian Dr David Starkey.
"It could be security, that she doesn't approve, or that she doesn't care, a position which would unite her with the majority of her subjects.
"There has been no real precedent of this, and let's remember we are dealing with the wedding of the heir to the throne, where there has been this kind of distance."
Asked if the queen's decision was a royal snub, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman replied: "The queen is attending the service of dedication and paying for the reception - this is not a snub."
However the Sun's royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, said the arrangements for the wedding have so far been "a catalogue of cock-ups".
"It is just another snub," he told Sky News.
"This is your mother. Mothers always go to your wedding whoever or wherever you are.
"This is a lame excuse. The reason she is not going it seems to me is that it is a civil ceremony in a registry office and she does not feel she should be there."
Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Mrs Parker Bowles's children, Tom and Laura, will be present at the April 8th civil wedding in the Guildhall at Windsor, it is understood.
The Palace declined to comment on speculation that police had warned the queen against attending on security grounds.
"The queen's prime concern is that the civil ceremony should be as low key as possible, in line with the couple's wishes," said the Palace spokeswoman.
"Clearly if the queen were to attend the occasion would no longer be, by definition, low key." A spokesman for the Prince said details of the civil ceremony had yet to be finalised.
It is possible other members of the royal family and the Parker Bowles family will also be at the Guildhall.