it illegal for any member of the British royal family (defined as all descendants of King George II, excluding descendants of princesses who marry into "foreign families") under the age of 25 to marry without the consent of the ruling monarch. Any member of the royal family over the age of 25 who has been refused the sovereign's consent may marry one year after giving notice to the Privy Council of their intention to so marry, unless Parliament passes an act against the marriage in the interim. In 2002, the Church of England's General Synod changed the church's remarriage policy shortly before then-Prince Charles was set to marry divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles. In 2005, the Queen consented formally to the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles. The royal family was specifically excluded from the Marriage Act 1836, which instituted civil marriages in England. However, Prince Charles's civil marriage raised questions. Lord Falconer of Thoroton told the House of Lords that the 1836 Act had been repealed by the Marriage Act 1949, which had different wording, and that the British Government were satisfied that it was lawful for the couple to marry by a civil ceremony in accordance with Part III of the 1949 Act, and the Registrar General Len Cook determined that a civil marriage would in fact be valid. Any doubt as to the interpretation of the Marriage Act 1949 was put to rest by the Human Rights Act 1998, which requires that legislation be interpreted in conformity with convention rights wherever possible (including the right to marry, without discrimination). Statistics See also Civil Partnership Fleet Marriage History of marriage in Great Britain and Ireland Marriage Certificate Marriage in Northern Ireland Marriage in Scotland References Sources Rebecca Probert, Marriage Law and Practice in the Long Eighteenth Century: A Reassessment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) Anton, A. E. "'Handfasting' in Scotland." The Scottish Historical Review 37, no. 124 (October 1958): 89–102. Gregory, D. History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland (1881). Martin, Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (1693) 1st Edition, (1716) 2nd Edition. Nicholl, Charles, The Lodger:Shakespeare on Silver Street (2007) 1st edition; Chapter 27, "A handfasting". Nicolson, Alexander History of Skye MacLean Press, 60 Aird Bhearnasdail, by Portree, Isle of Skye (1930) pp. 73, 86, and 120. English society Welsh society Religion in England Religion in Wales Marriage, unions