'She is acting as the monarch, not as a mother'

Royal experts today said the Queen's snub to her son was just the latest stage in a wedding which has degenerated into a farce.

Biographers and former aides said the marriage, which should have been a celebration, had become "haphazard" and "undignified".

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, said it would be inappropriate for a head of state to attend a town hall marriage. "I think she's looking at this not as a mother, but as a Queen. She has been advised that this marriage is contentious and we still don't know whether it is legal, so she's taken the decision to stay away. This is her way of staying out of the controversy." Ms Seward stressed that the announcement should not be read as a reflection of the Queen's dislike for her future daughterinlaw. "There is no way she's anti-Camilla," she said. "There is something a bit undignified about the heir to the throne getting married in a register office when he owns a castle just down the road."

Former press secretary Dickie Arbiter denied the move was a snub to Prince Charles but said it was another result of the " monumental cock-up" in having to switch the wedding to the register office.

"In her eyes, what she's doing is the right thing. She's the head of the Church of England and it's very important to her there's a religious aspect to this. She, as head of the Church of England, will be at St George's Chapel and the ecclesiastical head will be conducting the blessing, and that to her is more important than five minutes in a register office, ie Windsor Guildhall."

Publicist Max Clifford said: "What mother would stay away from their son's wedding unless they were unhappy about that wedding?"

Author Christopher Wilson said the royal family were caught on the back foot by the surprise wedding announcement. "This characterises the haphazard way the whole thing has all been handled," he said.

"On a more personal level, I think it indicates that the Queen feels that far too much attention has been given to this second wedding."