Charles, Camilla choose chilly Scotland for honeymoon

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, formerly Camilla Parker Bowles, leave the Guildhall in Windsor, England, where they got married in a private ceremony yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Like the simple wedding itself, the choice of honeymoon will be in marked contrast to the Mediterranean cruise aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia that Charles took with the late Princess Diana after their 1981 wedding.

The couple were due to fly to Aberdeen, northern Scotland, on Saturday evening and then travel to their Highland retreat at Birkhall.

The newlyweds are expected to spend around a week to 10 days at their hideaway but will be breaking off from their honeymoon to carry out their first official engagement as man and wife by opening a nearby children's playground at Ballater.

The couple are said to consider Birkhall their first proper home, and in the past two years Parker Bowles has overseen a "sensitive" renovation, using an interior designer known for his opulent tartan soft furnishings.

However, memories of Diana, Princess of Wales may still linger at Birkhall, for it was here that the late Queen Mother, Charles's grandmother, introduced Charles to his future bride.

Birkhall has always been a refuge and safe haven for Charles.

It was on the banks of the River Muick's peaty waters, at the bottom of the house's sloping gardens, that he first learned to fish.

It was here, too, that he sought refuge during his unhappy schooldays, during the fallout from his crumbling first marriage and after his grandmother's death.

And it was at Birkhall that Charles brought Camilla to conduct their passionate affair.

In recent years, the couple have spent time every spring at Birkhall.