The marriage of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles has been delayed by 24 hours to avoid a clash with the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

The prince, as well as Tony Blair, will attend the funeral in Rome ahead of the wedding in Windsor on Saturday.

Downing Street has denied it had leaned on the Royal couple to postpone the event.

The prime minister's official spokesman added: "We had asked to be kept informed about what their decision was going to be."

The Times reports that Prince Charles personally ordered the postponement when both the prime minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury indicated that they would have to go to Rome rather than attend the blessing.