British Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the civil marriage ceremony of her eldest son and his new bride, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday.

The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles are getting married on 8 April at the Guildhall in Windsor.

However, the Queen would attend the church blessing afterwards and was happy to host the reception, the palace said.

"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 a palace spokeswoman.

"Clearly if the Queen were to attend, the occasion would no longer be, by definition, low key," she said.

"This is not a snub," she stressed, "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," she said.

Charles' two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Camilla's children, Tom and Laura, are planning to attend the civil ceremony, local media reported.

Historian Dr David Starkey said the Queen's decision was "unprecedented" in Royal history.

"We are into unknown territories with this decision and one can only speculate on the reason why," he was quoted by a BBC report as saying.

"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," he said.

"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," he said.