Welsh fanfare for royal wedding

Camilla will become Duchess of Cornwall when she marries Charles

A piece of music by a veteran Welsh composer is to be played at the marriage blessing of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

Alun Hoddinott, 76, from Swansea, has written Celebration Fanfare especially to accompany the couple as they leave St George's Chapel in Windsor.

The 60-second piece will not be played again after the nuptials on 8 April.

Hoddinott also wrote compositions for the prince's 16th birthday and for his investiture as Prince of Wales.

I am delighted and honoured to have written this short piece Alun Hoddinott

Born in Bargoed, south Wales, Hoddinott now lives on the Gower, and is a former University College, Cardiff, professor of music.

The bride and groom's blessing will follow a wedding ceremony at Windsor Guildhall and is to be presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams - the former Archbishop of Wales.

The Welsh theme will be continued at the reception in Windsor Castle, where fruit cakes baked by Carmarthenshire grandmother Etta Richardson will be served to guests.

Hoddinott with opera singer Dame Gwyneth Jones and actress Sian Phillips

Hoddinott's fanfare features a string orchestra, two trumpets and an organ, and is part of a selection chosen by the couple including works by Handel, Bach, Elgar and Grieg.

The composer, who is due to attend the blessing with his wife, Rhiannon, 76, said: "I have written this piece of music which slots into a specific place in the ceremony.

"It is simply celebratory. It lasts from one physical point to another and culminates in a flourish.

"It is a specific piece written for the specific circumstances of a specific occasion and it will be played that once and not again.

"But as far as I am concerned I am delighted and honoured to have written this short piece."