Prince Charles and Camilla pull out of royal movie premiere

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have pulled out of next month's Royal Film Performance amid controversy about the movie, Brick Lane. This is the first time the annual event has not been held since 1958.

The novel Brick Lane was shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and tells the story of a Bangladeshi woman sent to London for an arranged marriage. However, local Bangladeshi residents claimed the movie portrayed members of their community as uneducated and backward.

The UK premiere at the royal charity gala had been due to take place on 29th October.

A spokesman for Prince Charles said: "There has been quite a lot of controversy about that film which everyone was aware of.

"At the start, it had been one of a number of films proposed. None of the films and none of the dates worked."

It is possible that two Royal Film Performances will be arranged in 2008.