Bahrain's crown prince said he would not attend Britain's royal wedding on April 29 because of continuing unrest in his Gulf Arab kingdom, defusing a potentially embarrassing row over his invitation.
Human rights campaigners criticising Bahrain's fierce security crackdown on anti-government protesters called on Britain's royal family to withdraw the wedding invite sent to Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa.
The British government has also called on Bahrain to respect human rights, urging it last week to investigate reports of deaths in custody, torture and denial of medical treatment.