It was around September last year when the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge officially announced that they were expecting their third baby. Just like the birth of their two other children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the birth of the newest heir to the throne was anticipated by the world.
Prince Louis Arthur Charles was born last April making him the fifth in line to the throne. Last 9th of July, the young prince was baptized in the Chapel Royal at the St. James Palace, which is basically where most of the members of the royal family were baptized.
Prince Louis was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, with the use of the River Jordan water. The prince’s godparents are Nicholas van Cutsem, Lucy Middleton, Lady Laura Meade, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Hannah Ginningham, and Guy Pelly.
Prince Louis’ Christening
The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the St. James Palace together with the man of the hour himself, the 11-week-old Prince Louis. The Duchess held the prince while her husband the Duke of Cambridge came hand in hand with their two other children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The Duchess wore another Alexander McQueen creation with an elegant cream suit dress that is matched with a headpiece from Jane Taylor. McQueen was also the one who designed her wedding dress seven years ago. The Duchess arrived with Prince Louis in her arms, who was actually asleep at the time.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was also the one who baptized Prince George and Princess Charlotte and the one who officiated the most recent royal wedding of the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex.
The songs for the baptism, which was announced by the Kensington Palace prior to the christening, was personally chosen by the royal parents, “O Jesus, I Have Promised”, “Lord of All Hopefulness”, and “This is the day which the Lord hath made”, which was a very special one since it was composed for Will and Kate’s wedding in 2011. The readings, on the other hand, was done by two of the prince’s godparents, Lucy Middleton and Guy Pelly.
The young prince was expected to wear the same christening gown that his older brother and older sister wore. It is part of the royal tradition that the littlest royal would have to wear the replica of Queen Victoria’s christening gown which was from 1841. Obviously, due to old age, a new christening gown was made in 2008 so the younger royals could keep the tradition.
The original one was actually worn by 62 royals including the Queen herself, as well as her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince William. The said replica was said to be an exact copy of the first one and it was Prince George who was one of the many royals to first try it and his siblings obviously followed.
The christening gown isn’t the only thing that made another appearance, because the guests were also served a familiar dessert. The cake that was served was actually from 7 years ago at William and Kate’s wedding. It is a British tradition to serve a wedding cake whenever a child of a couple is baptized. That means this would be the royal couple’a fourth time eating this cake.
The Royal Family
The rest of the royal family was of course present. It was led by Prince Charles and Camilla, and they were followed by the Cambridge, who was then followed by the newlyweds, Prince Harry and Meghan.
It is the Duchess of Sussex very first time to attend a christening as a member of the royal family, as well as an aunt to a royal. Unfortunately, the British matriarch as well as her husband Prince Philip couldn’t make it. It was announced beforehand that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wouldn’t be at the royal christening of their great-grandson Prince Louis.
The reason was said to be because the 92-year-old monarch is incredibly busy with her duties especially now that her husband has retired from it. It is said that the Queen had an understanding agreement with her grandson Prince William regarding their absence. The Queen is also said to be busy this week since she will be hosting United States President Donald Trump this weekend at the Windsor Castle.