Princess Charlotte’s christening took place this afternoon (July 5th) at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. The Duke and Duchess opted for a small, intimate christening ceremony, with invitees limited to immediate family, godparents and spouses only.
The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Carole Middleton, Michael Middleton, Pippa Middleton and James Middleton (Kate’s parents and siblings) attended the ceremony, along with the chosen godparents and their spouses. Prince Harry missed the ceremony due to other commitments. (He is currently in Africa undertaking conservation and charity work.)
This morning Kensington Palace announced Princess Charlotte’s five godparents, named by William and Kate. They are:
- Miss Sophie Carter – One of Kate’s closet childhood friends
- Mr. James Meade – One of William’s oldest school friends
- Mr. Adam Middleton – Kate’s cousin
- The Hon. Laura Fellowes – Princess Diana’s niece
- Mr. Thomas van Straubenzee – William’s best friend in school
Although the christening ceremony was small and private, provisions were put in place to allow well-wishers to gather outside the church. Royal fans stood in the nearby paddock hoping to catch a glimpse of the new princess. This didn’t happen at Prince George’s christening in 2013, which was a very private affair held inside the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.
Today is the first time we’ve seen the Cambridge family together in public, since the birth of Princess Charlotte. The family of four walked from Sandringham House to the church. Kate pushed Princess Charlotte along in a vintage “Millson” pram, previously used by the Queen for sons Andrew & Edward.
George looked a little bemused by the crowds at times, it must be a very strange experience for a child!
For the christening, Princess Charlotte wore the same lace robe that Prince George wore back in 2013. The gown is made from Hointon lace and lined with white satin. The dress is a replica of a robe made for Princess Victoria’s christening in 1841 and it was handmade by the Queen’s dressmaker Angela Kelley. The Telegraph have a piece on the history of both christening gowns here.
During the private ceremony, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby conducted Princess Charlotte’s baptism using the royal family’s “Lily Font”. This is a historic font constructed entirely from silver. It is 170 years old, commissioned by Queen Victoria for her daughter’s christening. The Lily Font is so valuable that it’s usually kept alongside the crown jewels in the Tower of London. The stunning ornate font has been used for every baptism since its commission, except for one.
After the service finished, members of the christening party stood for a moment to chat outside the church. Prince George seized this opportunity to check on his sister –
Next, it was time to walk back to Sandringham House, where William and Kate hosted a tea for their guests.
Guests were served slices of christening cake, saved from William and Kate’s wedding cake in 2011. Apparently this is a tradition! Here’s a reminder of William and Kate’s wedding cake:
Kate’s outfit:
The Duchess looked sophisticated and polished in a cream coat dress by Alexander McQueen.
The fit-and-flare cut coat dress is nipped in at the waist with a seam and features an oversized collar. Susan from WhatKateWore.com writes that the skirt has an inverted pleat in the back, which you can see here:
Kate accessorised her dress with a hat by Jane Taylor millinery. Once more information is known about the hat, I will update this blog post. The Duchess wore her hair up in a chic style.
Kate wore her Mappin and Webb Empress white gold and diamond necklace, a piece we’ve seen her wear previously.
Today, we saw her wear the matching earrings. It is the first time she has worn them to a public event.
Finally, Kate wore her Russell and Bromley Fifth Avenue pumps.
Prince George looked adorable in a “smocked set” by childrenswear designer Rachel Riley. The red and white ensemble is almost identical to the outfit his dad Prince William wore thirty years ago to meet his brother Prince Harry in hospital.
Prince George has worn Rachel Riley pieces a couple of times previously. I really like the clothing. Rachel Riley designs pieces for both boys and girls. I wonder if we’ll see Charlotte in any pieces from the designer in the future?
Shop Rachel Riley:
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Video from today:
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave Sandringham church with their children after Princess Charlotte christened https://t.co/wKb9j3jzig
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 5, 2015
Photographs:
William and Kate hired esteemed photographer Mario Testino to photograph and document Princess Charlotte’s christening. You may recall Testino photographed the Duke and Duchess to celebrate their engagement in 2010. This is just one of the photos from the engagement shoot:
The photographs will be released to the public soon, I will update once they’re live.
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That’s all for today. Don’t forget that the Duchess will be attending Wimbledon on Wednesday. We’ll be back then!
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Do leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of Kate’s outfit today. I felt it wasn’t as ‘special’ as the ruffled ensemble she wore for Prince George’s christening, but I have to say I did like it. It was very elegant and sophisticated.
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Many thanks for the blog and photos! I thought the pram went back as far as Charles and Anne.
Not according to the journalist on Twitter that I
stoleborrowed the information from. I will double check my facts though just to make sure 🙂Apparently there are two prams. Kensington Palace’s official twitter account confirmed Charlotte was in the Edward/Andrew pram: https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/617748467688022016
My friend Natasha has sent me a snapshot of a royal-family related book she owns. It shows there’s a second pram, which is forward facing (unlike today’s) Check it out here – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154025618804488&set=p.10154025618804488&type=1&theater
I thought it was a lovely summer suit/dress–not as fancy as she wore for George’s, but this wasn’t as formal.
My thoughts exactly, nice, simple, elegant… just lacked the wow factor from before. But there’s reason for that, as you suggested.
Lovely post, thank you. I thought the Duchess looked wonderful, as did all the other ladies. By the way – Andrew and Edward were babies in the 1960s!
Thanks, I need to fact check for sure. This is what happens when you rely on journalists’ Tweets. I shall amend my post, thanks.
Just gorgeous and oh-so-elegant in its simplicity. She truly excels at casual, soft grace. Adore!
<3
Loved this post! Thanks for the history on George’s outfit.
You’re welcome Susan. Didn’t George look adorable? Have you watched him on any videos from yesterday? He is just so sweet.
FYI Carly, it is tradition for a wedding cake top tier to be saved and used for a christening cake. This does not seem so weird when you know that a traditional Ebglish wedding cake is a rich fruit cake infused with brandy (or alcohol of your choice) then sealed with marzipan and coated with royal icing. After the wedding the top tier is wrapped in tin foil and stored in an airtight container. Because of the alcohol they stay fresh for years.
Thanks Lynn
wow kate looks absolutely gorgeous for the christening!! george is so cute. Thank you so much for this post.God bless this royal family!
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for commenting. George is adorable isn’t he?
Carly x
I thought the Duchess looked great but was completely underwhelmed by her outfit. She looked great (as always) but something about it didn’t seem right. Thanks for the post! Love this site!
Thanks Olivia – I agree. She looked nice but it was underwhelming. She’s only in her early 30s, I feel she should wait 10-20 years before wearing midi dresses with cap sleeves! I’d have loved to see a return to the Temperley Moira dress or something similar…
I figured out what seemed off. It was the middle with the part of the dress where they added the extra fabric to make it longer; it did’t look right at all. When compared to the dress she wore to George’s this seemed like it was an everday event. The Temperley Moira dress would have looked good on her.
Hey Olivia,
I thought you commented on the Wimbledon post – sorry!
Yes, you’re totally right. The white coat for the christening was a little underwhelming. I totally agree – she could have worn the gorgeous ruffled coat from 2011 trooping and nailed the look….