HRH Princess Charlotte was christened today at Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham. Sandringham is the Queen’s large estate outside of London and William and Kate have been living full-time at Anmer Hall – which is part of Sandringham – for months now. Will and Kate did a better job releasing details about the christening ahead of time, which was nice, and they also didn’t put up a fuss about allowing the peasants to see Charlotte and George – Will and Kate made sure that part of the chapel’s grounds were open to the public and the media. Here are some additional details about the day’s activities (and I’ll update with more photos when we get them in).
The clothes. Kate wore cream Alexander McQueen and a Jane Taylor hat. Queen Elizabeth repeated a pink suit/dress. Prince George wore red and white, which is new – usually we only see him in blue and white.
The christening gown. It’s the same one Prince George wore and it’s an almost exact replica of the christening gown used by members of the royal family since 1841. Queen Elizabeth II had the replica made years ago when the original began to fall apart. The replica was painstakingly made by British and Italian dressmakers working off the original.
The font. Before today, I didn’t know this was a thing (I’m a heathen, I know). But Charlotte was christened in the Lily Font, which was made for Queen Victoria in 1840. It looks like it’s made of silver. You can see it here.
The christening party. Surprisingly (to me), William and Kate are not hosting their own party at Anmer Hall. The party went down at Sandringham, with the Queen acting as hostess. The party food included “a feast of tiny, delicately cut sandwiches, light sponge cake and perhaps a toast of Champagne.” They used some fancy 19th century china too.
The godparents. Will & Kate decided again to forgo aunts and uncles in favor of friends for the most part, just as they did with George’s godparents. Charlotte’s godparents include: Laura Fellowes (Princess Diana’s niece, William’s cousin and party of the Turnip Toffs of Norfolk), James Meade (Will’s friend, they were at Eton together), Thomas van Straudenzee (one of Will’s friend oldest friends, their families are very close), Sophie Carter (Kate’s friend, known for being “very discreet”) and Adam Middleton (Kate’s cousin on her dad’s side). No Pippa, no James, no Harry and no royal family member as godparent.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
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