Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning a private christening for their first child.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the news Wednesday, saying in a statement: “Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor will be christened in a small private ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday 6th July.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex look forward to sharing some images taken on the day by photographer Chris Allerton.
“The godparents, in keeping with their wishes, will remain private.”
Although, despite Harry and Meghan’s wishes to have the godparents private, the Church of England makes godparents (and all details of the baptism) public record for anyone who wants to pay the nearly $50 fee reports Hello!. It is similar to Archie’s birth certificate as the couple did not release the info but as it is public record, it was published anyway.
The Sunday Times first reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would hold the baptism at St George’s Chapel, the same place where they wed and Harry was christened. While the Daily Mail suggested it would be in the Queen’s private chapel at Windsor Castle. Unlike the christenings of Archie’s cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, it will be a private affair.
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The Cambridge family allowed the press to capture the arrival of the family and friends before holding a private service.
Royal biographer, Penny Junor, told the Sunday Times that the choice to have the christening private is “a mistake”.
“They can’t have it both ways. Either they are totally private, pay for their own house and disappear out of view or play the game the way it is played,” she said. It comes right after it was revealed that tax-payers paid nearly $4 million to restore Frogmore Cottage for the family to live in.
A source close to Harry and Meghan said that they consider Archie as a “private citizen” and are focused on “shielding” him. “Privacy is more precious to Harry than to almost any of the other member of the royal family. As Archie is not an HRH he feels he has every right to strictly police his son’s privacy,” they added.
Hello! reported that Serena Williams (who is in the U.K. for Wimbledon) would stick around as she is tipped to be one of the godmothers. Jessica Mulroney is also allegedly flying in from Toronto. Other suggested godparents are Mark Dyer, and Markus Anderson.
While there will be no pictures from the press on the day, Harry and Meghan are expected to release one on their official Instagram account.
