John Harvey Taylor: Princess Lilibet baptized by bishop who served as Richard Nixon's chief of staff
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: John Harvey Taylor, a former newspaper editor and the head of staff for disgraced former US president Richard Nixon, is the Bishop of Los Angeles who christened Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's daughter Princess Lilibet. The 21-month-old child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was christened on Friday, March 3, at their Montecito home in California by the Reverend Taylor.
The official first use of Lilibet's royal title of 'Princess' at her christening served as the Sussexes' first indication that they would use those titles for their children. Taylor officiated over the modest ceremony, which was attended by 20 to 30 people. King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales William and Kate Middleton were invited to the California ceremony but they chose not to show up because of other royal engagements.
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Nixon referred to Taylor as 'our House liberal'
Bishop Taylor served as co-executor of Nixon's estate and one of the former president's closest confidants during his final years, according to Daily Mail. Nixon, the 37th US president and only one to leave office in the wake of the Watergate controversy, died in 1994. He used to refer Bishop Taylor as "our House liberal."
Nixon resigned in 1974 and was later connected to the Watergate scandal as a result of a cover-up when five individuals connected to his election campaign team were arrested after a break-in at the offices of the Democratic Party's national headquarters.
Who is Bishop John Harvey Taylor?
Bishop Taylor, a lifelong Episcopalian and the son of journalists, was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1954, according to Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and he holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, San Diego. He also holds a master's degree in divinity from the Claremont School of Theology and Bloy House.
Taylor worked as the former president's researcher and editorial assistant before taking over as the post-chief of staff in 1984, 10 years after Nixon left the White House, according to Daily Mail. He left that position in 1990 and then got married to Kathy O'Connor in 2002. He is a grandfather of two and a father of four.
Taylor later received his clergy ordination in 2004 and was appointed vicar of Rancho Santa Margarita's St John's Episcopal Church and School. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles chose Bishop Taylor as its seventh bishop in December 2016, and he assumed office in December 2017.