Prince Louis' official royal christening photos are here: See Prince William and Kate Middleton's family of five
Prince Louis' christening took place on Monday (July 9) at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. For the first time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen with their family of five. Prince Louis is the third child of Prince William, and Kate Middleton and is fifth in line to the throne. The guest list for the ceremony included The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Mr and Mrs Michael Middleton, Mr and Mrs James Matthews, and Mr James Middleton. However, Kensington Palace revealed that the Queen and Prince Philip did not attend the christening since they had a busy week of high-profile events in central London, making it clear that the Queen's absence was "not due to health reasons" and was decided a long time ago.
The palace also announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton had chosen six people to be named as godparents of Prince Louis. All of them are close friends or family members of Kate Middleton. The following people have been chosen to be the godparents — Nicholas van Cutsem, Guy Pelly, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, The Lady Laura Meade, Mrs Robert Carter, and Lucy Middleton.
Wearing a handmade replica of the Royal Christening Robe, made by Angela Kelly, Dressmaker to The Queen for the ceremony, Prince Louis slept throughout the ceremony as he was nestled in the arms of his mother. The royal family decided to share four pictures from Prince Louis' christening. The photographs were taken by Matt Holyoak at Clarence House, following Prince Louis's christening, the palace announced.
The Lily Font and water from the River Jordan were used in the ceremony. Following the ceremony, Prince William and Kate invited the guests for a private tea at Clarence House. Guests were served slices of christening cake, which is a tier taken from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding cake. The Royal Christening Robe that was used for Prince Louis Christening has a significant connection with the royal family.
The robe is made of fine Honiton lace lined with white satin, was made in 1841 for the christening of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal. It was subsequently worn for all Royal christenings, including The Queen, her children, and her grandchildren, until the youngest of The Queen's eight grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn. The Queen then commissioned Angela Kelly to make a replica of the gown in order to preserve the original.
James, Viscount Severn, was the first member of the Royal Family to wear this replica gown at his christening at the private chapel at Windsor Castle on 19th April 2008. Meanwhile, The Lily Font also holds importance to the family from the time of its inception. The Lily Font is a silver baptismal font which was commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840 after the birth of their first child, Victoria, Princess Royal. It was first used at the Princess Royal’s christening in 1841 and has been a feature at Royal christenings since then.