Queen and Prince Philip skip Prince Louis's christening as adorable prince rocks a hand-me-down gown
Prince Louis's christening took place at The Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace in London on Monday. Prince Louis is the third child of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, and Kate Middleton and is the fifth in line for the throne. However, Kensington Palace revealed that the Queen and Prince Philip will not be attending the christening after 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 Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had announced the baby's godparents ahead of the ceremony. The godparents are all close friends or family members of the royal couple: Mr. Nicholas van Cutsem, Mr. Guy Pelly, Mr. Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, The Lady Laura Meade, Mrs. Robert Carter, and Miss Lucy Middleton.
Much to everyone's surprise, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle was not included on the list of godparents.
The royal family follows strict protocol when it comes to picking godparents and normally stick to choosing close family friends and sometimes even former members of staff. Since Meghan Markle falls outside this category, she was not named as a godparent.
Mr. Nicholas Van Cutsem is a very close friend of the royals and fits the criteria of being a godparent. He has known Prince Harry and Prince William their entire lives since Prince Charles was friends with Nicholas' father since their Cambridge days together. The 40-year-old is a very wealthy business developer and used to be a major with the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards.
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is the son-in-law of Edward Stourton and went to Eton College with Prince William. Harry is the son of Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, the 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. When Harry married Louise Stourton, Prince William was the usher and it was the first wedding that Prince William and Kate Middleton attended after getting engaged in the year 2010.
Despite Guy Pelly's wild streak and reputation of being a party animal, his loyalty and discretion were never doubted by the royals and he made the list of godparents to baby Prince Louis. Guy Pelly's mother Lady Carolyn Herbert was friends with the late Princess Diana.
Next on the list is Lady Laura Mead who has gone skiing with Prince William and Kate Middleton and is also involved in the Tusk Trust, the wildlife conservation charity of which William is a patron.
Godparent Hannah Carter is a school friend of Kate's and they both attended the Marlborough College, Wilts. William and Kate also attended the wedding of Hannah and Robert Carter near Suffolk.
Kate Middleton's cousin Lucy Middleton also made it to the list. She is extremely close to Kate and the pair spent their gap year together in Florence. Lucy, a solicitor, was studying Italian and had badgered Catherine to join her.
Prince William and Kate Middleton were seen for the first time on Monday as a family of five. The prestigious event saw many distinguished guests such as 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.
As revealed earlier, the two most important people, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh could not make it to the christening. Kensington Palace had earlier revealed that Queen's absence is not due to any illness and that it was mutually agreed upon some time ago.
It is reported that the Queen and Duke had a very busy week of high profile events in central London ahead of a visit by Donald Trump. The christening was a very small and private affair which was attended by immediate family and friends.
The Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement, "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce that the christening of Prince Louis will take place on Monday July 9 at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, London". The Chapel Royal is the same place where the christening of Prince Louis's sibling Prince George took place. However, their sister Princess Charlotte's christening took place in Sandringham St. Mary Magdalene church in Norfolk where Princess Diana was christened.
The chapel is also where the newlywed Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle had her own baptism earlier on this year. Both Prince Louis's siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, like Louis, wore a replica of the historic royal christening gown which was first worn by Queen Victoria's daughter who was also named Victoria in the year 1841.
The gown was reportedly designed by the Queen's assistant Angela Kelly along with a team of dressmakers from the Buckingham Palace in the year 2008. The Queen 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 April 19 2008.