Kate Middleton and Prince William's son Prince Louis will be christened on July 9
Prince Louis has a big day coming up for him pretty soon! The merely 8-weeks-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be christened on Monday, July 9, as revealed by the Kensington Palace through their official Twitter account on Wednesday. “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce that the christening of Prince Louis will take place on Monday 9th July at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, London,” the palace said in a statement.
Prince Louis was born on April 23, just a few hours after it was revealed that a pregnant Kate had gone into labor. The royal baby was delivered in the Lido wing of St Mary's hospital, which had been booked and kept shut for weeks before the delivery. After the birth of Prince Louis, an announcement was made by Kensington Palace's twitter account, which read, "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs. The baby weighs 8lbs 7oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well."
Prince Louis, who is Kate's third child after Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will be following in his siblings' footsteps as his service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby. The Reverend was also responsible for christening Prince George in October 2013 and Princess Charlotte in July 2015.
Moreover, he was also involved in recently officiating the holy matrimony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The baptism will be taking place at St James’s Palace in London, where previously Louis' late grandmother Princess Diana's body was laid before her funeral in 1997. And according to reports, it was at the same venue that Meghan Markle too got baptized in a secretive ceremony that took place in March this year.
It has been quite sometime before the public caught a glimpse of the little Prince, whose last public appearance was the time when he left the hospital with his parents, the day he was born. However, his mother Kate did share an adorable photograph of him days later, with his sister Princess Charlotte holding him for her official birthday portrait.
The baptism will also mark a huge but rare public appearance for new mother Kate, who has lately been out of the spotlight with regards to her maternity leave. The royal was seen out on various occasions recently but was visibly missing from royal commitments like Prince Charles' garden party, the Order of the Garter Service, or the Royal Ascot.
"It is traditional for new royal mums to take a six-month break from official engagements," said royal biographer, Duncan Larcombe. "The wedding doesn’t count because it was a 'family affair' but other than that, she will pick and choose her engagements."
It is also being reported that both William and Kate have come to a compromise with regards to their family's pictures making it to the press and eventually for the whole world to see. The couple has agreed to release official pictures from the event, but want the press to give them some privacy in the meantime.
Royal expert James Brookes told Express, “Judging by the previous christenings, and the importance of the day for the family, Louis’ christening will be a private affair, perhaps no surprise there. The Cambridges are well aware of the media spotlight and interest in their family - we saw that with the recent photos of Prince George and Princess Charlotte playing at the polo match."
He then added, “We’ll no doubt have the official christening photos, as we did with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. These photos and the images of the family arriving will be seen as a compromise by the Cambridges. They give the photographers something to work with and then they expect a bit of privacy for the rest of the day.”
