The Duchess of Cambridge chose another Alexander McQueen style for today’s christening of Prince George.
John Stillwell/PA Wire
His Royal Highness, George Alexander Louis, Prince of Cambridge was baptized in a ceremony at the Chapel Royal this afternoon. While most christenings of senior royals have taken place in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, Kate and William are said to have wanted a smaller, more intimate setting for the ceremony. The last member of the Royal Family baptized at this location inside St. James’s Palace is Princess Beatrice. The Chapel Royal holds special significance for William, it is where his mother’s coffin lay before her funeral. More from The Telegraph:
Just 22 guests were invited to the christening: seven godparents and six spouses, the Duchess’s parents and siblings, and the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry.
The baptism was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby. The BBC’s Peter Hunt shared this picture of the guest of honor.
Peter Hunt/BBC Twitter Feed
Here we see the Middleton family arriving via The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail and Mail Online
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles arriving. More from Richard Palmer’s story in the Express.
The royal party chatted for a few more minutes and Kate walked over to greet Philip, kissing him on both cheeks before curtseying quickly.
Splash News
The Queen’s sky blue cashmere coat is by royal favorite Stuart Parvin. In this photo from Rose Gretton of Sky News you can just about see three generations of heirs to the throne: Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
Rose Gretton, Sky News Twitter Feed (@RoseSkyNews)
The ceremony and traditions are steeped in history, right down to the water used: it comes from the River Jordan. More from the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English.
Royal babies are christened in its waters, a tradition that dates back to King Richard I and is based on Christ’s immersion in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Those in the know say that the only way to do this is to stick a bottle in the river and then filter it.
As far as what Prince George wore, it is a replica of the gown worn by Queen Victoria’s daughter in 1891. Details on the gown from from British Vogue:
The white Spitalfields silk-satin gown, which has cap sleeves and a Honiton cotton lace overlay, was created to resemble the dress that Queen Victoria wore for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.
The garment has been worn by every monarch since Edward VII – and was also worn by Prince William and his father Prince Charles.
Over time the original satin and lace gown became increasingly fragile and the Queen’s dressmaker, Angela Kelly, created a replica. The last royal to wear the original gown is Lady Louise Windsor in 2003, Edward and Sophie’s daughter. Here we see Prince George today and his father, Prince William, in 1982.
Splash News/PA Wire
Below, a better look at one of Prince William’s official christening photographs. George’s grandfather, Prince Charles, and his great grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh are seen standing behind Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.
PA Wire
The list of godparents was released shortly before the ceremony. More from Yahoo! Shine:
Zara Tindall (more familiarly known as Zara Phillips) is Prince William’s cousin, married to former rugby pro Mike Tindall. The couple is expecting their first child around Christmas. Tindall is the only member of the royal family to be chosen as a godparent.
Olive Baker attended St. Andrews University with the duke and duchess.
Emilia Jardine-Paterson attended Marlborough College with the duchess. She runs an interior design firm under her maiden name, Emilia d’Erlanger, and is said to be helping the couple decorate their home at Kensington Palace.
Earl Grosvenor (first name Hugh) is the son of the Duke of Westminster.
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton served as private secretary to William and Kate from 2005 to 2012 and continues to work for the palace part-time.
The Honorable Julia Samuel was a close friend of William’s mother, Lady Diana. She founded a nonprofit organization, Child Bereavement UK, which the duke supports.
William Van Cutsem is one of William’s oldest friends.His father Hugh, who passed away in September, was a very close friend of Prince Charles.
Richard Palmer of the Express wrote that one of Reverend Welby’s comments explained that “The parents and godparents of Prince George have a simple task to ‘make sure he knows who Jesus is.” Here is more from his story:
Inside the service, Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton both gave readings.
The two hymns at the service were Breathe on Me, Breath of God and Be Thou My Vision.
Two anthems were also performed at the service, including Blessed Jesu! Here we Stand, by Richard Popplewell, which was written for William’s own baptism on August 4 1982.
In a brief video about the christening Reverend Welby noted:
All babies are unbelievably special, not only royal babies…As a nation we are celebrating the birth of someone who in due course will be the head of state. That’s extraordinary.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall hosted a reception at Clarence House after the ceremony. As is traditional, pieces from a tier of Kate and Williams wedding cake were served to guests.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s Alexander McQueen look worked perfectly with George’s christening gown, something Kate no doubt thought of when planning today’s ensemble.
SplashNews.com
Kate’s garment is a customized version of the Alexander McQueen pieces seen below: on the left we show the actual RTW (ready to wear) piece that would have been sold for Spring 2012, Kate’s version today and the style as it looked on the runway.
PA Wire/Lyst
A tip of the tiara to Perths Fashions for her help today.
This is not the first time Kate has worn a creamy white ruffled garment. Below we see her on Canada Day in the Nanette dress from Reiss (also worn for her engagement photo), the McQueen Tiered Coat worn for Trooping the Colour in 2011 and today’s McQueen look. It is tough to see the layers of ruffles in the Trooping coat.
Splash News/PA Wire
Kate’s hat is the Georgie by Jane Taylor, the milliner describes it as “sophisticated sinamay beret with delicate silk organza rose and classic veiling trim”.
PA Wire/Jane Taylor Millinery
The hat retails for £755, approximately $1200 USD at today’s exchange rates.
Kate’s other accessories included her Kiki McDonough citrine drop earrings and her Park Avenues by Russell and Bromley.
Official photographs taken after the ceremony will be released tomorrow. They are being taken by celebrity photographer Jason Bell. More from the Guardian:
Best known for his portraits of rock, Hollywood and sporting “royalty”, Bell’s previous subjects have included footballer David Beckham, singers Robbie Williams and Paul McCartney, and actors Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson.
It is thought the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wanted a young and modern photographer for the historic pictures of their three-month old son.
The photographs will be taken after the ceremony, and are expected to feature four generations of the royal family with the Queen posing alongside the three heirs and future monarchs, Charles, William and George.
Mr. Bell was born in London and still lives there, as well as New York City. You might enjoy looking at an archive of his portraiture, you can see it here.
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OTHER UPDATES:
Another update to Kate’s Calendar: the 2nd Annual Winter Whites gala benefiting Centrepoint is confirmed for November 26 at Kensington Palace. Entertainment will be provided by Taylor Swift and Bon Jovi. Things kick off at 5:30pm with arrivals (presumably red carpet), followed by a private reception with William and Kate, the Royal Dinner and then the concert. William, longtime Centrepoint patron, will award Jon Bon Jovi the Great Britain Youth Inspiration Award. More information may be found here.
Hobbs, one of Kate’s preferred stores, recently expanded its e-commerce operations to include a US site, allowing those of us in the USA to see prices in $$$.
Hobbs/Splash/PA Wire
There is word that dates are being finalized for next year’s Tour of Australia and New Zealand. According to the Daily Mail, Kate has already made arrangements for a hair stylist while there. If interested in seeing what services the salon offers, click here.
The Duchess of Cambridge has booked a hairdresser for her Australian tour with Prince William next year.
Sydney-based Joh Bailey, who tended to Princess Diana’s hair when she was in the country in 1996, has been enlisted to style Katherine’s while she is Down Under.
A reminder that Kate’s next appearance is tomorrow night, she will attend the 100 Women in Hedge Funds gala at Kensington Palace. The event benefits Action on Addiction, one of her patronages.
LINKAGE:
Sky News Coverage may be seen here (including videos)
The Express coverage can be seen here
ITV’s coverage of today’s events is here
The Mirror’s story, video and photo gallery is here
The Daily Mail’s coverage is here
Grazia’s coverage with photos and videos is here
Pop Sugar Australia has 37 photos shown here
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