THE CHRISTENING OF PRINCE LOUIS
ST. JAMES’S PALACE
Monday 9th July, 2018
The christening of Prince Louis will take place today, Monday 9th July, at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace.
Prince Louis will be christened by The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.
The service will begin at 1600hrs and will last approximately 40 minutes.
Guests and Godparents
The following guests will today attend the christening of Prince Louis at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace:
– 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
– The godparents of Prince Louis and their spouses
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked the following people to be godparents to Prince Louis, all of whom are friends or family of Their Royal Highnesses:
– Mr. Nicholas van Cutsem
– Mr. Guy Pelly
– Mr. Harry Aubrey-Fletcher
– The Lady Laura Meade
– Mrs. Robert Carter
– Miss Lucy Middleton
Prince Louis will wear the handmade replica of the Royal Christening Robe, made by Angela Kelly, Dressmaker to The Queen.
The Lily Font and water from the River Jordan will be used during the baptism.
Following the service, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will give a private tea at Clarence House. Guests will be served slices of christening cake, which is a tier taken from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding cake.
The Royal Christening Robe
The Royal Christening Robe, of fine Honiton lace lined with white satin, was made in 1841 for the christening of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal.
The original gown 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 commissioned Angela Kelly to make a hand-made replica of the Royal Christening Robe 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.
The Lily Font
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 of Royal christenings since then.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Wedding Cake
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding cake, designed by Fiona Cairns, was made from 17 individual fruit cakes and had eight tiers. The cake was decorated with cream and white icing using the Joseph Lambeth technique. There were up to 900 individually iced flowers and leaves of 17 different varieties decorated on the cake. A garland design around the middle of the cake matched the architectural garlands decorated around the top of the Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace, the room in which the cake was displayed during the wedding.
Official Photographer
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have asked Matt Holyoak to be the official photographer at the christening of Prince Louis. Mr. Holyoak will take the official photographs at Clarence House following the service in The Chapel Royal.
Matt Holyoak has established himself as one of the world’s leading portrait photographers. His love of portraiture started at art college, where he studied to be a fine artist, specialising in contemporary portrait painting and drawing. He then discovered his passion for photography and perfected his craft working in still life, fashion and portraiture. Matt has had a number of his pieces of work acquired by The National Portrait Gallery for their permanent collection, and has donated photographic prints to many exhibitions across the world.
In 2017, Matt Holyoak photographed Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh to mark their 70th wedding anniversary.
