No Queen and secret godparents: 5 details you missed from baby Archie's royal Christening.

In the early hours of Sunday morning while us Aussies were tucked up in bed or out on the town, Archie, the two-month-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was christened in a small private ceremony at Windsor Castle.

The ceremony for Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in front of around 25 close family and friends in the castle’s Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace says.

Harry & Meghan: From birth to now. Post continues after video. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared two official photographs of the occasion on their official Instagram account on Saturday (UK time), taken in Windsor Castle’s Green Drawing Room and Rose Garden.

The first is a group portrait including Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Middleton.

 

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A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jul 6, 2019 at 8:14am PDT

“This morning, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was christened in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle at an intimate service officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,” the caption read.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are so happy to share the joy of this day with members of the public who have been incredibly supportive since the birth of their son. They thank you for your kindness in welcoming their first born and celebrating this special moment.”

The royal couple also shared a second black and white portrait of themselves and Archie taken in the Rose Garden.

 

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The official snaps from the #royalchristening have been released ????Archie was christened in a private chapel at Windsor castle, this picture was taken in the rose garden ????

A post shared by Mamamia (@mamamiaaus) on Jul 6, 2019 at 8:51am PDT

Archie’s christening was a private affair, meaning media and members of the public were not able to get a glimpse of the newborn.

A former royal official has claimed that Harry is keeping Archie’s life as secret as possible, wanting his son to be a “private citizen”.

Nonetheless, there has been criticism of Harry and Meghan for accepting public funds for their wedding and for renovations for their new house but denying the public a view of the baby and his parents arriving at the ceremony.

Now, onto the juicy stuff. From where the heck the Queen was to Archie’s ‘secret godparents’, here are 5 very important details you missed from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s christening for baby Archie.

1. No, the Queen was not there.

Don’t go mistaking Queen Elizabeth’s non-attendance at her great-grandson’s christening for shade.

According to the BBC, The Queen wasn’t able to attend Archie’s christening as she had a ‘prior engagement’.

It’s very hard when you’re the Queen of the Commonwealth and your grandson plans his kid’s christening on the same day you’re meant to be cutting a ribbon somewhere. Ugh.

2. The history behind Archie’s christening gown.

Archie and his dad pic.twitter.com/h2vmySJZxz

— A R I A (@DuchyofSuccess) July 6, 2019

Archie was baptised wearing the handmade replica of the royal christening gown which has been worn by royal infants for the last 11 years.

The original Royal Christening Robe, made of fine Honiton lace lined with white satin, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 and first worn by her eldest daughter.

It was subsequently worn for generations of Royal christenings, including The Queen, her children and her grandchildren until 2004, when The Queen commissioned this handmade replica, in order for the fragile historic outfit to be preserved, and for the tradition to continue.

3. The… ‘random’ people in the back of the official photo.

Avid royal watchers will know who the two women stood in the back of Archie’s official christening group portrait were, one of whom was wearing a very stylish fedora hat.

Some millennials and anyone born after the year 2000 – perhaps not.

They are Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the sisters of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

4. The subtle tribute to Diana.

 

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A post shared by HRH The Duchess Of Cambridge (@duchesse_kate) on Jul 6, 2019 at 12:38pm PDT

As with many royal engagements, Archie’s christening did see a subtle tribute to his late grandmother, Princess Diana.

This time, from the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.

Kate, who wore a pink Stella McCartney pleated dress that she first wore during the Queen’s pre-Christmas luncheon in December, 2018 (got to love an outfit repeat), chose to wear a pair of earrings that belonged to Diana.

The Collingwood pearl earrings are the same pair the late princess wore for Harry’s christening in 1984.

5. We don’t know who Archie’s godparents are.

Prince Harry and Meghan have chosen to keep the identity of Archie’s godparents a secret… for now.

Speaking to the Express, the Queen’s former spokesperson Dickie Arbiter said while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have shared the godparents of all three of their children with the public, they likely took into consideration that George is third-in-line to the throne. Harry is sixth-in-line, and doesn’t have the same expectation.

What we do know is, the people in question were there on the day, as was written in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official Instagram post.

“[We] feel fortunate to have enjoyed this day with family and the godparents of Archie.”

Tres intrigue.

With AAP. 

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