Crowds cheer as Princess Charlotte is christened at Sandringham
HER mother is known for her love of recycling outfits. So it was no surprise that Princess Charlotte was pushed to church in a pram once used by the Queen.
THE world’s most famous infant has been christened at a church on the Queen’s estate at Sandringham in a ceremony steeped with nods to royal tradition.
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana arrived at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in a silver-wheeled Millson Prince pram pushed by the Duchess of Cambridge — who wore a cream knee-length Alexander McQueen coat.
The two-month-old appeared to be crying as Kate lifted her out of the pram — which the Queen used to carry her own children in the 1960s — ahead of the service.
The vintage pram was one of the talking points of a day that was steeped in tradition with loving nods to the past.
Retired pram expert Alison Richardson, who restored a dozen prams used on the BBC’s Call The Midwife, told the Mail Online it was “fit for a princess”.
“Millson were coach-built prams, the very top of the range. There is no doubt it is the Rolls Royce of prams,’ she said.
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Prince George stole the show, dressed in red shorts and an embroidered shirt by Rachel Riley — an outfit virtually identical to the one worn by his father Prince William 30 years ago when he visited his brother Prince Harry in hospital.
The pram even caught the eye of Prince George, who played with the wheels before he was quickly stopped by his nanny Maria Teresa Borallo, who was dressed in a traditional Norland nanny’s outfit.
Princess Charlotte’s christening
More than 3500 wellwishers had queued for hours, enduring bag checks and sniffer dog inspections, hoping to witness the Cambridges’ first public outing as a family of four. Big brother Prince George walked to church holding his daddy’s hand and gave the crowd a big wave, to roars of delight.
Among the 30 or so guests arriving to cheers from the crowd were Prince Charles and Camilla — who will tour Australia in November — the Queen and Prince Phillip, Michael and Carole Middleton and their other children Pippa and James. Prince Harry, who was at a football match in Australia when Charlotte was born, missed his niece’s big day as he is in Africa on a three-month conservation mission.
#PrinceGeorge wears outfit similar to one his father wore in 1984 (Getty/Rex) #christening http://t.co/cn4iC19fm1 pic.twitter.com/1JL7kYvK6Q
— Telegraph Pictures (@TelegraphPics) July 5, 2015No royals among godparents
There were no Royals among the godparents, with the couple choosing Kate’s close friend and tennis partner Sophie Carter, William’s best mates from Eton, James “Badger” Meade and Thomas van Straubenzee, Kate’s cousin Adam Middleton and William’s cousin on the Spencer side, Laura Fellowes.
As is traditional, the princess was christened by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby using a 170-year-old silver font so valuable it is normally kept with the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, and water flown in especially from the River Jordan.
Charlotte wore the same satin and lace christening gown her brother George wore when he was christened at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London two years ago. The gown is a replica of one made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841.
But while George’s christening was strictly a private affair, the Cambridges have once again shown their willingness to do things their own way — inviting people from the local villages to take part in festivities by gathering in a paddock beside the church, as they do when the Queen attends Christmas services there.
Tributes to Diana
The decision to christen the two-month-old princess at St Mary Magdalene was yet another nod to Prince William’s late mother, Princess Diana, who was christened in the same church in 1961. The church is close to Anmer Hall, where William and Kate have a ten-bedroom mansion.
Mario Testino, the photographer most famous for a series of black and white pictures he took of Diana in 1997 just months before she died in a Paris car crash, was chosen to take the official christening portraits.
The Queen invited christening guests to an informal reception at Sandringham following the service, where it is understood a tier of the cake from William and Kate’s 2011 wedding would be shared among the guests.
The Lily Font's decoration represents purity & new life. It was first used at Victoria, Princess Royal's christening. pic.twitter.com/fGgMaVo8l2
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 5, 2015While the Royal family normally stays at the 8000 acre Norfolk estate at Christmas, the Cambridges are making it their home. Prince William, who was a helicopter pilot in the British Army, starts his first full week as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance on July 13. The couple’s home, Anmer Hall, was a gift from the Queen and underwent a $3.1 million refurbishment ahead of their moving in. It is expected the family will live there for the next two years while the prince focuses on his flying career and family life.
The original Victorian lace and satin gown, worn at Royal christenings since 1841, has now been preserved. pic.twitter.com/kT8WE3PFMY
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 5, 2015The couple have been working hard to fit in to the East Anglian community, with Kate becoming royal patron of the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices charity ahead of her 2011 marriage to the second in line to the throne. Flowers from public wellwishers at Charlotte’s christening will be given to the hospices for patients and staff to enjoy.
To celebrate the princess’s big day, the Royal Mint has issued a commemorative five-pound coin in silver or gold. Approved by William, Kate and the Queen, it features a baroque-style oval frame and the inscription: “To celebrate the Christening of Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge 2015”. The Mint had already issued a coin to mark Charlotte’s birth.
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