MEGHAN MARKLE and Prince Harry are set to arrive in the United Kingdom alongside the Queen to christen Lilibet Diana, their newest addition to the family. Here’s all we know so far about the christening’s date, location, and guests.
On June 4, 2021, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archie Harrison, the couple’s two-year-old son, was born on May 6, 2019, and is now Lili’s big brother. Lili was named after Queen Elizabeth II, her great grandmother. Despite the fact that Harry and Meghan have stood down as senior royals, Harry is said to be close to his grandmother and is keen for his daughter to meet one of his life’s most powerful women, with plans to bring Lili to the UK apparently in the works.
While Meghan and Harry decided to live outside of the palace walls in California, the Sussex family is rumored to be making a journey back to the UK shortly.
Because Lili is the Queen’s 11th great-granddaughter, she’ll very certainly be christened in a church, with the British side of the family present.
Meghan and Harry are said to have submitted a formal request to see the Queen and introduce her to Lili, who was given the name Lilibet after the Queen’s family nickname.
The couple’s relationship with the Royal Family has been tense since they stood down as working royals, but Harry is known to be close to his grandmother.
So, what do we know about baptism so far? All of the details surrounding Lili’s big day are detailed on the website Express.co.uk.
Meghan and Harry have requested that the christening take place at Windsor Castle, the Queen’s official residence, according to The Sun.
Because they were married at St George’s Chapel, which is located on the grounds of the Queen’s second home, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor have a unique connection to the castle.
They baptized their son Archie at the castle in a less public ceremony than customary royal christenings in 2019.
According to the Daily Mail, “Harry told numerous individuals that they want Lili baptised in Windsor, much like her brother.” They’re content to wait until the circumstances allow.”
The date of the christening has yet to be established, and it will almost certainly be influenced by Covid travel limitations.
Although the US is currently on the amber list for travel to the UK, Meghan and Harry are said to have promised to visit the Queen.
Archie’s christening, on the other hand, can serve as an example. The couple’s first child was baptized at the age of two months.
Lili was born in June, making her three months old, implying that the wedding could take place soon.
Lilibet was born in Santa Barbara, California, and has lived in the United States her entire life.
The difficulties of getting around the travel limitations with a small child may be too onerous to negotiate with a young child, so the family may decide to stay in the United States after all.
“Though there were speculations of a probable baptism at Windsor,” Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk, “it must be likely that she will be baptized in California.”
“Harry and Meghan’s relations with the British press worsened severely after Archie was baptized in private and the names of the godparents were not disclosed.”
On Archie’s special day, attendees included Prince Charles, Markle’s mother Doria Ragland, the late Princess Diana’s sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
The party was photographed in the Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle, which also served as the location for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official wedding photographs in 2018.
Because the Sussexes have yet to reveal us a photo of their gorgeous little girl, it’s probable that this, like Archie’s, will take place behind closed doors.
This could suggest that we are uninformed of what is going on and will only learn about it after the fact.
We should expect most of the event to be kept private, given that the couple hasn’t even released a single photo of their four-month-old.
However, it is assumed that if they are awarded their Winsdor Castle ceremony, they will continue to follow some traditions, as they did with Archie.
For the event, Archie donned a handcrafted duplicate of the royal christening robe used by royal babies for the preceding 11 years.
The couple stated on Instagram that “the original Royal Christening Robe, fashioned of beautiful Honiton lace laced with white satin, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 and initially worn by her eldest daughter.”
“It was then worn for decades of Royal christenings, including The Queen, her children, and grandchildren, until 2004, when The Queen commissioned this handcrafted reproduction to conserve the fragile historic garment and keep the tradition alive.”