Lots of royal news! On Friday, St. James Palace announced that Duchess Kate and Prince William had finally settled on a date and a venue for the christening of HRH Prince George. He will be christened on October 23, about four weeks from now. This is a pretty standard length of time to wait, I think? George was born on July 22, so he’ll be christened three months and one day after his birth. I think most royal babies are christened around the three-month mark. What’s also interesting is that the christening is not going to be a big, public to-do. It will be private, in The Chapel Royal. The Chapel Royal is where Princess Diana’s coffin laid in state before her funeral.
Prince George will be christened on Wednesday 23 October at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace – just over three months after his birth. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, will perform the christening. The prince, who was born on 22 July at St Mary’s Hospital in London, is third in line to the throne.
In a statement Kensington Palace said: “Their royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce the christening of Prince George will take place on Wednesday, 23rd October at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Prince George will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.”
BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the Chapel Royal was small and would only accommodate close family and a few others. In 1997 the coffin of Prince William’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales, lay before the chapel’s altar before her funeral in Westminster Abbey.
Princess Beatrice was the last royal baby to be christened in the Chapel Royal in December 1988. Prince William was christened at Buckingham Palace in August 1982 by Dr Robert Runcie, then the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The current Archbishop later spoke of his joy at being asked to conduct the christening. He said: ‘I am delighted to be invited to conduct the baptism of His Royal Highness Prince George. It is a great privilege and honour and will without doubt be an occasion of immense joy and celebration. I am looking forward to welcoming him into the family of the church.”
Prince George will be christened in a replica of the intricate lace and satin christening gown made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, the Princess Royal, in 1841. The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s son Viscount Severn became the first royal baby to wear the new robe at his christening in 2008.
Everybody is talking about how the venue is super-small and not many people will be invited. I’m assuming the invitation list includes: the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Duchess Kate, the Middleton Family, Prince Harry… and Prince George. Am I missing anyone? Pippa will probably bring a date. It will be notable because it’s been more than a century since a monarch and three generations of heirs have been gathered together.
I sometimes confuse christenings and baptisms, but wouldn’t it be standard procedure to already have the godparents in order before the christening? Or is that just for baptisms? I still wonder who they’ll pick for the godparents. I believe that Prince George is required three sets of two godparents (six in total if that math confused you!). So Harry and Pippa will definitely make the cut, I think. But beyond that? Maybe Zara Phillips. Maybe one of the York girls. Maybe James Middleton?
Also, Kate and William finally got their “conjugal coat of arms”. The Queen gave the Middleton family a coat of arms just before William and Kate’s marriage in 2011, and now the Middleton coat of arms and the Duke of Cambridge’s coat of arms has been united. Here’s the new coat of arms:
If you’d like to read more about the history behind the symbolism, go here. William’s side is represented on the left, the lion. There are references to the Spencer family, the Windsor history, William’s future role as monarch to the United Kingdom. The blue garter reads “Honi soit qui mal y pense” – translated to “Shame to those who think evil of it.” Kate is represented by the right side, the unicorn. Is it freaking anyone else out that the unicorn is chained to the shield?! Duchess Kate is a chained unicorn. I wish her shield had sausage curls. Symbolism!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Sausage curls on he unicorn ahhaahahaha
My first thoughts were that the chain was totally appropriate…..LOL. Except it covers up the pubic area. Also, the unicorn should have on some high heels. Just saying. And eyeliner and too much blush to add to the overall look.
Where is the unicorn’s see-thru lace dress…and panties?
Is that saying on the blue garter some shade-throwing on some of us at Celebitchy and Duchess or Diva who are less than fond of the Royals? 🙂
It’s interesting the christening will be private. I wonder who’s idea that was.
Almost all British Royal family Christenings are private. The most notable exception in recent history being Princess Eugenie’s which took place at St. Mary Magdalene in Sandingham on Dec. 23, 1990. Princess Beatrice’s took place in the same Royal Chapel in St. James Palace on Dec. 20, 1990 as where Prince George’s christening is to be held.
The standard royal protocol is for a private Christening, followed by official photos released shortly afterward.
They always have private christenings. Then they release photos. It’s nothing out of the ordinary.
The motto is from the Order of the Garter, I think.
Actually the unicorn is also a standard part of the heraldry symbols of the Royal family. The Spenser family is represented by the red shells on the colors of the lion, unicorn and the the surmounting lion.
The Queen did not grant the Middletons their arms. The family applied to the Royal College of Hearldry. Anyone can do so and the college researches the family history and genealogy and determines if the appropriate symbols to incorporate. The fee is around £4950. The college also grants arms to businesses and organizations if they so desire.
Thanks. That was very informative.. Is it only brits who can?
My family line has a coat of arms, and we’re far from royal! I saw it in a little shop when I went on holiday in Ireland!
My family also has theirs too!
The unicorn chained to the shield is weird. But maybe it’s the Middleton’s idea like “we are chaining ourselves to everything we get from the royals so you can’t take it back. Just try to divorce yourself from this family and see how far you get with that.” LOL.
I give them two thumbs up for at least having something private. Either they think the public is getting sick of them or the christening will have too much “this royal child is ordained by God to rule over the ungodly peasants” pissing off both Christians and athetists.
The ‘chaining’ is part of the joint arms. BUT w/ all the negative feelings towards the Middleton’s it sure adds a comical irony….
The unicorn also needs Middleton Eyeliner.
T.Fanty — what?!? And no bright blush?!? Are you trying to SHAME the poor unicorn?!?
Tsk tsk
And nude-colored hooves.
lmao
The Daily Mail did some more in depth description of the coat of arms. Part of the Middletons is white because of their “love of skiing.” Eye roll.
I do not believe there is a *required* number of godparents, that’s strictly a personal decision as some Royal babies have a ton of godparents while others have far fewer.
Also, the fact that the BRF heads to Balmoral in the late summer/early autumn is the reason for the delay in George’s christening as most Royal babies have it occur within a shorter time period.
I don’t remember a royal christening being televised like a royal wedding. A private christening is the norm. Nothing strange about this at all. There will be photos and possibly video after it’s over.
I just saw a video posting on a site from Harry’s christening and it was so adorable. William and Zara were running around chasing each other and the adults were being very indulgent, petting and hugging them. It was so cute. There may not be any small children at Georgie’s christening since the venue is so small.
I’m looking forward to seeing who the godparents will be and what everyone will be wearing.
European royals do it publicly as a way to include the whole country, but the Brits dont really beilve in that connection. I think it has something to do with them feeling more royal than everyone else so they feel above that. The irony in that is the Brits are one of the least royal-royal families, historically speaking.
Why do people always shade the British royals as “new”? While it is true that there was shady illegitimacy and such in the past of the family and many of the royal families circa 1900 were more “royal”, a lot of the families that are older got kicked off their thrones.
I’ve even seen Swedish royal family fans (?) shading the Brits for being new!!!! When the current Swedish royal house was only founded in 1818!!!!!!!! Give me a break, the House of Hanover had been on the throne for 100 years by then and Elizabeth II is legitimately descended from the Hanoverians…
Elizabeth is in fact descended from the House of Wessex, i.e. Alfred the Great. The Hanovarians were descended from the Stuarts from James I, the Stuarts from the Tudors from Henry VII, the Tudors from the Plantagenets via Edward IV and the Beauforts, the Plantagenets from the Normans via Matilda whose son was Henry II was the first Platagenet, and Matilda’s father Henry I, (son of William the Conquerer) was married to Edith the daughter of Malcolm of Scotland and his Queen, Margaret, granddaughter of Edmund II (called Ironside) King of England and direct descendent of Alfred the Great. So yeah they are not “new”!
Firstly, the unicorn doesn’t represent Kate. It represents Scotland. It’s present in all COA of the united Kingdom. BRF use it on all their COA as do all government offices or people with a royal warrant. Ditto on all our passports.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg
For the purpose of this conjugal COA, they’ve simply shoved Kate’s family coat of arms into William’s personal COA with an added wreath around it.
Middleton family COA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Kate_Middleton.svg
Prince William’s personal COA.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Coat_of_Arms_of_William%2C_Duke_of_Cambridge.svg/200px-Coat_of_Arms_of_William%2C_Duke_of_Cambridge.svg.png
On a different note, christenings/Baptisms are usually at 3months for CoE.
We have a confirmation at any time later in life. Kate was confirmed a few weeks ahead of her wedding.
ps:- Christenings and Baptisms are used interchangebly in CoE, however, if you have a different strain of christianity eg Born Again, they may choose to be baptised again which is a different meaning and usually involves adults making a choice of their own free will. no need for new godparents.
We’re Episcopalian (i.e,, American Anglicans) and the christening is the baptism and it’s a one time deal. Godparents will be chosen and present – no limit on numbers in the Anglican communion.
LOL – I was writing this as you added your p.s. 😉
LOL. i struggle to remember if they are the same or not since people always use one or the other.
On different note, thanks for explaining the American equivalent of CoE is. I have never received a straight answer about that before.
When we (the US) broke away from the UK we also needed to our break ties religiously with them. So Church of England (CoE) became the Episcopal Church and Church of Scotland (CoS) became the Presbyterian Church. That way no one doubted the church followers loyalties.
Hope that helps. 🙂
The way I understand it the Episcopalian Church still falls under the umbrella of the Anglican Communion and is somewhat viewed as “separate but equal”.
For example, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is speaking at our church today – she’s the equivalent of the Archbishop of Canterbury BUT when the Anglican Communion convenes, she’s still under the Archbishop of Canterbury. It’s complicated, lol!
GiGi,
Exactly, great explanation. As members of the Episcopal Church, we observe all the same High Holy Days as CoE does (Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, although I believe Anglicans call it Holy Thursday) all the sacraments and liturgy for the most part. The baptisms here in the US seem to take place around the same stage of development and can either be private or may include the congregation after a regular Sunday service.
GiGi – you are correct, technically the ultimate head of our church Queen of England but in practical terms our Bishop makes our ecclesiastical decisions – for example, the Archbishop of Canterbury came over to the 2006 Convention when the Episcopal Church of the United States decided to honor same-sex marriages, but did not vote.
Baptisms are supposed to be performed on the the feast days (our high holy days.) Usually feast days are about 3 months apart. This constitutes part of the three month tradition in addition to the original belief for baptizing was to clarify the child in the event of death (not something the ECoUSA promotes anymore.) However, there is a much larger gap between Pentecost and All Saints Day which often leads to private baptisms in between. These can be done during the service or separately.
Funnily, All Saints Day is November 1 (Nov 3 on the church calendar this year) so I guess they were impatient.
One of the few topics I can actually speak on – sorry for the Sunday School lesson, y’all.
ETA – and GiGi – did you hear Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori? I think she is amazing.
j.eyre – I didn’t! I wanted to go, but we’ve had an insane week/sick kids and I have “in-law commitments” today already. She’s close with my former priest and our current Diocesan Bishop, so I’m hoping to get another chance before her time is up. (That sounds so ominous, lol!)
Love all these explanations.
I was brought up CoE though not an enthusiastic participant, so I have very shallow knowledge of christian traditions beyond the superficial.
I am an atheist now. Only go to church for weddings and deaths.
Thanks for the unicorn clarification. I thought it represented Scotland but wasn’t 100% sure… Lol.
Gigi, thank you for the education this morning! My mom is Irish Catholic and my Dad Irish Protestant (I KNOW!!), and as they both eschewed their religions long ago – I have never known the origins of those religions.
Many thanks.
No prob! I was actually raised in a Gospel church, but was drawn to the Episcopal church because of its stance on ordaining women, same – sex marriage and openly gay priests.
It’s been a good fit for our family.
I think technically a “Christening” is the official naming of the baby. A Baptism is the religious sacrament of welcoming a person into the Church, and that’s why a baby needs godparents – in case something happens to the parents, the baby will still have someone responsible for their religious training.
I think most people combine both into one ceremony, that’s why the confusion about what it’s called.
In my experience, three months old is a pretty standard age for baptism.
I do NOT think that Kate will pick one of the York princesses to be a godparent.
Actually the unicorn is chained to the ground and the shield. Take that as you will.
I doubt the christening will be a public event, although the trend in other European royal families in the past decade was to have the christenings televised aside from the official photos released by the Palace. Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and Norway all had televised christenings.
Belgium is the only other monarchy who hasn’t jumped into that bandwagon.
As for the godparents, one of the van Cutsem brothers or their wives will most likely be chosen. The van Cutsems are Catholics though, so I don’t know if that’s as doubtful as a Catholic royal being asked to be one of the 4 godparents to a CoE royal baby.
I wonder if they would even ask any royals at all, considering they hardly socialize with the rest of them. Edward and Sophie attend most of the royal events outside of UK. I don’t think William and Harry know any “foreign royals” personally, except for the deposed Greek royals.
Sachi –
It’s my understanding that Catholics are directed by the Vatican not to be godparents to non-Catholics. I don’t know if that’s one of the rules that the rich and famous get to break at will.
Oh no! Mr. bluhare’s in trouble with the pope! 🙂
Unicorn means scotland, lion means england.
Have you ever heard of the nursery rhyme the lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
The difference between christening and baptism has become perceptively narrower in the public view and therefore, almost interchangeable.
But technically, christenings were meant to give babies their Christian name and appoint those who would promise to take over the religious guidance of the child if anything were to happen to the parents. Baptism was an offering of the individual to God with a vow of allegiance to the faith. For this reason some denominations do not baptise until the child is old enough to comprehend and consent. For others baptism is token.
For the religios type A personalities both are done but about 7 or 8 years apart. Christenings are a presentation and introduction to the faith and baptisms are an acceptance of it.
In the Anglican church christening and baptism are interchangeable terms, and considered a holy sacrament.
“Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened”
At a later stage (around 12yrs) the child is ‘Confirmed’ into the church. Then are permitted to take Holy Communion and considered a full member of the church.
Catherine herself was baptised/christened as a baby but never took ‘Confirmation’ in her youth, it was a requirement that she be confirmed in the Church of England before she married William.
It was a big deal in church circles at the time
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376455/Royal-Wedding-Kate-Middleton-confirmed-Church-England-secret.html
I find it so funny that people think the Unicorn has something to do with Kate. Never seen other royals coats? Lion and Unicorn are part of every Windsor coat of arms.
Lion: England
chained Unicorn: Scotland
Just look at the coat of arms of The Queen and her children… ALL have Lion+Unicorn in the same way. It´s just William´s coat of arms with now the Middleton-plate with the 3 acorns.
I think the chaining of the unicorn is pretty standard. I am Canadian, and our country’s coat of arms has the unicorn chained as well.
Maybe it is forcing the Scottish unicorn to stay part of the UK!
I always think that whenever i see the chained Unicorn.
Maybe someday the Unicorn will be freed! Honestly I don’t get the dominance of the English over these other countries.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Van Cutsem among the godparents. I lol’d at “Shame to those who think evil of it.” These two are obviously aware they have a significant base of haters.
The “shame to those who think evil of it” isn’t specifically for will and kate. The “it” is the crown.
Honi soit qui mal y pense – “Shame to those who think ill of it” is the motto of the chivalric order of the Garter. The thing it is written on is a garter.
You can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honi_soit_qui_mal_y_pense
I thought they were liberal? Why are they forcing the poor baby into this brainwashing superstition?
I am sure that baby George would have sleepless nights if he is read out the amazing old testament and what all violence it prescribes. Perhaps imagine what will he say when he knows that the god orders murder of children?
Its sick how people just show few good parts while hiding the dangerous verses!
Yeah right the world is 6000 years old and the first man is Adam! SMH
Maybe because George will one day be the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
*raises hand* Am I the only one who thinks the Midds shield looks like a Christmas ornament?
Everything about the Dolittles seems so manufactured and artificial.
Who ever heard of a ‘public’ Christening, of course it would be private,though it’s a bit creepy that it’s the chapel where Diana’s body was kept until her funeral.
I’ve been reading this site for a couple of years now, am amazed at all the “regulars” who posted today! All of you are really a bunch of brainy Anglophiles.
Thanks for making my day! Impressive!