The royal family finally announces baby Archie’s christening date

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will hold an intimate baptismal ceremony in Windsor Castle, but The Queen won’t be able to attend it
The first pictures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry baby are here

Updated July 1, 2019: The date of Archie’s christening has been revealed along with further details about who will be attending, potential godparents and where it will take place.

Hello! reports the christening will be held on Saturday, July 6, 2019 in the private chapel at Windsor Castle (the private chapel is reportedly distinct from St George’s Chapel, also in Windsor Castle, where Archie’s parents, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were married in May 2018).

The publication reports Archie’s grandpa, Prince Charles, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Archie’s maternal grandma, Doria Ragland, will be among the select group of 25 guests attending the baptismal ceremony. Markle’s friends, Serena Williams and Jessica Mulroney, are being tipped by the publication as possible godmothers to the royal baby.

According to Hello! the service will reportedly adhere to the royal family christening traditions including having “the Archbishop of Canterbury baptising Archie using water from the River Jordan poured from a silver ewer over the Lily Font,” and wearing the “replica Honiton gown” worn by his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The ceremony will reportedly be private (meaning no photographs), but the couple are expected to release an official photograph in the days following the christening.

June 17, 2019: Shortly after the world was given its first good look at the adorable Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, a total of six weeks after his birth, news broke that the new royal would be christened as soon as next month.

According to The Sunday Times, the baptism is slated to take place in early July, meaning we now know when Archie will make his next public appearance, the first since he made his debut at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle on May 8.

While it's likely that the majority of the British royal family will be in attendance, the publication’s royal correspondent, Roya Nikkhah, has confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II will not be there.

“The Queen will miss the christening because of prior commitments,” Nikkhah explained. “She attended the christenings of Prince George and Princess Charlotte but missed Prince Louis’s baptism last year.”

With their decision to baptise Archie in July, it would seem that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have opted to follow royal protocol, which dictates a royal baby must be christened two-to-three months after their birth.

However, given that they are known to bend the rules, it will be interesting to see whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will follow royal protocol for the other baptismal traditions such as announcing their son’s godparents, selecting an Archbishop to conduct the ceremony, and sitting down for a family portrait.

In celebration of Father’s Day in the UK, we were treated to an intimate photo of Archie in Prince Harry’s arms. It was the perfect picture to tide us over until we get another glimpse of the new royal next month.

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“Happy Father’s Day!” The post’s caption reads. “And wishing a very special first Father’s Day to The Duke of Sussex!”

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