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8th Jul 2019
The youngest British royal, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was christened in an intimate ceremony officiated over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby (who also officiated Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s May 2018 wedding), in the private chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, July 6. While details of the ceremony itself remain under wraps, the palace did, as promised, release two official portraits of Archie’s special day, providing some insight into which royal family members attended, what they wore and importantly, another glimpse at the newest royal.
The two beautiful images—one formal image of the royals who attended and one more intimate image of the Sussex family-of-three—were released on the official Instagram account of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, @sussexroyal. The caption on the post shared details of the day including a note thanking royal fans for their support since baby Archie was born exactly two months prior to the christening ceremony on May 6, 2019 at the Portland Hospital in London.
The couple also noted that Archie was christened in the famed replica Honiton gown worn by his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at their respective christenings, and spoke about the history of the original gown it was made to replicate. “Their son, Archie, was baptised wearing the handmade replica of the royal christening gown which has been worn by royal infants for the past 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.”
Although Archie conformed to the royal family dress code for royal christenings, his mum, Meghan Markle, and aunt, Kate Middleton, forged their own new traditions, albeit in different ways.
Markle stunned in the christening portraits in a custom white three-quarter sleeved Dior dress with matching hat and the Cartier diamond earrings she wore to marry Prince Harry last year.
The outfit itself was impeccable but it broke with tradition in the choice of a French-based fashion house rather than a British label for this memorable day. Markle’s wardrobe selections are typically very considered—the former actress knows the impact of what she wears and also the increased profile for her brands of choice.
For instance, for the first official photos to introduce the world to baby Archie shortly after he was born, the duchess wore a tuxedo dress from up-and-coming British designer Grace Wales Bonner, telegraphing the very Britishness of the new royal baby and also catapulting the British brand onto the international fashion stage. The duchess’s choice to wear a French designer is certainly a statement of a different, but also noteworthy kind. Maria Grazia Chiuri is the first female artistic director of Dior and has woven feminist tones into all of her collections for the house.
As for Archie’s aunt, the Duchess of Cambridge also made her own new dress code christening tradition, wearing an above-the-knee pink Stella McCartney dress with matching red headband, identified by What Kate Wore as a modified version of a Juliette Botterill pillbox hat. The duchess paired the look with red suede pumps and in a touching nod to her late mother-in-law, wore the pearl and diamond drop earrings which were reportedly a wedding gift from Collingwood jewellers to Princess Diana.
The hemline isn’t a traditional length for the duchess to wear, and perhaps signalled a move towards a softening of the strict dress code for official royal events going forward.
Aside from the sartorial breaks in tradition, the seating for the official family portrait of the royals was also steeped in meaning as were the additional ways Prince Harry’s beloved mum, Princess Diana, was included in the day.
Many royal fans noted that Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland (who wore a striking peach outfit) and Princess Diana’s sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, were all standing in the portrait, while Kate Middleton and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were both seated. In regular family photos, the seats would be reserved for the most senior in age members of the family, however in this case it appears that the seats were given to the two most senior ranking female members of the royal family, Middleton and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The presence of both Princess Diana’s sisters at the intimate ceremony and in the official family portrait was a touching way for Prince Harry to bring his mum closer to his son’s special day.
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