Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 6th May 2019, and was christened 2 months later on 6th July.
The Christening took place in the private chapel in Windsor Castle, as opposed to St George's Chapel, where his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were married in May 2018. I think the private chapel was the perfect choice, as royal christenings are private family events as opposed to public or state affairs, and furthermore, the Sussex's live in Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate. Frogmore Cottage is their official residence. But, usually members of the press are invited to take photos and videos as the royal party arrive at, and leave, the christening. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not permit this and avoided the paparazzi by choosing the private chapel within the castle as opposed to St George's Chapel. I think they must be careful to not completely alienate the public and press through these kinds of decisions. Furthermore, we want to be part of their lives because they are the royal family, our royal family, and if they wish to maintain their privileges I think they must be willing to share their lives, although I understand that is hard. Even though the Sussex's are not directly in line to the throne, we still care about them and it is still their duty to serve the country as working members of the royal family. I know it is not their choice to be born into the role, but there are things in life we all have no choice about. Sometimes we have to accept what life throws at us. I am not saying it is purely the Duchess, as a new member of the family, that is making these decisions that go against tradition/protocol and make their lives more private. Harry has plenty of reasons to seek more privacy, especially after what happened to his mother. I am not condoning what happened to Diana, often the measures taken by the royals to gain privacy are a good thing. But there is a fine line.
The Queen did not attend the christening as she already had a previous engagement. This is not a slight to the Sussex's, as the Queen also missed Prince Louis' christening. As is tradition, baby Archie wore the christening robe worn by all royal babies; the replica of the honiton lace gown that Queen Victoria's children were christened in. The short service was conducted by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop conducted the Sussex's wedding vows and confirmed Meghan as a member of the Church of England, so not only was this a piece of royal tradition, but it also had a personal connection to Harry and Meghan. Water from the River Jordan was used in the silver Lily Font (part of the crown jewels collection) as is royal tradition.
The christening was attended by the Duke's family; the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Duchess's mother, Ms Doria Ragland, was also present. The only other guests were the godparents, chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The role of godparents is to support the parents and child, and help bring the child up with knowledge of God and the Christian faith. There were 25 guests in total. It is unusual that the godparents were not named to the public, as this is what normally happens with royal christenings. Again, the Sussex’s kept things private. In the official photos released by the couple, the family are shown gathered around baby Archie. Megan wore white with a pillbox style hat, looking very similar to the Duchess of Cambridge at the christenings of the Cambridge children. Also in the family group were the late Diana, Princess of Wales' sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes, and Lady Sarah McCorquodale. It is not often that we see Diana's sisters with the royal family in official photographs. I think it was lovely of the Duke of Sussex to invite his aunts, and was clearly a way of including his mother and his mother's family, which we know is, understandably, very important to him. I commend him for his decision to invite them, and to include them in the publicly released photograph, which clearly shows he is making a statement that they are still a very important part of his close, immediate family. The second photo shows the proud parents with their son. It shows the close bond they share.
I think it is good that royal christening's remain a private affair, as it signifies the importance of the event. It is a personal dedication of Archie to God, to thank God for his safe arrival, and for this gift that has been given by God to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their family and friends. Being private, I think it allows the emphasis and focus to be on God, rather than on the royals themselves. It becomes an occasion of worship and thanks to God. I am pleased the Sussex's chose to keep up royal traditions, as this adds a sense of timelessness and solemnity to this joyful occasion, and gives it stability and grounding, that Archie is born into a stable and grounded family with the wisdom of God and all that has gone before him. My prayers are for Archie to continue to learn about this world as God sees this world, to grow to have his own, strong, independent faith, and have a joyful and peace-filled life.
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