Prince George, the three-month-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was christened this afternoon in London.
The Duke and Duchess had named Zara Tindall and six close friends as the godparents.
The prince, who could one day be king, was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, in the little known Chapel Royal at St James's Palace.
His seven godparents include William and Kate’s former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who continues to serve part-time as their principal private secretary and equerry.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said the other godparents are Oliver Baker, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Earl Grosvenor, Julia Samuel and William van Cutsem.
Kensington Palace said those invited to the christening included the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, who has become a grandfather for the first time, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry. Kate’s family — parents Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa and James — were also attending, along with the godparents and their partners.
Mr Baker is an old university friend who attended St Andrews with William and Kate, while Earl Grosvenor, whose first name is Hugh, is the son of the Duke of Westminster. Ms Samuel was a close friend of Charles and is the founder patron of Child Bereavement UK, which has William as its royal patron.
Mr van Cutsem is one of the four brothers who are old family friends of William and Harry, while Ms Jardine-Paterson is an interior designer and an old school friend of Kate, who also uses her maiden name d’Erlanger in her working life. The royal couple chose celebrity portrait photographer Jason Bell to take the official pictures to mark the christening.
Bell is renowned for his images of showbiz figures like Sir Paul McCartney, actress Scarlett Johansson and former England footballer David Beckham.
The photographs taken after the ceremony were expected to capture four generations of the Royal Family together.
The pictures will show the Queen with three future monarchs — Charles, William and George.
In past decades, senior royal babies — the Queen, Charles and William — have been christened at Buckingham Palace. But the Cambridges chose the Chapel Royal, where the coffin of the Duke’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, lay before her funeral. Princess Beatrice was the last well known royal baby to be christened at St James’s Palace, in December 1988.
George was being 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.
Agencies