Prince William May Not Let Harry And Meghan Bring Lilibet To Windsor Castle
There’s a new royal out there: Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet. And we’ve never even seen a photograph of her! Usually, royal parents show off their baby at one big event, the royal christening ceremony — a day packed with protocol, tradition, and cameras of course. But there hasn’t been one for Lilibet, and apparently some royals are dead set against it being held over in the U.K.
Religion
Christenings are a massive deal in the royal family. Aside from anything else, the royals take religion very seriously, and technically, a child isn’t a legitimate heir to the throne unless they’re baptized into the Church of England. This has been a rule for a long time, and it probably won’t change anytime soon.
The rules
As for the christening ceremony itself — well, as with just about everything the royals do, there are certain rules that are expected to be followed on the day. Everything from the gowns to the type of holy water has centuries of tradition behind it. You can see how Harry and Meghan, who don’t always play by the rulebook, might balk at a few of these requirements.
Gowns
For a start, all royal babies — including Harry and Meghan’s first child, Archie — have been baptized in the same Honiton lace gown. Well, sort of the same gown. The original was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841, but obviously, almost 200 years of intermittent use had left the garment a little worse for wear. So since 2008 an exact reproduction has been used instead.
The Lily Font
And tradition dictates that royal newborns are also supposed to be baptized in the same font as their forebears, which is the flower-shaped Lily Font which is kept in the Tower of London. This is another tradition passed down from Queen Victoria: she and her husband Prince Albert had the font made after the birth of their first child.
