The christening is a big day for any royal baby and the monarchy as a whole. When King Henry VIII founded the Church of England in the 16th century, he probably had no idea it would still be kicking in 2021. The monarchs have remained faithful to the church throughout the years, and as such, every new royal baby is baptized a few months after they're born.
Over the past century, christenings have looked similar thanks to one key item — the Honiton lace gown. Commissioned by Queen Victoria in the 19th century, the original gown or its replica have been used in every UK royal's baptism since. Yep, Archie wore the same gown as Prince George, who was wearing a replica of his dad's gown who was wearing Prince Charles' gown, and so on.
Take a look back at the notable christenings throughout royal history.
Queen Victoria at the Future King Edward VIII's Christening
When Queen Victoria held her great-grandson Edward at his 1894 christening, she had no idea he would later go on to abdicate the throne and completely change the future path of the monarchy. Also of note here is that Edward is wearing the Honiton lace christening gown that Victoria first commissioned in 1841 for her oldest daughter. It was worn by every royal child after that until it became too fragile and a replica was made in 2004. The replica is the version used today.
Future Queen Elizabeth's Christening
Upon then-Princess Elizabeth's birth in 1926, there was no expectation that she would ever be the monarch. Her grandfather George V was still reigning at the time, and then the crown was to pass to her uncle King Edward VIII. But as we all know, he abdicated, throwing Elizabeth's father onto the throne instead. This photo of future Queen Elizabeth and her parents at her christening was long before any of that would happen.
Prince Charles' Christening
There are photos of baby Charles with his mother and father on the date of his christening, but we also find it so interesting to see that he was posed with his nurse, Sister Helen Rowe. Sister Helen was the Queen's midwife and seemingly meant a lot to the family for them to want to honor her during this special occasion.
Then-Princess Elizabeth With Princess Anne
Elizabeth didn't become Queen until 1953, so when she took these photos with her daughter Anne in 1950, she was still Princess Elizabeth. Princess Anne is Elizabeth and Philip's second child, and as such was considered the spare to Prince Charles should anything have happened to him before his reign. Now, of course, Charles' own son William has become second in line to the throne.
Princess Grace at Her Daughter's Christening
Long before Meghan Markle, Grace Kelly was the most notable American actress to marry into a royal family. She wed Rainier III, the Prince of Monaco, in 1956 and they had three children together. Princess Grace is pictured here in 1965 at the christening for her youngest child, her daughter Princess Stephanie. Monaco's royal family is Roman Catholic.
The Queen Comforts Anne's Son
Princess Anne chose not to give her children titles, so her eldest child Peter Phillips isn't technically a prince. But he did get to wear the special Honiton lace gown at his christening in 1977. He's pictured here with his mother and the Queen, who reached down to comfort to Peter when he began to cry.
Diana Shares a Moment With William
If this photo doesn't sum up everything about Princess Diana and Prince Charles, we don't know what does. The photographer at Prince William's 1982 christening captured this sweet moment between mother and son as Diana let little William teethe on her pinky. Meanwhile Charles peered on in the background looking concerned. Classic.
William Steals the Show at Harry's Christening
Poor Prince Harry's christening turned into the Prince William show when the 2-year-old stepped center stage during the royal christening portrait. Whatever the toddler was doing made everyone laugh — even the Queen! Harry looks less than amused, though. This was supposed to be his special moment!
Princess Beatrice's Christening
Bea was christened in 1988 at the chapel in St. James's Palace, which is where both Prince George and Prince Louis would later have their own ceremonies.
If you didn't tell us what year this photo was taken, we'd still have guessed right. Sarah Ferguson's outfit screams late '80s from the color to the giant buttons to the hat. We also love that you can see Diana in the background.
William and Harry Went to Beatrice's Christening
Royal christenings don't seem like they would be all that fun for kids to attend, but Diana brought her two sons along for Beatrice's baptism in 1988. At the time, William was 6 and Harry was 4. We hope she had some coloring books in that clutch or something, or those boys would have been so bored.
Eugenie Looked Like an Angel at Her Christening
All royal babies are cute, but Princess Eugenie looked especially angelic during her christening in 1990. Look at those big blue eyes! Eugenie was christened at the church in Sandringham, where the royals routinely spend Christmas. This is the same church Princess Charlotte was later christened in.
Prince William Attends His Godson's Christening
Before he had his own children, teenage Prince William became a godfather to Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark. The baby boy was baptized in 1999 when William was just 16. We're not really sure how the decision was made for a 16-year-old to be Constantine's godfather, but the Greek and Danish prince is just one of four of William's godchildren.
A Twin Christening
There aren't many royal twins, so a twin christening is rare. But it happened for Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark when they baptized their twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine in 2011. It's a good thing the UK royal line doesn't have twins, because they'd have to make a replica of the replica in order to have enough Honiton lace gowns!
Kate Matched George for His Christening
In 2013, Kate Middleton started a tradition of wearing cream to her kids' christening ceremonies to match with their gown. It was a trend that Meghan Markle would copy for her own son's baptism years later. For George's christening, Kate went with a cream Alexander McQueen ruffled coatdress.
Coordinating Again for Charlotte's Ceremony
Here we see Kate cooing to her daughter to try to stop her from crying on he way into her christening ceremony. For Charlotte's special day, Kate chose an off-white dress rather than the cream she wore to George's christening. It's another Alexander McQueen design, and Kate would later rewear the outfit to Meghan and Harry's wedding.
George Also Stole the Show
Much like how William captured everyone's attention at Prince Harry's christening, Prince George did the same at Charlotte's. Little George looked so cute in his red shorts and T-strap shoes, especially when he stood on his tiptoes to get a look at his sister in her pram. Too adorable.
The Return of the Coordinating Cambridges
Of course Kate matched Prince Louis for his 2018 christening in yet another Alexander McQueen design, but she wasn't the only coordinating Cambridge on that day. Prince William, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte all wore blue in support of Louis for the special occasion.
Gang's All Here
The Queen and Prince Philip didn't attend Louis' christening due to their busy schedules, but the rest of the royal family showed up as well as Kate's side of the family. For the royals, Harry and Meghan attended alongside Charles and Camilla. And from Kate's side, her mom and dad came as well as her brother James and sister Pippa and Pippa's husband James Matthews.
Archie's Christening
Baby Archie's christening marked one of the last times that the Cambridges and Sussexes came together before Harry and Meghan would step down as working royals. Many were quick to point out that both Kate and William seem tense in the picture, which would make sense, given the discord with Meghan and Harry.
Three Generations
Meghan and Harry posted this photo in honor of Prince Charles' birthday. It's an outtake from Archie's christening day that shows three generations of royal men enjoying their time together. Harry looks so smitten with Archie, and Charles seems so proud to see who his son has become.
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