HRH Princess Charlotte was christened today at Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham. Sandringham is the Queen’s large estate outside of London and William and Kate have been living full-time at Anmer Hall – which is part of Sandringham – for months now. Will and Kate did a better job releasing details about the christening ahead of time, which was nice, and they also didn’t put up a fuss about allowing the peasants to see Charlotte and George – Will and Kate made sure that part of the chapel’s grounds were open to the public and the media. Here are some additional details about the day’s activities (and I’ll update with more photos when we get them in).
The clothes. Kate wore cream Alexander McQueen and a Jane Taylor hat. Queen Elizabeth repeated a pink suit/dress. Prince George wore red and white, which is new – usually we only see him in blue and white.
The christening gown. It’s the same one Prince George wore and it’s an almost exact replica of the christening gown used by members of the royal family since 1841. Queen Elizabeth II had the replica made years ago when the original began to fall apart. The replica was painstakingly made by British and Italian dressmakers working off the original.
The font. Before today, I didn’t know this was a thing (I’m a heathen, I know). But Charlotte was christened in the Lily Font, which was made for Queen Victoria in 1840. It looks like it’s made of silver. You can see it here.
The christening party. Surprisingly (to me), William and Kate are not hosting their own party at Anmer Hall. The party went down at Sandringham, with the Queen acting as hostess. The party food included “a feast of tiny, delicately cut sandwiches, light sponge cake and perhaps a toast of Champagne.” They used some fancy 19th century china too.
The godparents. Will & Kate decided again to forgo aunts and uncles in favor of friends for the most part, just as they did with George’s godparents. Charlotte’s godparents include: Laura Fellowes (Princess Diana’s niece, William’s cousin and party of the Turnip Toffs of Norfolk), James Meade (Will’s friend, they were at Eton together), Thomas van Straudenzee (one of Will’s friend oldest friends, their families are very close), Sophie Carter (Kate’s friend, known for being “very discreet”) and Adam Middleton (Kate’s cousin on her dad’s side). No Pippa, no James, no Harry and no royal family member as godparent.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
I love Kate’s ensemble and George is just TOO cute to handle.
Finally, Kate has the perfect up-do! Her coat dress is lovely, too, and just the right length. I think she’s finally beginning to understand what a royal occasion and a royal look should be.
To me, she looks matronly and about 50. She’s a beautiful, young woman, royal or not, and I’d love to see her dress more age appropriately. And her hair style looks positively Edwardian!
Agreed! She looks amazing!!
I totally agree with you. I couldn’t help but smile ear to ear from watching this.
Does anyone notice that Kate is wearing a coat and George has a short sleeved shirt and shorts and Charlotte has nothing on her head? I’m curious how warm the weather was. The spectators don’t seem to be bundled up.
Bethany – I was wondering that too. I live just 10 mins from Sandringham and it’s been warm for most of the day. Like t-shirt weather. Kate must have been hot in that coat.
Kate looks very nice here, exactly right and appropriate.
They all looked great and happy. George is adorable.
George’s outfit is new. It’s also similar to an outfit William wore to visit Harry in the hospital.
Charlotte looks like George.
The Queen was adorable and practical in her pink coat and dress.
The Midds, including Kate, need to wear different colors. Good God, the white/beige is boring and very bridal-like.
I wore cream or white to my kids Baptisms and First Communions. I don’t think it’s too bridal.
That’s nice. But I think the whole female contingent of the Middleton clan wearing white is boring and bland.
White is officially a thing. It’s the liturgical color for baptism.
Kate’s updo looks good!
I like the cut of Kate’s coat but the complete ensemble, to include the hat, makes her look old. Even with the fuller face, the style and (lack of) color are aging on her. Also, I agree with others here, this copying of PW’s clothes for George is weird. And, I don’t think it’s PW’s idea. This is Kate and Carole at work with their Diana obsession and silly PR tactics.
Why do they seem so intent in making George out to be a replica of William? Kate loves to shop so much, you’d think she’d enjoy purchasing clothes just for George instead of making him look like he’s wearing hand-me-downs. I don’t find it cute in the least. Already they aren’t allowing him to be his own person.
I think it is a subtle tribute to Diana – making her part of the day – they chose the church hat Diana was baptised in and dressed George in an outfit that Diana bought for William
I think it’s weird too, that they are copying Willie’s garb from years ago. And this thing about white is odd as well. Not only Kate, but her orange sister and that mother of hers.
Kate, please get better hats. These flying saucers look ridic. And walking to the church in those stupid heels, she’ll need bunion surgery before she’s 50.
The stars of the day were the baby, George, and The Queen.
Yes, it’s weird. As soon as I saw the side by side comparison, I was grimacing. Why keep sending the message that they are so modern when they keep copying the past. George is gorgeous, but is always dressed like one of those creepy movies when the kids are haunting an old house. Does he even own jeans?
George owns jeans and wears them when he is playing. However this is a formal occasion and he is dressed in traditional little boy clothing. These kinds of clothes can be found in stores and are worn today and therefore are as much clothes of today as track suits and sneakers. People today don’t tend to dress up their little children (especially their boys) so they seem not to recognize formal little boy wear.
As for copying the past – well you could argue that Diana also copied the past, since she dressed William and Harry in similar clothes, which were like the clothes their father wore in the 1940s and 1950s. The royals exist because of tradition after all!
I think Kate looks great. I don’t think Kate or William is trying to make George a little Willam or desperately trying to hold on to the past with George’s clothing. He’s wearing is traditional little boy clothes, nothing more or nothing less. If I had a little boy I’d dress him the same way. And, I am not a traditional dresser myself, but I really like traditional or conservative children’s clothing.
I wore ivory for both of my children’s baptism’s. I matched the christening gown that have been in my family for almost a hundred years AND is the appropriate color for the sacrament of baptism. While other colors are not discouraged, I knew that family pictures would be taken and wanted them them to be harmonious and an extension of previous generations.
William’s mother sadly died many years before he became a husband and father. What is so terrible about him wanting her memory to live on in his family? My husband died when our children were teenagers. We do what we can to ensure his descendants know who he was and what he meant to his/our family. Why should William and Catherine’s family be any different?
I love Kate’s outfit and the pram. George always makes the best faces! The family walk was a nice touch. Blessings on Charlotte for her special day.
George wears red and Kate ties her hair back! The times are a changing!
The DM caught a snap of the wind catching the Duchess of Cornwall’s frock and lifting the hem northwards… she’s got lovely legs!
No one’s going to give her grief for it happening?? “Camilla needs to at LEAST put weights in the
hems to keep this from happening!” or “She’s been in ‘The Firm’ long enough to expect the wind might blow up! She should know better!” Lol
I didn’t know fonts were things, either. I thought they were just part of the fixtures and fittings of whatever church you were in. During the few occasions I’ve actually been in working churches (rather than historic monuments, if you see what I mean), fonts don’t look as though they are moveable objects. Or is there always a silver thing inside the stone/marble thing that is moveable and is actually the font?
Signed
Your friendly local religious ignoramus
Here’s DM’s article about this particular font they’re using today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3149802/Crown-Jewels-leave-London-time-Priceless-175-year-old-font-taken-Norfolk-play-central-role-christening-Princess-Charlotte.html
It was commissioned by Queen Victoria and has never left the Tower of London until this event.
(Queen V had it made “because she didn’t want her children to be christened in the same font as the illegitimate offspring of Charles II.”)
It’s 175 years old, 21 pounds, 17-inch high, and a special traveling case had to be created to get it to Charlotte’s christening. The transportation is so secret that only a few people know the exact details.
It “has been used for the baptisms of almost every royal baby since the mid-19th century, including Prince George, Princes William and Harry, and the Queen” and the water used is from the River Jordan “where Christ is said to have been baptised.”
I guess that since they’re not baptizing the baby in London, they’ve had to spend loads of money to get it to the Norfolk christening.
The article says the Tower of London at one point but then the capitol at another. I say this because the previous christening of George wasn’t at the Tower of London, but at the Chapel Royal in St Jame’s Palace, so I think the Tower of London part may be wrong. It should say the capitol.
Man alive, it sounds like a nice item for a museum where we could all gawk at the old, pretty thing with an interesting backstory.
However, what I was meaning, is that in my limited experience of churches, the font is a fixed item. About as transportable as the basin in your bathroom. Now I know that not all fonts are equal!
If you do want to gawk at, you can! it’s normally on display with the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
Baptismal fonts are larger and fixed in those denominations that practice or once practiced infant baptism by immersion, as in the Roman Catholic church. Many Catholic parishes still immerse the entire baby (this is particularly common in US Catholic churches with large Latino congregations), but most of the baptisms I’ve been to in recent years had the child held over the font and water poured on its forehead. You can still see large, fixed fonts in mainline (Episcopalian, Lutheran, etc.) churches when the church building is older (100+ years). And some Christian denominations baptize adults or older children only, so their baptismal fonts are in effect small pools. If a denomination practices infant baptism but doesn’t immerse the baby in a font — like the Church of England — a smaller, portable font to hold the water may be used.
Ever see the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”? I believe the Greek Orthodox practice infant baptism by immersion, so their fonts are small and fixed. Hence the need to baptize Ian (played by John Corbett) in an inflatable kiddie pool.
I have actually seen portable fonts at the hospital when parents want to baptize sick children.
The baptismal font is typical in Episcopalian churches in America and elswhere, Anglican Churches in England and elsewhere, and Roman Catholic churches all over the world. I realize some of the younger people may think of a font as a print type style, which it is, of course!
Beautiful family God has blessed them.
They just aren’t likeable personalities, IMO, even with the addition of George and now Charlotte. They also have had so many shenanigans that I find myself viewing their “generosity” in allowing plebs to watch their walk to & from the church with skepticism and as no more than a pap stroll ala Jennefir Garner & Ben Affleck. I also wonder what f-up will be revealed simply because there have been pictures of George released & now we see this little happy family stroll. It’s truly bad when their “generosity” and what should be considered ordinary is seen as a Trojan Horse of sorts.
William “I did it my way ala Frank Sinatra” is really messing it up for the BRF in the long run. He will win the little skirmishes here and there but in the end he’ll lose the war.
Who has labeled it a “generous gesture”? Not them. Don’t be a media victim.
Little George in his red shorts….cutest royal ever. Kate’s hair is pretty.
I love love George’s sneer in the 2nd from the bottom photo. The royal correspondent for the Mirror tweeted that when they got to the doors of the church, George refused to go in so Wm had “a word” with him.
Why do they keep copying PGtips’s outfits? Why can’t they create their own iconic moments instead of this endless parade of de ja vu? How are PGtips and Charlotte to have their own identity of they are repeatedly dressed in replicas of the past? Not just a by gone era, which is understandable enough for the sake of continuity, but actual replicas.
LAK: I think the repeated or replica outfits on George is a small way to remember Princess Diana. I could be wrong, but that’s the feeling I get. My mother passed away when I was a teen, like William, so I can understand trying to celebrate his mother’s memory in small ways since she cannot be there physically.
Mellymel: that’s understandable, BUT there are ways to honour dead relatives without SWF’ing them.
It’s not just the outfits, it’s everything they do to encourage the Diana association.
When Kate was first engaged, I felt pity for her because she was immediately saddled with the Diana sceptre. I hoped she would grow out of it or discourage it so that she could be her own person, but clearly I was wrong.
EDIT: this morning BBC news commented on the christening and made a point of saying the Diana association is a deliberate ploy ‘aided and abbeted by the middletons.’ – those exact words. I couldn’t believe my ears.
The BBC sticks to a very sycophantic line.
I was hoping they wouldn’t go this far, but apparently they would and they did.
More thoughts:
poor Nanny Maria was dressed in her Norland nanny uniform!!!!
The whole tableau (or optics as Olivia Pope might say) was very 1930s tea time drama set in the english countryside as dreamt up by hollywood. I wonder they didn’t have Julian Fellowes producing/directing it.
LAK – re BBC! Bloody hell, did they? (I’m glued to the Greek referendum so have missed the one time Aunty has said something royal-related that would have made me laugh and not spit!)
LAK – it had a bit of a Marry Poppin’s feel to it, esp with the pram (which i loved).
I’ve always thought the whole Diana homage came from the Mids – both Kate and Carole seem a tad obsessed with her and her image, an image Kate is trying her best to replicate. Kate wants to be Diana.
I took the BBC quotation to mean that the Middletons aid and abet William in his (increasingly bizarre) attempt to re-do his own childhood. As a child of divorce myself, I have sometimes caught myself thinking “see, it CAN be done properly” as I’ve raised my own family, and I see that impulse reflected a bit in William. He’s going to do it RIGHT this time.
I’m also not sure that it’s a Diana homage on his part. Some of William’s attitudes toward the press WRT George seem like an unconscious rebuke to what he remembers of his own childhood. “MY child will not be constantly exposed in the press for PR purposes [unlike what my mother did].”
Although of course he’s just as much inclined to use the Press for his own gains as anyone else. He did learn from the best.
FWIW, I wondered too if the choice of outfits was a way of nodding to Prince Harry. I know it’s an unpopular opinion on this board, but I do think they get along quite well.
Sixer – I have so many things to say about the Greeks, but I think i’ll summarise thus;
It’s going to take a lot of tough love to pull them out of their quandary, the type of love that Thatcher had to apply to Britain. And whoever makes them do it, will be hated for all eternity. Like Thatcher.
I’ve lived in country under the IMF’s dictats…..not good. The sooner one exits from their control the better.
The Greeks are in a really hard place because of the debt, but the Germans are also in a hard place because of the increased taxation to service Greece’s debt, so it’s a rock and a hard place for everyone.
Ellen: I take your point. I’m a child of divorce myself, and I always have thoughts about what I want to recreate vis a vis family life with my own children.
I think my criticism about William’s effort is to do with what appears to be his lack of perspective. And possibly maturity to see the bigger picture of what happened and why he needs to be his own person and re-write the book anew rather than copy something that is/was a mirage at best.
Ps: I also think W and H get on. They might not have time to see each other as often as they did, but such is life.
I’m not sure Kate and Harry get on. Not to say that they hate each other, just polite in-laws at worst and acquaintances at best. Their body language has undergone a complete change since the early days. It’s interesting to see the gradual change.
Didn’t Harry say around the engagement he was looking forward to getting to know Kate? He seems to have created distance between himself and the couple – maybe its because of the Middleton influence and how integrated they are into the Cambridges family.
Betti: yes he did. And in the first year, he seemed to be making an effort publicly if not privately.
These days, he makes no effort at all which is so unlike his usual public face with other members of the family, in-laws included.
Re the apparent Harry chill: if you were hardworking and had goals and causes you were serious about, wouldn’t you be bored by a lazy, disinterested SIL? One married to a lazy, disappointing elder brother?
I think even a good humored person would have had about enough at this point. Distance would be the most low-key gambit….
It’s tradition which royalty is very big on, hence all the traditions from the past which tie in with it, the changing of the guard, the old royal horse drawn carriages they use for special occasions, etc. This includes the christening gown. I thought it was obvious, so surprised to see a comment wondering why George and Charlotte weren’t trussed up in something from Babies R Us.
LAK
Agree with all you’ve said here. And more so on Greece. Rock and Hard place s so very true.
LAK: Could it be that a senior royal (the Queen?) noticed the flirtatious repartee between Kate and Harry was becoming, well, unbecoming? My guess is they were ordered to stop the public goofiness before the press latched on to it too tightly and blew it up into something sensational. I did always detect a flicker of a sexual frisson between them, though. If Harry were the elder brother, she’d most definitely have set her sights on him instead of William.
Lady Loch: that’s a good point, but I don’t think it works here. Kate has a better poker face as far as her emotions – remember that media tour 2007 when her heart was breaking and she put on a happy face?
Harry wears his emotions on his sleeve. Even when he is serious, it’s easy to read him. And he is completely chilly around Kate. Not just polite.
LAK – many thoughts on Greece myself! (Plus, superficially, an almighty crush on Varoufakis, which Mr Sixer finds highly amusing). But one of them is apropos to discussions on here: I think the least we in Britland outside the eurozone could do is give them back the Marbles as a boost to their tourist industry.
I think its a conscious thing as they are trying to ‘dine out’ on the Diana goodwill, which they must know is long gone. Either that or Kate is trying to be like her to please Willy.
Constantly genuflecting to the memory of his mother cannot be healthy for William or the people around him.
I agree with LAK, WK need to build memories & identities for themselves that do not include constant references to Diana or any supposed resentments against Charles and the BRF. I just don’t see how that’s healthy. Plus it comes off not as celebrating Diana’s life or taking strength from her as one of his biggest cheerleaders but as vengeful. It may be emotionally satisfying to him but I’m thinking that it’s got to be taxing & tiring for everybody else.
William needs to see a psychologist & get some grief counseling to boot.
I guess empty shells can do naught but mimic. They are a vacuous pair. They need a PR flack to define them image wise.
Interesting thoughts. Could this be why William seems stuck in the never-ending petulant teenage mode? He needs to move past this behaviour and stop using the memory of his mum to gain sympathy. It’s so very transparent and at this point, disrespective to her memory. He’d be honouring her more by emulating her work ethic like his brother has. Diana been gone for 18 years and he’s a man of 33. IMO, enough is enough. Someone around him needs to make him aware of how he and his wife are perceived and the damage they’re doing to the BRF.
I’m not sure why they are getting so much criticism over outfits. I’m no expert on British fashion circa 1980-s, but that outfit (the white and red one that George is wearing) seems pretty retro even for the 1980-s, am I wrong? I kind of feel like Diana was not particularly original and daring in her choice of clothes for her boys, either, from the pram to the shoes, it seems to be considered bon ton for the royals to go vintage, especially where babies are concerned, not to mention that it’s cute and picture-perfect. So, Kate seems to be merely doing what is traditional, not emulating Diana specifically.
@Timbuktu — bingo! I said the same thing above – this is just the way young royals are dressed for formal occasions and has been for several generations. It is also how little aristocrats and gentry are dressed.
When George is playing (as in the recent pictures of him with his mother – Kate wearing a plaid shirt) he wears regular play clothes.
What or who is PGTips?
It is a nickname for their son that may have started on this site. Who was it? LAK, FLORC, bluhare?
Prince George.
It was none of us. It was printed in the Daily Mail as William and Kate’s nickname for George right after he was born.
I also had no idea why George was referred to as “PGTips” until someone explained that it is the name of a tea brand popular in England.
YUP!
Origins are accepted as starting from the DMO comments section refering to George as a popular brand of tea. PGTips just stuck after that.
A comment from the DM about George’s outfit: “They have dressed George like a bavarian milk maid”.
Lol
Ha! Ha!
hahahahahhahahaaaaa oh my
*falls down*
LAK, always enjoy your comments. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Kate and Carole are behind all this. And that nanny in that unfortunate uniform. Please. That pram is pretty cool, but the rest of this charade did look a bit like a Hollywood production. ROFL
Kate looks beautiful. But I still cant help being terribly annoyed by the person William has become with her. Maybe he was always so apathetic but he now he is no king and she is certainly no queen.
These two make Charles and Camilla look like the best people to be heading that family.
People talk about Charles but really William comes off as a petty tyrant. What’s so funny is that that which he may not have liked about his father is that thing that’s defining him. Hmm . . .
He’s making decisions based on how much they will piss his father off – marrying Kate was one of them. When asked he stated that he had no intention of marrying her – then he takes everyone by surprise and announces they are engaged. His family were told the morning it was announced to the public. His determination to avoid any sort of public duty is also a dig at his father who has been very active since he was a young man – an attitude he inherited from both parents and his grandmother (the Queen mum).
His anger and bitterness toward Chuck over Diana is palpable and is defining him, it will also ruin his life and the BRF if he ever takes the throne.
So true…such a pity. What a waste of the crush I had on him as a teenager. *sigh*
Yeah Shelley, when he had great hair!
Beautiful pictures! They look so happy.
I wonder if Camilla will get dragged in the press for her “Marilyn Moment”. Thank God it wasnt Kate again this time. And how nice of The Queen to host the reception party.
Camilla was clearly wearing undergarments AND making an effort to hold down her skirts to minimise her ‘marilyn moments’. Two things that Kate doesn’t do.
Exactly. She was wearing multiple slips. No chance of seeing anything.
Yeah, I was pretty sure Camilla had on proper granny panties. I couldn’t resist my urge to be snarky about Kate.
LOL………..very true!
We’ve seen enough of Kate’s thighs and butt to last us a lifetime. I’m glad she was buttoned down today.
And Camilla had layers of fabric under her blue dress/skirt.
Whereas Kate has only one layer of fabric (usually no liner/slip) covering her naked butt while she walks up and down airplane stairs and in windy places like tarmacs and anywhere outdoors.
All I can think is the current PR mess and them trading on Diana’s memory. PGTips, the possible future king, was hidden away and had a private christening at Windsor. But the baby GIRL? Let the public have access to the space outside the church. Announce that we won’t infringe on their legal right to take photographs in public places like we usually do. We’ll parade by within feet of them, smile, and wave.
Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? Like the christening coins with PGTips only having his first name but hers has all three. Trading on Diana’s memory instead of living up to her good works by getting off their bums and working.
The only reason they put all of her names was to trade on the Elizabeth and Diana. Mostly, the Diana. It’s a shame they’ve set this child up for a lifetime of comparisons, but they’ve got zero going for them so they have to trade on what works.
George’s christening wasn’t at Windsor.
Right, duly corrected. It was at a different private location, in London not Windsor. Point stands. They kept the heir-heir-heir’s christening private and this one was a public circus.
The Christening itself was private as is usual Royal tradition and the walk to church was public which is also normal when the royals are at Sandringham
I am gobsmacked by the OTT celebration of a girl! What the heck is wrong with these people??? That poor kid. This is sick.
Yes compared to the low key celebrations for the actual heir – that poor girl is going to be used as a tool for her parents and big brother if this is a taste of what’s to come.
In the near future, they going to have the kids wearing t-shirts with Diana’s face on it.
What “OTT Celebrations”? It was a private service that around 20 people attended followed by tea, sandwiches and cake. Do you mean they should have closed the area around the church to the public and forbidded people from standing outside the church? (people would have been howling on here if they had done that). Seems that they cannot win whatever they do with some people.
We’re mocking that the heir was hidden away but the GIRL child with her grandmother’s name gets a parade. PR PR PR.
I think they’re aware of the public feeling about their laziness and lack of work ethic and are playing the Diana card to win some good graces. This is practically all they have left to throw out there unless they’re pushing their children out there, too. They’re running out of things to use.
Notasugarhere, I think trading on whatever they’ve got to flog right about now is the idea, too.
George wore red and white in Australia, so it’s not the very first time we see him wearing anything other than blue.
Kate looks lovely. Not usually a fan of her style but the simple coat dress and pulled-back hair are a good look for a christening. Her face also still is “rounder” and softer which looks very good on her.
William is the only person in that family pic that looks modern. George, Kate and that big old stoller look straight out of 1950’s. Not a fan of lazy Wills put the guy is working that suit like a GQ model.
Not surprised they are being more open about letting the public and media in on all things baby. They have finally realized that’s the new way to stay popular: don’t look at us doing nothing in return for the wealth and privileges we are given by taxpayers and our family, aren’t our kids adorable? Look “Squirrel “. Although I’m shaking my head at how protective they were of George and how much they want Char to become a media darling. It’s a bit alarming IMO, I predict Kate will have her dressed in gorgeous modern fashion and photo ready at all times because Kate wants her mini-Kate. Girls don’t work or rule, they just dress pretty. Ugh!
“SQUIRREL!” Bwahahahahaha! Perfectly succinct analysis.
The stroller was a gift from the Queen who used it for her own children. Those big wheeled prams are quite trendy these days especially if you are planning to walk distances on gravel paths as the royals were in thei walk to church tradition. Obviously not for folding into the car but perfect forwalking in the countryside.
George is sooooo like Grandpa Middleton (who am sure was dashing when he was younger) – there is a look of Princess Margaret (TQ’s sister) about Charlotte.
Jason, we see your hand in this public affair i.e. the public being allowed so close and the pap stroll. Wave the cute kids to the press and plebs and maybe they will forget about the money we waste and the nothing that we do.
Camilla and her Marilyn moment – she has great legs.
The Middleton women sure like their eyeliner, beige colours and those horrible nude LK Bennett shoes. Wonder if the sandwiches came from M&S.
“Wonder if the sandwiches came from M&S.”
Perfect comment!!! lol 🙂
The Dolittle family- dressed in red, white and blue. My eyes just spun out of my head.
LOL!
That woman can’t help but want to be the centre of attention. She’ll never stop.
This looks like event planning by the PR FLACKS- ‘oh look, how casual and approachable they are, just like thee and me’. Shoot me now.
Anyone have theories about why Kate and Pippa wore white to both George and Charlotte’s christening?
My question is, why the coat-dresses? Isn’t England experiencing a heatwave?
Easy. ‘Midds 4 EVAH!’
I wonder if Kate had to take lessons to learn how to push the pram?
I hope she learns how to pick up a baby. Support the neck instead of using both hands to pick her up by the torso (I saw the video of them in front of the church entrance).
You’d think she would know how to do this by now.
Has no one shown her how to hold Charlotte? One of the pix shows C’s head lolling back in Kate’s arms.
You can push the pram by pushing it.
I just choked on my cookie omg…
@ Vava
+1000 😀
why is the nanny (Maria?) wearing that Downton Abbeyesque uniform? Creepy…
Because that’s what Hyacinth Bucket (aka Middletons) thinks is formal nanny-wear…
She’s a Norland nanny and this is the formal uniform.
If you are a Norland Nanny why not advertise the fact? The uniforms are not a sign of servitude but of exclusivity so I guess the school is happy for these royal connections.
A Norland nanny earns big money with an average salary of around £30,000/$46,000 to £50,000/$77,000. The really experiences ones command £100,000+/$150,000+ per year
She usually wears jeans and a sweater. Why this official getup on this day? Far away from the “we’re normal just like everyone else” mantra.
Under a certain set of circumstances I can admire the Middletons, particularly Ma & Pa, so I hope I am wrong on this one but having Maria wear her uniform (if not her call) is one of those things new money does to separate itself from it’s origins but which looks classless to everyone else.
My second theory is that they have studied old pictures of Harry’s christening or those of other royals & spotted a nanny (Jessie Webb?) wearing her uniform & figured it was protocol. No matter how you slice it it stills looks odd in 2015.
And that’s why everyone calls them social climbers.
If they didn’t pander to the antiquated system, people wouldn’t be so rude about them.
Dena — this. That image of Mrs M and Pippa in the car makes them look like rough extras in some BBC drama.
Meanwhile every time I see Mr M, I feel I am witnessing a silent scream for help. In the same way, I keep waiting for James M to suddenly put on a crocheted raccoon-face hat, whip off his jacket and move to LA.
+ 1000 to all of these comments.
Liberty: “rough extras in some BBC drama” Zing! 😂
I’m starting to wonder if Michael Middleton is beginning to detest the woman he is married to? He doesn’t appear to be a happy chappie much at all these days. Less than thrilled, I’d say.
James is bound to pull a doozy on us sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Maybe it was the nanny’s decision, since it’s her official uniform that has meaning to her beyond her current employers. Like wearing a ceremonial hood signifying receipt of the doctorate at academic ceremonies (I even have one somewhere buried in storage, when I taught at a college they were worn by faculty during graduations). Some professions have very old traditions about ceremonial dress, even going back centuries. You don’t wear the hood in the classroom anymore, although that was standard at one time. So the nanny wouldn’t wear her official uniform during routine duties these days. Or did you expect her to wear jeans to the baptism?!?
Likewise the white clothing at baptisms is very traditional, not sure why people here are sneering at it. It’s a religious ceremony, not a fashion show. It’s actually a bit odd that the queen wasn’t in white. It’s not unlike traditional black for funerals, that’s another liturgical color.
WTF is a norland nanny this 2015 not 1900 she looks odd in that uniform so anus horribilis in that thing she is wearing. Why are the Will and Kate so stuck in the past I thought they were supposed to be the modern normal royals.
It’s the official uniform of her college. She’s probably quite proud of it and wears it to official functions.
That is one homely uniform. But even more so it shows she wasn’t invited and is a mere lackey. GEEZ, who needs a nanny to work the christening? And I betya she knows her place, and now, so do we. Revolting in this day and age. They are so like us :eye roll:.
I guess they felt George might need to be taken out . but its hard for parents to leave. I bet the nanny is happy to show off her Norland connections where the top nannies from this exclusive school make £100,000 or $150,000 per year
Seriously how many godparents does a child need? Or how many are even allowed?
I tought 2 were the number… I guess not.
Minimum 3 for a formal Church of England christening – most of the other royals have 6-8 godparents
i LOVE George in this pic – ah he’s going to have so much fun with the press when he grows up. LOL. How can 2 boring, bland people make such a firecracker of a child.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/05/18/2A408F3200000578-3149880-image-a-146_1436116696919.jpg
He’s quite a confident child.
He has more personality than both of his parents put together.
I never understand why people say things like this. Do you not have your own children or children you’re close with? This is NOT a dig, it’s just that… most 2-year-olds are quite the monkeys, I’ve yet to see George do anything that a normal 2 year-old doesn’t.
I don’t even see confidence: he’s with Mom, Dad, grandparents, and nanny, it doesn’t really take a great deal of confidence to act normal and silly under those circumstances. I mean, I understand there’s a crowd there, but heck, we took my 2-year-old to NYC for Christmas, and I bet crowds at Rockefeller plaza could easily top the crowds here, AND we didn’t have the protective perimeter around us. My little one never bat an eye.
So, I am always at loss when people talk about his “personality”. It’s not personality at this point, it’s age. Now, perhaps it is both, but I hardly think we can tell from a few carefully selected photos. The other side knows adorable as well as we do.
Timbuktu: are you saying you can’t tell a child’s personality from video footage? There is plenty of that. Pretty sure most people are making a judgement about his personality based upon that.
Well, I guess it depends on your definition of “plenty”. Someone else on here recently complained that there has been only 3-4 public appearances of George on British ground, and 1 of those was when he was born: hardly much personality visible.
But yes, I think that judging a baby’s personality based on a few minutes of video that we see in the news (heavily edited and cut from hours of footage) and a few pictures (also selected for maximum adorability) is about as wise as judging a celebrity’s private personality based on his/her public persona.
How can one not know what a font is?
Of course I do. It’s the name of the words I’m typing. 😉
Good one Bluhare! 🙂
You’re slaying me bluhare 😂
??? Maybe people who have never been in a church???!!!??
Well, Faun, not everyone on here is Christian.
Or not religious at all. Is a font a catholic thing or do most Christian churches have them?
Not everyone is familiar with churches that use baptismal fonts. Catholics and historically related churches use them, at least the “high-church” Anglicans, Lutherans, etc. that are practically the same as Catholics minus the pope. Many Christian denominations don’t use them and don’t practice infant baptism. Non-Christians also would likely have never seen a baptismal font unless they studied certain types of Western history.
I thought knew what a font is. The thing that has the water in it when Christians baptise their kids. I’ve been to a few (but not many since everyone I know is either agnostic or atheist) Christian baptisms and at all of them, the font looked like a pretty – and fixed – version of a bathroom sink, not a portable silver/gold dish/jug.
Now I am confused. Is the font the thing that you hold the baby over, or is it the thing that you use to pour the water over the baby’s head?
Dressing Prince George in “frilly” tops is ridiculous. Why not dress him in a suit with no tie? He would looked adorably sophisticated. Loved Catherine’s up-do but am sick of the coat dresses. She needs to change away from wearing only that style. It took Diana a while to find her style. Remember those gosh-awful puffy sleeved dresses from her early years in the spotlight?
Regarding William, I think the Queen has spent more time trying to groom him for his future role as King than Charles has. I get the feeling that Charles has no intention of grooming William until Charles, himself, is King. Sometimes, I get the odd feeling that Charles is the one holding William and Catherine in abeyance because he doesn’t want them outshining him like Diana did. Charles seems to be closer to Harry because Harry has never been a threat to him. Do I really think Charles is that petty? Yes, I truly do. Andrew (perhaps rightly so) and Edward seem to keep being shunted further into the background by Charles. He doesn’t dare try this with Anne because Anne’s ovaries have always been bigger than Charles’ testicles.
HAHHAAH this –> “doesn’t dare try this with Anne because Anne’s ovaries have always been bigger than Charles’ testicles.”
Geez, the kid isn’t even two years old and you want to put him in a suit?!? And what’s wrong with “frills”? Quite standard in baby clothes, which aren’t so gender-rigid. Men in earlier times wore “frills”, by the way. It’s just a style that comes and goes. In this case, they deliberately copied an outfit William wore as a child, which undoubtedly was modeled on something worn by earlier ancestors. It’s just a way to have some connection with the past and quite suitable for a ceremony. The kid is too young to feel oppressed by it, he just wants to be able to run around easily.
I think being forced into frilly tight clothes and buttoned up to THERE can be oppressive to a two-year-old.
I just have this picture in my mind of George being in a suit. He is used to wearing sweaters so a suit coat wouldn’t be any different. Leave the coat unbuttoned. Underneath, have a soft cotton shirt with a wide collar with a “G” monogrammed on one collar point and the collar being unbuttoned. Have his long pants held up by suspenders that button to the pants. Trade the white socks for dark ones. No tie and everything else is loose so he can run around.
BTW, I love the picture of George pointing at the Queen while they are interacting. The little scamp looks like he is giving orders to Great-Grandma. I also loved the picture of George standing on tip-toe looking in on Charlotte in the carriage.
Anyone know what the deal is with the royals (& Middletons!) and Range Rovers? Do they get freebies or huge discounts on these vehicles? The royals used to go to events in high-end cars & limos, now they seem to rely on Range Rovers exclusively. Hmmm.
Big royally discounted lease for the range rovers. I can’t remember if they are exclusive suppliers. I seem to recall that Harry drives an audi.
Range Rover are royal warrant holders and as such the family gets a good deal from them to bur, rent etc…
I thought they had discount lease deals for Range Rover, Audi and Bentley and Kate got in on the Audi discount before she was engaged. Also, don’t they tend to drive their Range Rovers more at their country estates than in London?
Why do they feel the need to dress George up with what William used to wear, is QEII insisting on it? The Daily Fail also reported that Prince Philip drove he and the Queen to the church in their Range Rover, pretty spry for a 94 yr old…
The use of that pram is one of the most pretentious things I’ve ever seen.
Kate looks nice but her hair is awful from the back view, it looks like an amateur did it. I think her sister though is the best dressed guest, I really like that dress on her.
In fairness, Charlotte as wearing a massive gown that needed extra space, and they borrowed the pram from the Queen (suggesting it’s not their usual baby carriage). I don’t know how else they were going to get that baby in her massive gown to the church without a pram.
In a car? If they all went back to Sandringham House for tea afterwards, they were going to need a car anyway. They do this stroll for PR, back and forth, get in their car at Anmer and drive over to the main house. They could have skipped the PR stroll and used the car.
NOTA, if they went in a car, then Kate couldn’t show off her outfit or that of George. Besides, she probably wanted the exercise in her 4 inch heels.
How would they transport baby in a car in that huge outfit? No way they can buckle her in a car seat, and we remember how much crap they got when they didn’t buckle George in right and forward-faced him early in Australia.
The pram itself is a gift from the Queen who used it for her own children.Isn’t the royal tradition that they walk from Sandringham to the church? (only the queen drives) We see them doing it at Christmas/Easter etc they come on the paths from the house to the church and a large wheeled pram is exactly what you want for walking the country paths.
timbuktu, they’d could find a way. They wanted this silly public show so they held a silly public show.
Where does it state that HM gave them the stroller? My assumption was a loan of an historic item not a new thing.
I love the pram. Reminds me of long walks with my daughter (she was colicky) and the pram motion settled her well.
Lovely photos. Motherhood agrees with Kate. She looks so beautiful.
Kate’s always looked a bit like the cat that got the cream to me. I find her irritating. She looks happy now. More contented, less pleased with herself.
I live in London, was out and about for most of the day and until I came on here had no idea that this took place today. By which I mean not one single person I talked to today, either over a pub lunch or a sit down dinner, knew this christening was happening or gave one iota of toss about it.
I should be conccerned, I suppose, since my taxes are funding this very strategic walkabout, but I am actually and thankfully so removed from royal doings that it makes their squandering of my and public money easy to ignore.
I’m just genuinely astounded by the US interest in such dull and uninspiring people.
The Telegraph has a nice video of the arrival and the best part to me was William and George. Wills seems to be really on top of managing a toddler. He seems to have a good relationship with his son. Wills seemed to have talked George out of a meltdown after he made a run for it at the church door. Nice to see he’s involved in a real way. I was a little concerned that Kate has no idea how to pick up a baby. Even I know how to do that.
I noticed that as well – George seemed to cling to his father and is more responsive to him when he talks to him. I saw a vid on the BBC when they were walking past the crowd and you can hear Willy asking George to wave to the crowd (and he did). From what we saw at the polo match i think Kate has a harder time with him, prob too soft. One of my SIL’s is like that – both kids run all over her, but not with my brother or grandparents.
You’d think that with a 2nd child she’d know how to pick a baby up properly by now – even a childless spinster like me knows that you have to support the head. With Kate the lights are on but nobody is home.
As much as I love seeing George with his toddler ‘tude it won’t stop me snarking at these 2 – they should do more.
I thought the way she picked up the baby was odd, too!
It all looked a bit contrived to me. Miss Marple meets Enid Blyton meets Mary Poppins meets the Vicar of Dibley, with lashings of ginger beer – or more probably Earl Grey. However, not wishing to be too snarky on a day of family celebration, some positives:
George is huggably adorable. Charlotte is a very bonny baby. William actually looked happy for once. Kate looked very elegant, and the cut of her AMcQ coatdress was almost perfect. Her hair and hat complemented the look extremely well, as did her jewellery. The pram was vintage cool, and the Queen seemed to enjoy seeing it trundling again with a brand new occupant. A beautiful montage, I can almost picture it in sepia. Trying to hold it back….Oops. Here it comes.. CREAM AGAIN?!! Really Kate, how dull. And stop dressing that boy up in echoes of his Daddy’s old outfits. We get it. We see what you’re about. And we’re not fooled.
(Sorry, the snark hound got loose.)
Kate and the horrible Middleton women wore white/beige because they didn’t want the baby to take center stage. That’s what I think. Their egos are humongous.
Or because it’s the liturgical color for the sacrament of baptism.
Vava: It does smack of that, yes. When Kate wore cream at George’s Christening, I dismissed it as a sartorial mistake i.e. she wasn’t aware of how the gown (and baby) would seem to merge with her outfit through lack of contrast. Now it seems to be a “thing” with her, an ongoing theme, obviously deliberate. I doubt very much that it has anything to do with liturgy, either.
Carole and Pippa carry it to a new basement level of crassness.
White is indeed the liturgical colour for baptism but that only applies to the hangings and whatnot in the church and some of the priests vestments. Parents or anyone else are certainly not required to wear white. I’m on the alter guild at my church and changing the hangings is one of the things we do so I’m quite familiar with all the church colours.
Diana wore pink for William and blue for Harry for what it’s worth. And while you can’t tell the exact colours because the pictures are in black and white the Queen and the Queen mum weren’t wearing white either.
I don’t know if anybody has mentioned this yet, but is that stroll down the path with everybody clapping at them going to count as a work hour credit? Or the whole christening itself? Or the travel from AH to the church, the applause stroll, meeting the clerics at the church entry, the christening, and the tea party afterwards all going to count as work credit?
After all, Charlotte’s birth was counted as work credit, iirc.
Of course it will! Charlotte’s birth was counted as work for William too. You’d have thought he’d get credit for the conception, not the delivery.
Hehe bluhare!
Kate’s outfit would have looked so much better with some MAJOR jewelry–like one of the Queen’s beautiful brooches or pearls. That minimalist jewelry must go!
I like the minimalist look for Kate (for right now). William is not King (yet, I guess).
I’m sure Kate is salivating at the thought of raiding the Royal vault, but the Queen won’t budge. No serious bling for Kate until she can prove her worth – with work and service.
It’s church.
I’m with you here. No need for heavy bling during small-ish a baptism.
For the National Service of Commemoration for those who served in Afghanistan, she wore all of that brand new tanzanite jewelry at a church.
Makes me wanna make THE baby, just so i can by the Silver Cross..love iT.
Good God, I know it’s “tradition” but these pictures could pass for 1940.
Kate looked lovely, but it’s odd how they are trying to recreate the past with Kate and George’s clothes. Really off. And I’m with those who think Harry and Kate used to be friendy, but no more. From recent pics, William and Harry are still close, but Kate and Harry are icy, at Best. Almost rude in their ignoring each other. And I don’t care what anyone else says, it’s weird to not go to your only brother’s child’s Christening. Can you imagine Pippa missing it? Kate and Wills could have set the date for before Harry left to do actual work, something which with they are unfamiliar. Something is rotten and I smell that it is Carole.
Interesting observations. I agree that the nods to the past are a bit overdone. I appreciate the occasional gesture, but they seem so self-conscious now. Too frequent. Too deliberate. More motivated by strategy than by emotion.
I don’t think these ideas would originate with William, so (like Becks below) I suspect we are seeing Carole’s influence here.
WRT dressing George as William:
Carole Middleton and Diana both became first-time mothers in 1982. We know Carole had a degree of fixation with Diana. Could it be that it is CAROLE who wants to re-create and reinforce an exact image of William in George?
Maybe as she watched Diana going through the various stages of motherhood with William (as everyone else who followed the media did) she fantasized about being in Diana’s position, especially as she herself also had a child so close in age.
Fast forward to the present when she is in such an “exalted” postion, the only grandmother to the future monarch, being the kind of mother that still exerts A LOT of control over her grown daughter, having the opportunity to re-create that fantasy would be irresistible.
Interesting. Conniving Carole is capable of just about anything, imo. Very creepy though if she’s the driving force behind this re-creation. Hitchcocky overtures!
Perhaps she has “become” Diana if only in her own head? That thought is giving me the serious ooglies.
I suspect Carole’s influence may indeed be the driving force here, but I think it comes more from insecurity and a desire to do things “the right way” than from anything creepy. Though I love your Hitchcock score and your “Conniving Carole” is a much more interesting character than mine!!
Except Carole is not the only grandmother! Queen Elizabeth is the GREAT grandmother!
Carole Middleton is the only grandmother, by virtue of Diana’s death.
The Queen’s age and the 4 generations between them makes it unlikely she will have any significant influence in Charlotte’s life.
A few random thoughts:
1) Kate had one request for the planner: that only white flowers be used for the table decorations.
2) This marks only the 4th time the British public has seen George since his birth. His birth, the Trooping of the Colours Balcony appearance, the Polo appearance, and now this.
Correcting myself:
Prior to George being brought to the Lindo Wing to visit his sister on May 2nd, George had only made two appearances on British soil (as opposed to the Australian/NZ tour which was not on British soil being presented to the Britsh public). The first was his birth, the second was his Christening.
Of course, the British public had seen pictures of him, but they were blurry non-sanctioned shots taken clandestinely. If you count only official and sanctioned appearances, at almost 2 years of age, he had only been presented to the British public twice.
This is in great contrast to Sweden’s Princess Estelle, who is gradually being introduced to the Swedish public by her parents.
Aren’t they doing a wonderful job with Estelle? They seem like such a genuinely, grounded happy family. It’s lovely.
I quite like the way Crown Princess Victoria carries herself.
Best wishes. As an American of British and German descent, I take pride in photos of the Brits because they look like our family group. Its welcomed fresh air to look at Brits because in America I don’t know what I am looking at. If other races can make a big deal out of their ancestry then its only fair I take pride in my British ancestry.
WT…nevermind.
Had to ask – has anyone seen a pix of the baby Charlotte held in an upward position? The pictures so far have shown her little arms and a view of her nostrils. I want to see the darling little girl!
gorgeous! George loooks just like william
Then Carole Middleton’s job is done.
It’s not a silver cross pram…reportedly a Millson! It has been discontinued and is the same pram QE11 pushed Prince Charles in to his christening ( talk about tradition lol)
just wondering….how far did Kate walk in those heels? dunno what the distance is from
Sandringham to the church.
Actually, it is NOT the same pram that was used for Charles. There are many pictures which show that the pram used by the Queen for Charles looks quite different. There is no doubt about this.
When Charles was 12 and Anne was 10, Prince Andrew came along and the Queen used ANOTHER pram for Andrew and 4 years later for Edward. (Maybe the Queen thought she was done and like any of us, gave away all her baby things- j/k! )
If anything, this pram looks as if it could be the same one used for Andrew and Edward, but there are very good pictures in which you can clearly see that the pram handle is different.
Given that Kate and presumably, Carole are somewhat obsessed with re-creating images of the bygone Royal family in people’s minds, would it surprise anyone that they ordered a replica?
All the better to remind people that she bagged the Big One after all her years of hunting paid off.
Yeah, you got the Prince, you birthed his babies, yeah we get it…now stop hammering away at it.
Subtlety, thy name is not “Meddelton”
Granny Chav-el-iavelli (Machiavelli) Karole defo has a diana syndrome. I have seen images of her in the 1980’s with bleached blonde hair in a diana cut. It was taken at somebodies wedding. She no doubt had dreams of her first born and william marrying and living happily ever after. They were born in the same year.
I really think granny chav has a screw lose. Carole really thinks its her living at Amner Hall and its her, not kate, married to willie. And george is her child. I smell Karole all over this christening pantomime. George’s outfits that look like william’s when he was a boy are probably the ones Karole put James the brother in when she was in full flight acting out her Diana Syndrome years ago.
Is it just me or does Pa Middleton always look like he is silently dying. He seems to be the only family member with an kind of decorum. Love the way Karole stage managed Pippa’s white christening suit. Karole is marketing Pippa as Kate Mark II. CALLING ALL DUKES, CALLING ALL DUKES, COME IN DUKES = here’s another potential bride. Mark my words, granny karole will never allow the other boyelyn sister to marry a guy like Nico with only 2 mill to his name who’s parents own a sports equipment shop in kent.
Pippa will never ever get a rich guy she has nothing to offer, no looks and old too!!