Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have released photographs from their baby boy Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor's christening. The royal tot, who is seventh-in-line to the throne, was christened in front of just 25 guests in Windsor Castle on July 6, 2019.
While the couple has chosen to keep their choice of godparents private, the public did get a look at the little one in two official photographs. One of the images shows the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alone with their baby boy, and the second includes proud family members, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Here are eight details from the official portraits you may have missed...
1. A significant seat
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren't just sat in any old Windsor Castle chair, it's the same chair Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II posed in for the official portraits from Prince Harry's christening in December 1984. Both Prince Harry and Archie were christened in chapels at Windsor Castle.
2. Another red haired royal
Whether baby Archie looks more like Prince Harry or Meghan Markle is up for debate among royal watchers, but the two-month-old seems to have inherited his father's fiery red hair. In the first colour photo of the little one he appears to have his dad's light red locks, rather than his mother's brunette hair.
3. Princess Diana's earrings
The Duchess of Cambridge's outfit included a very subtle nod to Princes William and Harry's mother, Princess Diana. She wore the same Collingwood pearl and diamond drop earrings Princess Diana wore for Prince Harry's 1984 christening. She also wore the same earrings for the Order of the Garter in Windsor in June this year.
4. A tribute to William's christening
Not only did the Duchess of Cambridge nod back to Princess Diana's style with the earrings, but the colour of her headpiece is an almost exact match for hat worn by Princess Diana at Prince Williams's April 1982 christening. The bold flower print, however, was left in the 1980s.
5. Princess Diana's family
Proud grandparents, Prince Charles with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle's mother, were all in attendance and appear in the official family portrait along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But there are two less known family members, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who are the elder sisters of Princess Diana. Her younger brother, Charles Spencer, is not in the photo.
6. A choice room
The room the family chose to pose in is certainly a significant one. Windsor Castle's Green Drawing Room is the same spot the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gathered family in for their official wedding portraits in May 2018.
7. The family christening gown
The private arrival to the christening may have been an unusual move for a royal couple, but they did stick to one tradition by wearing the family christening gown. Archie wore the same gown his cousins, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, all wore for their christenings.
It is a replica of a Honiton lace gown Queen Victoria had made for the baptism of her eldest child, Princess Victoria, in 1841. The original was worn by 62 royal babies at their christenings, including Princes William and Harry. However, in 2004 after the christening of Lady Louise Windsor, it was decided it was becoming too fragile. That year, the Queen had a copy made by dressmaker Angela Kelly.
8. The designer looks
For the occasion, proud new mum Meghan Markle wore a bespoke white Dior dress. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a Stella McCartney dress, which she first wore for a Christmas luncheon in 2018. Her look was finished with Gianvito Rossi pumps, Princess Diana's pearl earrings and a red pleated Juliette Botterill pillbox hat.
_________________
Read more:
Royal baby: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will keep Archie’s godparents a secret
Baby Archie to join his first royal tour as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit South Africa
Kate Middleton ups style stakes in Elie Saab during Royal Ascot outing
_________________
