Royal christening: Prince George's godparents announced
(CBS News) Britain's royal family will gather for a special blessing as Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be baptized Wednesday afternoon.
From the beginning Prince William and Kate have tried to balance the royal-celebrity aspects with the personal and possibly normal side of their young son's life and that approach is being carried into the christening as well.
Complete coverage: A royal baby
The christening is not taking place in Buckingham Palace, but is still in a historic royal location. The event is in the chapel of St. James' Palace, which hosted the marriage of Queen Victoria and where the body of Princess Diana laid for a family viewing after her death.
However, while guests at the ceremony include Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the list of godparents lacks the usual representation of minor aristocrats and distant relatives from around Europe.
The seven godparents are actually a collection of the couple's school friends, a friend of Princess Diana, a friend of Prince Charles and family. The only royal godparent is Zara Tindall, formally Zara Phillips, who is a cousin of Prince William's.
The other godparents are: Oliver Baker, who attended the University of St Andrews with the Duke and Duchess; Emilia Jardine-Paterson, who attended Marlborough College with the Duchess; Hugh Grosvenor, who is the son of The Duke of Westminster; Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who was the former private secretary to the Duke and Duchess; Julia Samuel, was a close friend of the Princess of Wales; and William van Cutsem who is a childhood friend of Prince William.
According to the Kensington Palace press office, Prince George will wear a hand-made replica of the Royal Christening Robe. It was made by Angela Kelly, Dressmaker to the Queen. The original was made in 1841 for the christening of Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal. It was worn for all royal christenings since, until 2008, when the Queen commissioned Kelly to create a replica in order to maintain the original.
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The event will be a family affair as privacy counts for the Duke and Duchess, too, so there will be no television coverage of the event and still photos will only be released tomorrow.