Three months after Prince William and his wife Kate showed off their new baby to the world, Prince George of Cambridge is set to make his second official appearance at his christening on Wednesday.
The third-in-line to the British throne, after Prince Charles and Prince William, will be baptised at the Chapel Royal at St. James鈥� Palace by Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Church of England.
The royal couple decided to make the baptism as low-key as possible. They decided to break with tradition and not hold the service at Buckingham Palace, where previous royal christenings have been performed.
麻豆传媒 Royal Commentator Richard Berthelsen said the decision to hold the ceremony at St. James' Palace is a 鈥渞eturn to an older tradition."
The palace 鈥渉as been the setting for some of the most important events in Royal history,鈥� according to the official website of the .
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be a very private occasion, people are certainly looking forward to it, but how much they鈥檙e actually going to see it, I think that remains to be seen -- it鈥檚 in a very small chapel, it only has seating for about 60,鈥� Berthelsen told 麻豆传媒 Channel Sunday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e ever had a televised ceremony from that particular place.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been chosen quite deliberately to make it low-key and private. And we鈥檙e going to see some very interesting announcements made on the day,鈥� he added.
British media have begun speculating on the guest list and the baby prince鈥檚 attire. The gathering is expected to be small, with Prince George鈥檚 grandparents in attendance. The prince will be christened in a replica of a lace gown worn by Queen Victoria鈥檚 daughter in 1841, according to .
鈥淚t鈥檚 really an homage to a lot of the traditions that were created in the Victorian era,鈥� Berthelsen said.
So far, official photographs of the infant have only been taken by Michael Middleton, Kate鈥檚 father.
But award-winning photographer Jason Bell, whose photographs have appeared in Vogue and Vanity Fair, is expected to take the official pictures of the prince during his baptism, according to .
As for the prince鈥檚 godparents, Berthelsen speculates the royal couple will choose friends and close relatives to fill the role. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e moving away from an era where there was sometimes dynastic considerations in the godparents, or an entire royal family list 鈥� I think we鈥檙e going to see some people who are friends of both William and Catherine.鈥�
Royal fans will also be able to see four generations of the Royal Family photographed together for the first time in over 100 years. A photograph of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George is expected to be released following the ceremony.
