Makes sense.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to christen their son, Archie Harrison, this weekend – and it’s going to be very different than previous royal christenings.
Mainly, that there won’t be a lot of photographers around taking photos of the family of three – and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to keep the identity Archie’s godparents a secret.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday that Archie will be christened in a “small private ceremony” on Saturday.
It read:
“Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor will be christened in a private ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday July 6.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex look forward to sharing some images taken on the day by photographer Chris Allerton.
“The godparents, in keeping with their wishes, will remain private.”
Expect photographs from Archie’s christening (taken by Chris Allerton) to be shared with the world. Buckingham Palace have announced that @JustinWelby will be conducting Saturday’s ceremony: pic.twitter.com/xt3Zw9gN91
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) July 3, 2019
It turns out the reason behind the decision to keep the godparents’ identities private is because Meghan and Harry haven’t picked public figures or celebrities to be Archie’s godparents.
Instead, they are said to have picked “private citizens.”
ITV News’ royal editor Chris Ship took to Twitter yesterday to say he had spoken to the “Sussex squad” to find out if it was Meghan and Harry, or the godparents, who wanted the detail to be kept private.
He said:
“The answer was ‘both’.
“The godparents, I’m told are not public figures or celebrities, but private citizens. And therefore both they, and Harry and Meghan, don’t wish their names to be made public.”
It comes as it was announced last week that Meghan and Harry would be making an official visit to South Africa in the autumn at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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The statement read:
“TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited to announce that they have been asked to carry out a tour to Southern Africa this autumn.
“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have requested a visit to South Africa as well as The Duke carrying out visits to Malawi and Angola.
“His Royal Highness will also do a short working visit to Botswana on route to the other countries.
“The Duke and Duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the commonwealth and beyond.
“This will be their first official tour as a family!”
