Prince George will be baptized on Wednesday, October 23 in front of close family members and friends of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace.
The christening service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the ceremony starting at 3pm and will be about 45 minutes. Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh will attend the service along with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Kate's family, the Middletons, will also be invited.
The guest list has not been released but Kensington Palace has said that "close members of both families" will attend. "We are not giving details of the guest list at this stage," the couple's spokesperson said. "All we are saying is that it will be a small intimate affair with close family and others, which include godparents."
In line with royal tradition, George is likely to have six god-parents and among the names in the frame are William's best friend Thomas Van Straubenzee, his former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and ex-nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
The christening will take place just over three months since George was born. Following the christening a historic picture will be released showing the Queen with the three direct heirs – Charles, William and George.
In the past, royal babies including Prince William have been christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace, with only close family, godparents and friends in attendance.
The occasion will also be marked with a set of commemorative coins, the Royal Mint has announced.
There are nine coins in the collection, ranging in value from £5 to £50,000. Four are made of silver - according to the Royal Mint, crossing the baby's palm with silver is "a long-established tradition, conferring good health and prosperity to newborns"; one is platinum; one is copper-nickel; and the remaining three are 24-carat gold, which "marks the royal celebration".
A £5 silver proof coin has already been issued to mark the birth of the future heir to the throne and other commonwealth countries including Canada and New Zealand have also issued coins to commemorate the birth.
