Princess Charlotte, the newborn daughter of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, will be christened on July 5th at St Mary Magdalene Church at the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, Kensington Palace has revealed.
The princess, who was born on May 2nd at St. Mary's Hospital in London, will be christened by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, in a private ceremony. However, the Daily Mail notes that but some members of the public will be permitted to gather outside the estate to mark the occasion.
Kensington Palace said in a short statement: "Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce the christening of Princess Charlotte will take place on Sunday, 5th July at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.
"Princess Charlotte will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby."
"It will be an extraordinary honour and privilege to help welcome the Princess into the family of the church. Along with her parents and all her family, I look forward to joining in this joyful day of celebration and thanksgiving," the Archbishop said in a statement, adding that he was "delighted" to have been invited to conduct the baptism.
The BBC notes that the princess' older brother, George, was also christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St James's Palace in October 2013. Like her older brother, Charlotte is likely to have six god-parents. Among the names in the frame are Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, William's cousin Peter Phillips, his close friend Hugh van Cutsem, brother Prince Harry and Kate's sister Pippa Middleton.
The fourth in line to the throne, the princess's full name has been registered as "Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge."
Andrew Hewitt of The Mirror elaborated on the significance behind the royal baby's name: "The decision of what to call their second child was William and Kate's alone, and the name was chosen simply because they liked it," Hewitt wrote.
"Her middle names were chosen in honor of Charlotte's great-grandmother the Queen, and her late grandmother Princess Diana." Hewitt reported that the royal couple chose to settle on the name Charlotte, the feminine version of Charles, to honor the Duke's father, the Prince of Wales. The name also had important historical links within the royal bloodline.
"The name has historic royal links having already had a Queen Charlotte and Princess Charlottes - although they were all several hundreds of years ago," Hewitt wrote, noting that had the rules surrounding the titles HRH not changed, Charlotte would be unable to call herself a princess. The rules date back to 1917, when King George V declared that only the monarch and the children of the sovereign's sons can have HRH titles.
"Shortly before Prince George's birth, the Queen used an ancient style of legal powers to repeal the rules allowing all children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales can carry the title HRH, meaning the newborn will be known as HRH Princess Charlotte," Hewitt wrote.
