Public allowed in paddock for princess’s baptism
The nine-week-old baby’s baptism will take place at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, which is walking distance from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Norfolk country mansion.
The traditional religious service will welcome guests including the princess’s great-grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, grandparents the Prince of Wales and Carole and Michael Middleton, step-grandmother the Duchess of Cornwall and Kate’s siblings Pippa and James Middleton.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will also bring along toddler son Prince George, who turns two later this month.
Charlotte’s godparents — most of whom are likely to be close friends of William and Kate — will be announced ahead of the service.
Although the ceremony, conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby, is private, the Duke and Duchess have agreed to allow members of the public into the area outside the church known as the paddock to see Charlotte and the royals as they make their way to and from the venue.
The ceremony is due to start at 4.30pm.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess are hugely grateful for the warm wishes they have received since Princess Charlotte’s birth — many of them from local people in Norfolk — and are delighted the paddock can be opened on the day of the christening.”
