INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Prince Louis Christening To Feature Water Flown In From The River Jordan

By Patricia Grannum
Published on: 14:46 PST, Jun 29, 2018

It looks like Prince Louis’ christening is about to have a lot of the pomp and circumstance that we’ve come to expect from royal events. The Express reports that the youngest person in the line of succession to the British throne will be baptized with a special type of water that has to be flown into the U.K.

Royals are christened with water that comes directly from the River Jordan. Christians believe that’s the river where Jesus was baptized by John The Baptist. All members of the royal family are baptized with it, including Prince Louis’ siblings, George and Charlotte. According to the Express, it was probably used when Meghan Markle joined the Anglican Church, a couple of weeks before the royal wedding.

The water at Prince Louis’ christening isn’t going to be the only aspect of the ceremony that follows centuries-old tradition. As Royal Central points out, Louis will wear a modern copy of the Honiton lace gown first worn by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria in 1841. The original features fabric that the Queen used in her royal bridal gown the previous year and has been worn by over 50 royal babies.

A special baptismal font called the Lily Font will also be used. Made from gilded silver, it weighs over 20 pounds and is stored in the Tower Of London when it’s not being used. For each royal christening, it’s transported from the tower to the location where the ceremony is being held. The vessel that holds the water has a lot of historical significance as well. It’s called an ewer and it was first used at King George III in 1735.

According to the official statement from Kensington Palace, Prince Louis will be christened on Monday, July 9 at St James’s Palace in the Chapel Royal. The ceremony will be officiated by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the same church official who married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

There’s been lots of speculation about who will become Prince Louis’ godparents. As The Express notes, some thought that Duchess Meghan might get the gig but their royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams said this is unlikely because William and Kate haven’t known her for that long.

So, just who are the likely candidates?

British bookmakers believe that William and Kate will choose Louis’ godparents from their circle friends, People Magazine reports. That’s what they did for George and Charlotte’s christenings. So, this could be another royal baptism tradition that’s all theirs.

Share this article: Prince Louis Christening To Feature Water Flown In From The River Jordan
prince william Kate Middleton
More from Inquisitr