After the under 40-minute ceremony of the christening of Prince Louis, guests exited The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace for a reception held at Clarence House.
A private tea is being held at Clarence House, the official home of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. The guests will be served slices of the christening cake. The cake comes from a tier of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding cake. Standing eight tiers tall and weighing in at over 220 pounds, the cake has plenty to last a lifetime of christenings. This time, they used one of the top three tiers.
The youngest of the Cambridge children was christened by The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.
Earlier in the day, he tweeted out he “was delighted and privileged to be christening Prince Louis.”
He wore the traditional Honiton gown worn by both his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The gown was first used in 1841 for Princess Victoria, the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Music during the ceremony included hymns O Jesus, I Have Promised and Lord of All Hopefulness. R. Vaughan Williams’ “Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’” was also played as the family entered the Royal Chapel; this song was played at William and Catherine’s wedding and the 1981 wedding of Louis’s grandparents, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
As the family left, Prince Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar’s Concerto in G major, BWV 592 was be performed.
For the readings, Lucy Middleton – a cousin of the Duchess of Cambridge – read from St. Mark 10: 13-16 and Guy Pelly read Ephesians 3: 14-19. Both Middleton and Pelly have been selected as godparents.
