Lilibet Diana: Russell Myers speculates on timing of christening

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Royal watchers have debated for months whether Harry and Meghan’s daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, will be christened in the UK or in the US, where the couple now live. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have endured a fractured relationship with the Royal Family since they quit the Firm last year and moved to California. This year the rift was widened after the couple gave a two-hour CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they were deeply critical of royal life and made a number of claims against the Firm. 

Since the tell-all interview, Harry opened up about his relationship with family members in AppleTV+ documentary The Me You Can’t See, while his announcement of a memoir has reportedly also contributed to tension with the royals.

However, when Meghan gave birth to Lilibet, royal fans wondered whether this could be an opportunity for the family to heal their relationships.

The Queen was said to be “delighted” at the news of her birth and is no doubt looking forward to meeting her great-granddaughter in person.

One topic that is on everyone’s lips is whether the couple will choose to christen their daughter in Windsor, as they did with Archie in 2019, or whether they will have a ceremony in the US.

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While this is a new dilemma for the couple, Archie’s christening was not without drama itself.

The Sussexes decided not to allow the press to take pictures of them arriving for Archie’s christening, as Prince William and Kate did with their three children.

Instead, they released their own black-and-white photograph of the baby in his christening gown.

They also decided to break with royal tradition and not publicise who Archie’s godparents are.

Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Zoe Forsey and features Daily Mirror royal editor Mr Myers.

Mr Myers claimed these decisions marked the “beginning of the end” for the Sussexes’ time in the Firm, arguing that people have a right to know who the godparents are of someone so high up in the line of succession.

He said: “It will be very interesting to see, if it is in the States, whether there are pictures that emerge over in the States, whether you get to know who her godparents are.

“Hark back to the time where it became such an issue that Harry and Meghan decided not to release the names of the godparents. 

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“And again there was a big debate over whether it mattered, whether it didn’t.

“I think that was the start, or the beginning of the end really of the public perception of ‒ if you are taking all the trappings of royal life do you necessarily have to follow what has happened before you in terms of keeping up with tradition, having pictures of the christening, having it publicised who the godparents are?

“Should people know who are the godparents and the moral compass of someone who is in line to the throne?

“I would argue yes, I think that is quite interesting, but they obviously saw it in a different way.”

Six months after Archie’s July 2019  christening, Harry and Meghan finally revealed the identities of the royal baby’s mystery godparents.

It was revealed that Tiggy Pettifer, who was Harry and Prince William’s childhood nanny, was Archie’s godmother.

Archie’s godfathers are Mark Dyer, who formerly worked for Prince Charles, and Charlie van Straubenzee, who is a close friend of Harry’s.

Last month a spokesperson for the couple announced that a decision on Lilibet’s christening was still being made and reports on the event’s details were “mere speculation”.

Mr Myers however, claimed he did not take the statement at “face value” and believed that it was possible that the couple could announce Lilibet’s christening had “already happened.”

He said: “Who knows when they will be making their next trip here? Will it be for the christening? Will it be for Christmas?

“I don’t think it will be this year. Again, anything can happen.

“The word from their people is they haven’t decided [on the christening plans].

“I don’t know if I necessarily take that at face value.

“I think they will probably drop an announcement that it’s already happened and that will be all you know about it.”

The Duke of Sussex has only returned to the UK twice since his California move, for his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral in April, and to unveil a statue of his late mother Princess Diana in July. 

Meghan and Archie have not returned to the UK since March 2020, while Lilibet has never been to her father’s homeland.

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