How Prince William and Kate Middleton broke tradition at the christening of Prince George.
As future King and Queen Consort of England, Prince William and Kate Middleton are well versed in playing by the Royal rulebook.
Yet in an indication of their seeming commitment towards embracing a new, modern era of Monarchy, the Royal couple chose to break one historic custom during the christening of their beloved son, Prince George.
On July 22, 2013, a wood-and-gold easel announced the birth of William and Kate's first child to the world.
The bells of Westminster Abbey rang out, landmarks were illuminated blue to symbolise the birth of a boy and gun salutes marked the occasion in London, Bermuda, New Zealand and Canada.
Then, just three months later, the young Prince was christened in the Chapel Royal at St James' Palace. The event marked the first time in nearly 120 years that four generations of the Royal Family's line of succession had been pictured together.
Dressed in a handmade replica of the christening robe worn by Queen Victoria's daughter, Prince George was, as royal expert Valentine Low writes in his book Courtiers, 'on his best behaviour'.
And in keeping with royal tradition, the young Prince was christened using the ornate 175-year-old historic Lily Font, while water from the River Jordan was also used.
Then, following the service, the new parents hosted a private tea at Clarence House, with guests served slices of christening cake from a tier taken from William and Kate's wedding cake.
But despite following a number of historic traditions, there was one exemption that indicated a stark shift in Royal protocol.
As Mr Lowe explains, 'it was, in many respects, a very traditional royal christening.' However, the young Prince's seven godparents, which featured just one Royal 'represented something of a break with tradition'.
While historically, Royal children were bestowed with strictly Royal godparents, some of whom were even blood relatives, young Prince George was to be quite the exception, marking the beginning of a modern era of Royalty.
Instead, just one member of the Royal Family made the cut - Zara Tindall, who did not herself even possess a title.
Her choice as godmother seems somewhat unsurprising given that her and William have shared a special bond that has been evident since their childhood.
William, alongside his brother Harry, were both raised just a few miles from where Zara and her brother Peter grew up in Gloucestershire, with the four royal cousins were often spotted chatting and joking at royal events.
The Prince has previously revealed how it was 'hard to keep a straight face' when sitting opposite his cousins in church. Born just 13 months apart, Zara was reportedly a great comfort to William after his mother Diana's death in 1997.
Though she may not be a working royal and has experienced less media attention than William and Harry, the royal cousins have become protective of each other over time.
In a Channel 5 documentary, 'Zara & Anne: Like Mother Like Daughter', Victoria Arbiter said: 'For William in particular, trust is everything so when you've got a cousin that understands what it is to be a member of the Royal Family, but they don't have the same pressures associated with it, they can be a tower of strength and support.'
But in contrast to Royal tradition, Zara was not joined by any other members of the Firm when Kate and William carefully selected their young son's new godparents.
Instead, she was joined by six of Kate and William's close friends and family members, including Oliver Baker, Hugh Grosvenor - the Duke of Westminster, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Julia Samuels and William van Custem.
In a rather remarkable twist and an even greater defiance of protocol, the most noteworthy individual on the godparent list was Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, former private secretary to Kate and William.
While at the stage of George's christening he had stepped down from his former role, he was still working one day a week as an adviser to the Prince and Princess, alongside Harry.
Explaining why opting to select Mr Lowther-Pinkerton as a godparent had been such an unconventional move, Mr Lowe wrote: 'It is an absolute article of faith with just about every private secretary that I spoke to for this book that the relationship between adviser and principal is surely professional.
'But Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton was their friend. He had been there at the very beginning, before they had their own household, when it was just him and Helen Asprey.
'He was their confidant, their mentor, their older brother.'
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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