Meghan and Harry offered ‘thanksgiving’ service in UK if Lilibet christened in US

Speculation has surrounded the christening of Lillibet – the couple’s second child and first daughter – since her birth in California in June. Christenings are an entrenched tradition for anyone born into the Royal Family.

As the head of the Church of England (CoE), the Queen is overtly aware of the importance of the ceremony. However, it is as of yet unclear where, if at all, Lilibet will be christened. Some reports suggest Meghan and Harry are keen for their child to be baptized in the UK with the Queen present.

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But the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions have made international travel difficult. Yet, as the UK opens up to the world, things are becoming easier.

Paul Bayes, the Bishop of Liverpool, noted that while the Royal Family would likely want to be present at the christening, as would any other family, the main thing for them would be Lilibet’s being christened.

He told Express.co.uk that Meghan and Harry, should they wish to have the ceremony take place in the US, might travel to the UK at a later date and have a special “thanksgiving” church service to celebrate Lilibet’s entrance into Christianity with the rest of the Firm present.

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Described by the CoE as a “simple service”, a thanksgiving ceremony is an opportunity to be with friends and family, ask for God’s blessing and pray for your baby. Bishop Bayes explained that a christening is in practice like a marriage: “It’s a one and only thing.”

However, he added: “In a completely different situation, if I had a grandchild who lived in California and they got christened there, then months later they came over to England, I’m sure we could have a church service and a celebration together.

“That would be perfectly possible. “But for her to be christened again would not be possible. “A thanksgiving service can be done in all kinds of different ways — it can be done quite informally in a church setting, and the baby can be blessed.

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“For someone like the Queen who’s a devout Christian, for her to know that the baby’s been baptized, it’s kind of at the heart of what it’s all about, whether or not it happens in her presence.”

Meghan and Harry’s first child, Archie, was baptized two months after his birth in May 2019. It was an uncharacteristically intimate and quiet service, carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Windsor Chapel, where the Duke and Duchess had married the year before.

Water from the Middle East was specially flown in for the ceremony, sourced from the River Jordan. Sterilized water was also flown in for Archie’s cousin Prince Louis’ baptism in 2018; the same water was also used to baptize his brother and sister, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

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All royal babies are christened in the Lily Font bowl, a silver-gilt piece used by the Royal Family since 1840. Weighing 21 pounds, it was commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert ahead of the birth of their first child.

Now part of the Royal Collection, the font has been used for all subsequent royal christenings, except for Princess Eugenie, who had a public baptism.

All royal babies have also worn the same trailing royal christening gown designed by Janet Sutherland in 1841, or at least a replica of it. The Queen commissioned her dressmaker, Angela Kelly, to create an exact copy of the original outfit in 2004.

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The gown, or its replica, has since been worn by 62 royal babies, including Queen Elizabeth II, according to the Royal Collection Trust.

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