The christening of Prince George, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be an “intimate, family affair” attended by a limited number of members of the Royal Family, reports The Times. In a break with more formal royal tradition, several senior members of the family will not be attending – including the Duke of Cambridge’s aunts, the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex, The Times says.
The three-month-old baby will be baptized in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace – where Princess Diana lay before her funeral – on Oct. 23, reports the Daily Mirror. While George will not be the first member of the Royal Family to be christened at the Chapel Royal, heirs to the throne have more commonly been christened at Buckingham Palace.
“It will be an intimate and family affair,” a royal source said, according to The Times. “We set those expectations right at the start. It has not been unusual at previous christenings for great-aunts and great-uncles not to be there.”
Yet the christening is a reflection of William and Kate – the Duke and Duchess – choosing to do things their own way, rather than adhering to formalities. The Times reports that William ripped up the initial guest list when the couple got married because he “hardly knew anyone on it,” while their decision not to employ a nanny marks a clear break with royal tradition.