Princess Charlotte's Christening: Details About Her Royal Christening Gown, Which May Look Familiar!

Spoiler alert: It's a hand-me-down

By Corinne Heller Jul 05, 2015 3:30 PMTags
Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, ChristeningAP Photo/Matt Dunham

Princess Charlotte wore brother Prince George's hand-me-downs, a replica of a more than 170-year-old royal heirloom also worn by other members of her family, to her christening on Sunday.

The 2-month-old baby, the second child of Prince William and Kate Middleton and the fourth in line to the British throne, was baptized in St. Mary Magdalene Church, a 16th-century chapel long frequented by the royal family, in Sandringham, Norfolk, where Queen Elizabeth II has a country estate. William's late mother Princess Diana was christened there in 1961.

Kate and William were photographed arriving with George and Charlotte, who was inside a carriage. The baby wore a handmade replica of the royal christening gown, made by Angela Kelly, dressmaker to the queen. She had in 2004 commissioned a replica of the original robe, which was made for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter in 1841 and was later worn by dozens of babies at royal christenings.

George wore the same garment at his christening in London in 2013.

Also, William wore the original in 1982, while his father Prince Charles wore it in 1948 and Queen Elizabeth II wore it in 1926.

Charlotte will have five godparents, made up of friends and relatives of William and Kate. The list does not include his brother Prince Harry and her sister Pippa Middleton, as many had speculated. The two were also not among George's seven godparents.