The Archbishop of Canterbury will baptize Prince George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a private chapel on October 23.
BBC:
Prince George will be christened on Wednesday 23 October at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace – just over three months after his birth.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, will perform the christening.
The prince, who was born on 22 July at St Mary’s Hospital in London, is third in line to the throne.
In a statement Kensington Palace said: “Their royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to announce the christening of Prince George will take place on Wednesday, 23rd October at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.
“Prince George will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.”
The BBC’s Ben Geoghegan said “close members of the families” would attend the christening, along with “some other senior guests”.
He said the Chapel Royal, built by Henry VIII, was small and the duke and duchess were believed to want a “small, private ceremony”.
Some press reports characterize this as a break with tradition by not having it in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace where Prince William was baptized, but the Chapel probably holds special memories for William:
In 1997 the coffin of Prince William’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales, lay before the chapel’s altar before her funeral in Westminster Abbey.
Princess Beatrice was the last royal baby to be christened in the Chapel Royal in December 1988.
Extra credit question: Is it “Christening” or “Baptism?” Discuss.
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Cynthia, “dire circumstances” is a bit of a stretch, at least as far as the 1662 BCP is concerned, where the terminology used is “great cause and need.” Heck, it’s even a bit if a stretch as far as the ’79 BCP is concerned – it only says “Holy Baptism is appropriately administered within the Eucharist in a Sunday.” The criteria for private baptism are not the same as that for *emergency* baptism.
Bill Dilworth
The two terms signify the same event, at least for infants (you don’t christen adults). At least that’s how it seems from here.
Bill Dilworth
What Cynthia said—but I REALLY wish it were public (perhaps in Kate’s hometown parish church?). This child will have enough “separation from the hoi polloi” in his life, he doesn’t need it now.
JC Fisher
The baptism/christening (mere semantics in this particular case for sure) of the prince known as George is a reminder of the concept of “sacral-kingship” that is attached to the British monarchy. One may ponder, therefore, the dual future of both the monarchy and the C of E, what may be the state of each by the time wee George becomes an adult? There are good odds that by such time both the C of E and the monarchy will be much more marginal –if indeed one or the other, or either, of these institutions survive for another generation.
The English word “christian” derives from the Greek New Testament word “christianon,” which means, I believe, “an anointed (i.e. baptized) person. Seems to me that to say someone is baptized or is christened means the same thing, and I think – regardless of what the dictionary says – that is what most Christians have meant and do mean when they use these terms. The distinction between the terms indicates an Anabaptist point of view, i.e. that baptism does not make one a “very member incorporate of the body of Christ.”
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