When the future king was christened in 2013, the Prince and Princess of Wales broke from royal protocol in a big way when deciding who would be Prince George’s godparents
10:45, 23 Oct 2025Updated 10:46, 23 Oct 2025
Prince George was christened three months after his birth in 2013(Image: Getty Images)
When Prince William and Princess Kate gave birth to their first child, Prince George, in 2013, royal fans and commentators alike were elated at the arrival of a new future king.
Just three months after his birth, the young prince was christened on this day 12 years ago in the Chapel Royal at St James’ Palace, with the historic event marking the first time in nearly 120 years that four generations of the royal family ‘s line of succession had been pictured together. Prince George was on his best behaviour at his christening, according to royal author Valentine Low, as he was dressed in a handmade replica of the christening robe worn by Queen Victoria’s daughter.
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Prince William and Princess Kate with their eldest son, Prince George(Image: AP)
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 during the ceremony.
Despite William and Kate opting to keep with many royal traditions on the important day, they broke from one major protocol when deciding who would be George’s godparents.
As Mr Lowe explained in his book Courtiers: “It was, in many respects, a very traditional royal christening.” However, when only one member of the royal family was chosen to be one of the young prince’s seven godparents, it “represented something of a break with tradition”.
Historically, royal children were bestowed with strictly royal godparents, some of whom were blood relatives. However, young Prince George was to be quite the exception, marking the beginning of a modern era in the Firm.
Only one member of the royal family made the cut as one of George’s godparents: William’s cousin Zara Tindall, who does not have a royal title. William and Zara, who were born just 13 months apart, always shared a special relationship, which formed early in their childhood, making her an obvious choice to be one of George’s godparents.
Prince George’s christening marked a huge change in royal tradition(Image: PA)
In a Channel 5 documentary titled Zara & Anne: Like Mother Like Daughter, royal commentator 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.”
In a stark contrast to decades of 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.
William and Kate continued the trend of choosing close friends and family members without royal titles as their children’s godparents when Princess Charlotte was born in 2015. Her godparents are William’s childhood friend Thomas van Straubenzee, William’s former Eton classmate James Meade, William’s cousin Lady Jane Fellowes, Kate’s cousin Adam Middleton, and Kate’s childhood friend Sophie Carter.
Prince Louis’ godparents are William’s friends Nicholas van Cutsem, Guy Pelly and Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, William’s cousin Lady Laura Meade, Kate’s friend Hannah Carter and Kate’s cousin Lucy Middleton.
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