Princess Charlotte's Christening: Mario Testino Picked as Photographer
— -- The Duchess of Cambridge famously snapped the first photos released of her son and newborn daughter together, but the royal family has tapped a world-renowned photographer to record their next milestone.
Mario Testino, who has photographed generations of Britain’s royal family, will take the official photographs of the christening party after the Sunday baptism of Duchess Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson confirmed the royal family’s choice today, and pointed out that Testino, 60, also photographed the engagement photos for the princess’ parents, Princess Kate and Prince William.
“I am overwhelmed and honored to be chosen to document this occasion and to carry on the documentation of the family that is the soul of this country, a country that has given me so much,” the Peru-born Testino, whom the late Princess Diana selected to photograph her for Vanity Fair, said in a statement released by the Palace.
The nearly 2-month-old Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana will be christened July 5 at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate of her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The church is the same spot where her grandmother, Princess Diana of Wales, was baptized in 1961, and is near the family's country estate, Anmer Hall, that has been their home much of the time since Princess Charlotte's May 2 birth.
Kensington Palace announced Monday that the paddock outside the church will be open to the public, meaning well-wishers may have a chance to see Kate, William, Charlotte and her big brother, nearly 2-year-old Prince George, as they walk inside.
Prince Harry, who left the military last week, will miss the christening because he is spending the summer in Africa. The fourth in line to the throne will be shadowing various prominent conservationists in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, working on the front lines to combat the threat against the black rhino. There's still speculation that Harry may be named one of Princess Charlotte's godparents. Prince William and Princess Kate are expected to announced Princess Charlotte's godparents this weekend.
Prince George’s baptism took place in 2013 in an intimate service at St. James’s Palace in London, with only immediate family, godparents and their spouses in attendance.
Princess Charlotte will wear the same christening gown worn by Prince George. The gown, remade by the queen's dresser, Angela Kelly, in 2004, is an exact replica of the gown first commissioned by Queen Victoria 174 years ago and has been used for every generation of royal infants, totaling 62 royal babies in all.
Since her birth last month at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, Princess Charlotte has only been seen by the public twice: once when she left the hospital with her parents, and the second time in official photos of her and Prince George together, taken by their mother, Duchess Kate.
