{"id":146210,"date":"2023-12-15T08:29:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T08:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritywshow.com\/?p=146210"},"modified":"2023-12-15T08:29:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T08:29:42","slug":"the-christening-of-baby-charles-on-this-day-75-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritywshow.com\/world-news\/the-christening-of-baby-charles-on-this-day-75-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christening of baby Charles on this day 75 years ago!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Ailing George VI could barely stand. The Archbishop seemed about to drop the baby. Yet\u00a0 through it all, Prince Charles &#8216;lay quiet as a mouse&#8217; &#8211; the Christening of a King on this day 75 years ago<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The chapel was bombed so they had to use the Music Room at the Palace<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Princess Margaret had joked to friends that she was now &#8216;Charley&#8217;s Aunt&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t miss our brilliant new podcast, The Crown: Fact or Fiction with Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone. Listen now on Spotify , Apple or wherever you get your podcasts\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The future King Charles III was baptised Charles Philip Arthur George at Buckingham Palace\u00a0on Wednesday December 15, 1948.<\/p>\n<p>Buckingham Palace released the baby\u2019s names the previous evening and there was much comment in the newspapers about the unusual choice of Charles as first name.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the baby\u2019s godparents \u2013 Haakon VII, King of Norway had been born Prince Charles of Denmark \u2013 and it also no doubt appealed to the alpha male\u00a0Prince Philip\u00a0that Charles is old English for a \u2018free man\u2019 as well as French for \u2018manly.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>(Aptly for both men, Philip is Greek for \u2018horse-loving\u2019)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/11\/78550443-12822789-image-a-25_1701687777866.jpg\" height=\"812\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Royal Family pose for a photograph after the christening of Princess Elizabeth&#8217;s baby son, Charles. The baby&#8217;s grandfather, King George VI and great grandmother, Queen Mary are present<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550445-12822789-The_birth_certificate_of_Prince_Charles_the_Prince_of_Wales_-a-16_1701861144375.jpg\" height=\"448\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The birth certificate of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550417-12822789-The_King_and_Queen_survey_bomb_damage_Buckingham_Palace_London_W-a-12_1701861144371.jpg\" height=\"507\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The King and Queen survey bomb damage, Buckingham Palace, London, WWII, 1940. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth looking at the aftermath of a German bombing raid on 11 September 1940 which destroyed the palace chapel<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550409-12822789-Marion_Crawford_known_as_Crawfie_who_was_Princess_Elizabeth_and_-a-14_1701861144372.jpg\" height=\"987\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Marion Crawford, known as Crawfie, who was Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret&#8217;s nanny<\/p>\n<p>Newspapers also pointed out that the future king wouldn\u2019t necessarily reign as King Charles III, since his grandfather, George VI, had been born Prince Albert of York and King Edward VII had also been baptised Albert Edward.<\/p>\n<p>Philip had registered his four-week-old son\u2019s birth on the morning of the christening. Mr John Stanley Clare, Registrar of Births at Caxton Hall, Westminster, travelled to the palace to enter the details. He was accompanied by two women officials from the Ministry of Food who handed the Duke and Princess Elizabeth a child\u2019s green ration book.<\/p>\n<h3>FOR MORE ON THE CROWN\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Did Prince William really blame his father for Diana\u2019s death?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Find out in the new episode of our unmissable podcast The Crown: Fact of Fiction<\/p>\n<p>And keep listening to find out the truth about Harry\u2019s Nazi costume<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony was held in the Music Room overlooking the palace gardens. The palace chapel, where royal christenings, up to and including that of Princess Alexandra in 1937, were often held, had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.<\/p>\n<p>Marion Crawford, Elizabeth\u2019s former governess, recalled \u2018about thirty chairs were set out in rows as if in a chapel\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>She also noticed the silver-gilt Lily Font had been sent from\u00a0Windsor Castle\u00a0and \u2018was decorated with white carnations and gardenias.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Music Room was later used for other royal baptisms including those of\u00a0Princess Anne\u2019s son Peter Phillips and of Prince William who was christened there on the Queen Mother\u2019s 82 birthday \u2013 4 August 1982.<\/p>\n<p>The royal party sat on the front row. The baby had eight \u2018sponsors\u2019 as godparents of royal babies were termed.<\/p>\n<p>They were all royal relations: King George VI, (grandfather),\u00a0Princess Margaret\u00a0(aunt), Queen Mary (great grandmother), the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (Prince Philip\u2019s grandmother), Lady Brabourne (Philip\u2019s first cousin, later Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and the Hon David Bowes Lyon (the Queen Mother\u2019s younger brother).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550433-12822789-Baby_Charles_had_his_first_encounter_with_the_British_press_at_t-a-11_1701861144370.jpg\" height=\"477\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Baby Charles had his first encounter with the British press at the photo call in the White Drawing Room where photos and news reel footage documented the christening. Back row from the left: Patricia Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne; Prince Philip; King George VI; David Bowes Lyon; Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone; Princess Margaret. Front row from the left: Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (also Marchioness of Milford Haven and\u00a0 Prince Philip&#8217;s grandmother); Princess Elizabeth with baby Charles; Queen Mary<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550441-12822789-Queen_Mary_the_Queen_Mother_holds_her_great_grandson_Prince_Char-a-15_1701861144373.jpg\" height=\"767\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Queen Mary the Queen Mother holds her great grandson Prince Charles after his christening at Buckingham Palace<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550439-12822789-The_centre_pages_of_the_Daily_Graphic_celebrate_the_Christening-a-13_1701861144372.jpg\" height=\"395\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The centre pages of the Daily Graphic celebrate the\u00a0 Christening<\/p>\n<p>Prince Philip represented another godparent, his uncle Prince George of Greece, and Queen Mary\u2019s brother, the Earl of Athlone, stood in for the King of Norway.<\/p>\n<p>Princess Margaret \u2013 who had jokingly told friends that she was now \u2018Charley\u2019s Aunt\u2019 \u2013 carried her nephew into the room and handing him to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, while at the same time announcing the names.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To Crawfie\u2019s concern, the Archbishop \u2018took the baby in the crook of his arm\u2019 which she thought unsafe \u2018as if the slightest movement would dislodge\u2019 him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Charles, she recalled \u2018lay quiet as a mouse\u2019 as the cleric \u2018poured three very ample shellfulls of water over the baby\u2019s head.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Music was provided ten choristers from the Chapels Royal accompanied by their organist playing the French grand piano.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The small congregation and choir sand two hymns chosen by Princess Elizabeth: \u2018Holy, Holy Holy\u2019 and \u2018O Worship The King.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Crawfie was \u2018a little concerned about Princess Elizabeth. She did not look very well. She was wearing a cherry-coloured coat and hat, but she seemed to me to be a little tired.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It had clearly taken her a while to recover from the birth and the evening before she was a notable absentee from the palace staff Christmas dance attended by her mother and sister in the state apartments.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth must also have been worried about her father\u2019s declining health. King George had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis and was suffering from cramps in his legs and feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His doctors feared his poor circulation may lead to gangrene and a possible amputation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550437-12822789-Crawfie_said_she_was_was_a_little_concerned_about_Princess_Eliza-a-18_1701861147066.jpg\" height=\"892\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Crawfie said she was was \u2018a little concerned about Princess Elizabeth. She did not look very well. She was wearing a cherry-coloured coat and hat, but she seemed to me to be a little tired.\u2019 It had clearly taken her a while to recover from the birth<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550425-12822789-Irene_Podd_putting_the_finishing_touches_to_the_cake_for_the_chr-a-19_1701861150603.jpg\" height=\"821\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Irene Podd putting the finishing touches to the cake for the christening of Prince Charles, at the McVitie and Price works in Harlesden, London<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550667-12822789-Dr_Geoffrey_Fisher_the_Archbishop_of_Canterbury_in_a_1954_portra-a-17_1701861144570.jpg\" height=\"691\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Dr Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury in a 1954 portrait<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/11\/78550665-12822789-Queen_Elizabeth_II_right_is_crowned_by_Archbishop_of_Canterbury_-a-20_1701861160444.jpg\" height=\"440\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Queen Elizabeth II (right) is crowned by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Geoffrey Fisher<\/p>\n<p>He rested his feet on a footstool during the half hour service but insisted on standing for the photographs.<\/p>\n<p>Baby Charles had his first encounter with the British press at the photo call in the White Drawing Room where photos and news reel footage documented the christening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Such was the interest across the Atlantic for pictures of the event that American media organisations chartered a 43-seater BOAC air liner at a cost of \u00a310,000, paid in dollars, to transport the one-pound package of photos to New York to catch the early editions of the evening papers.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12822789\/Ailing-George-VI-barely-stand-Archbishop-drop-baby-Prince-Charles-lay-quiet-mouse-Christening-King-day-75-years-ago.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ailing George VI could barely stand. The Archbishop seemed about to drop the baby. Yet\u00a0 through it all, Prince Charles &#8216;lay quiet as a mouse&#8217;&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Christening of baby Charles on this day 75 years ago! - Celebrity WShow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/celebritywshow.com\/world-news\/the-christening-of-baby-charles-on-this-day-75-years-ago\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Christening of baby Charles on this day 75 years ago! - Celebrity WShow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ailing George VI could barely stand. 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