When Will Baby Sussex Be Christened?

This is so, so exciting: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are now, officially, a family of three! Baby Sussex Archie Harrison has come, and the world (and also the Internet) has already embraced him with open arms. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are beside themselves with joy, as was apparent in their formal introduction. Even better, reports are coming in that we won't have to wait long for the baby to show up in a fabulous white lacy outfit for his christening. There's usually lots of photos for that event, so we may get the proud parents, Archie, as well as other royals. When is it happening? 

It's going to be a beautiful and private ceremony with proud parents Meghan Markle and Prince Harry—and we might not get photos from a news outlet on the day of the ceremony, which is causing a bit of a stir among fans. Here's what you need to know.

Mark your calendars: Archie's two-month birthday will be his christening! We already knew it would be in the summer, but now we know for sure. We don't know the exact time yet, although that's often not divulged until after the fact for security reasons.

The ceremony is taking place in the Queen's private chapel at Windsor, not St. George's where Prince Harry was christened and Harry and Meghan were married. There will be 25 guests in total, and we may not get arrival/departure shots as we got with Kate Middleton and Prince William's children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Pictures will, however, be released after the fact, likely by the official Sussex Royal account. Royal reporter Rebecca English explains, "The venue, in the inner sanctum of the castle, means it’s impossible to offer public access to the ceremony—although pressure is on to allow at least one news organization access to arrivals, as well as the couple’s chosen photographer."

A royal expert claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex risk alienating fans if they rely solely on stylized shots, as they did with Mother's Day and Father's Day this year. Aside from the official photos, they've only been giving us partial shots of Archie.

Rebecca English said she thought some of this was warranted.

But the couple have to balance privacy issues—which are highly important to them—and the enormous good will from the public, who want to "share their joy." I have the feeling, though, that some of the coverage details will be kept private until the day of.

The queen reportedly will not attend.

She also missed Louis's christening, and she's got an intensely busy schedule, so it doesn't mean anything significant that she's not there. However, Doria Ragland, Meghan's mom, who will fly in from the U.S., as well as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will be there. Harry's mentor Mark Dyer and family friend Markus Anderson will be there, but no word yet on Kate Middleton, Prince William, and their kids. Considering Harry and Meghan went to Louis's christening, it would be surprising if at least one of them wasn't there.

Still no word on godparents.

There's been intense speculation about who it might be, from Meghan's BFF Jess Mulroney, to George and Amal Clooney, to Serena Williams, and a number of other worthy candidates. The godparents (or at least some of them) will likely attend the ceremony, so that helps to narrow down the field a little bit, but still no official word.

Update, 6/11: Some impressive logic from royal reporters has just considerably narrowed down the potential time frame for Archie’s christening, and the reasoning totally makes sense. In a piece on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new life as parents, Carolyn Durand explained to ELLE that penning Baby Sussex’s ceremony in the diary is mostly dependent on the Queen’s plans.

Discussing the Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing maternity leave, a royal source said that Meghan will make “intermittent appearances." “We may get our first glimpse of Archie in about six weeks for his christening,” Durand wrote. The christening is most likely to take place in July, “before the The Queen leaves for Balmoral at the end of July. Otherwise, the Queen historically returns from Balmoral in late October.”

I'm already emotional just thinking about the photographs.

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