Why the Queen Will Not Attend Archie Harrison's Christening This Weekend

This is it—you never have to feel bad for missing family gatherings ever again, because even Queen Elizabeth II says it’s okay to bow out sometimes. According to reports, the Queen will not be attending the christening of her youngest great-grandson Archie (opens in new tab) this coming Saturday, due to a prior engagement that’s been in the diary for a while.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will baptize their son Archie Harrison on Saturday July 6 at Windsor Castle. But, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex secured the plans with Archie’s mystery godparents (opens in new tab) and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, they reportedly discovered later that the Queen sadly couldn’t make it.

In fact, according to reports by MailOnline (opens in new tab), Archie’s christening was originally scheduled for Friday July 7, but has already been pushed back a day in order to make sure that Prince Charles could make the celebrations. Then, as suspected previously (opens in new tab), the Queen arranged long ago to spend a peaceful and private weekend with husband Prince Philip at Sandringham. Awhhh, cute.

Before you go reading between the lines, it’s not the huge deal that headlines might have you believe. In fact, the Queen hasn’t been able to attend all of her great-grandchildren’s christenings (opens in new tab) previously, either. While she did make the big day for Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the Queen also missed Prince Louis’ baptism last year (opens in new tab). It's no real biggie but, according to sources, the Queen “would have liked to be present for the first big celebration for Harry’s first child.”

Royal reporter Rebecca English said that "sources close to Harry and Meghan insist the Queen is ‘happy’ with the decision and was understanding of their keenness to see their son christened sooner rather than later… While this was the best weekend for friends and family coming over from the US, they did just really want to hold the christening as soon as possible, before everyone disappears for the summer.”

Meghan’s guests for her son’s christening will likely include Lindsay Roth and Genevieve Hillis, two of the Duchess’s oldest BFFs from her time at Northwestern University. The two friends accompanied Meghan to Wimbledon on Thursday (opens in new tab).

Yikes, sorry mom, I can't make dinner next week. I have to go to Sandringham...

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