The cute story behind Archie’s christening gown

meghan harry

Baby Archie's christening this weekend was a very private affair, with only a few members of the royal family attending (the Queen reportedly wasn't able to make it, due to prior commitments).

Prince Harry and Meghan are still keeping Archie's godparents a secret, however they did share a couple of lovely portraits from the day on their Instagram page.

One of them is a posed shot of the parents with their baby in Windsor castle, surrounded by Prince Diana's sisters, Meghan's mum Doria Ragland, William and Kate and Charles and Camilla.

The second picture is a more candid black and white snap of the happy parents holding their sleeping son.

A photo posted by on

We are also given a glimpse at the baby's christening gown, which some of you might know, is a replica of the gown worn by several generations of royal babies before him. The reason he isn't wearing the real one is that it's sadly become too delicate with old age, so needs to be preserved.

They explained on Instagram, 'Their son, Archie, was baptised wearing the handmade replica of the royal christening gown which has been worn by royal infants for the last 11 years. The original Royal Christening Robe, made of fine Honiton lace lined with white satin, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 and first worn by her eldest daughter. It was subsequently worn for generations of Royal christenings, including The Queen, her children and her grandchildren until 2004, when The Queen commissioned this handmade replica, in order for the fragile historic outfit to be preserved, and for the tradition to continue.'

What a lovely tradition.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.