The reason why the Queen won’t be attending Archie’s christening

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Reports say that the Queen will not be attending Archie’s christening at St George’s Chapel due to a diary clash.

Originally, the Duke and Duchess had planned to have the baptism at Windsor Castle today, but rescheduled after finding out The Queen and Prince Charles had prior engagements.

Harry and Meghan reportedly chose to move the date to accommodate Charles, who marked his 50th anniversary as the Prince of Wales recently.

Unfortunately the Queen had long planned to spend the weekend with Prince Philip at Sandringham, and said it would be difficult to find another day that suited both the royal couple and their friends.

The Queen, Archie

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This surprised Senior Buckingham Palace staff, with one spokesperson saying, “There is huge support for the couple in not wanting to conform to tradition. They are young, they are striking out on a different path from other members of the Royal Family and there is enormous goodwill for them”

“But they shouldn’t do that without regard for tradition," they added.

However, the Queen is reportedly happy with the decision for the christening to go ahead in her absence, as it was agreed during a family discussion.

Meghan and Harry have also denied public access to the christening, and have decided to not let TV cameras record the Royal Family arriving either. But they must follow this rule during the ceremony.

archie

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Royal fans will still be able to see images of Archie’s christening, as the couple have decided to release images taken by their own photographer.

This break in tradition has left some royal fans upset though, thinking that the couple should follow traditional procedure and allow broadcasts of the family arriving.

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Lucy Buglass is a Digital Writer specialising in TV, film and lifestyle content and has written for What's On TV, GoodtoKnow and Whattowatch.com. She's passionate about entertainment and spends most of her free time watching Netflix series, BBC dramas, or going to the cinema to catch the latest film releases. In her spare time, she writes film and television reviews for JumpCut Online and her own blog, Lucy Goes To Hollywood.