Today, the Princess Royal celebrates her birthday. Princess Anne has an enviable collection of royal jewels of her own, but to celebrate her birthday today, we’re taking a look back at one of the first bejeweled events of her life: her christening at Buckingham Palace in the autumn of 1950.
Princess Anne of Edinburgh, the second child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, was born at Clarence House in London on August 15, 1950. The new royal baby was born during the reign of her grandfather, King George VI. She was third in line to the throne after her mother and her elder brother, Prince Charles. The little princess’s names–Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise–were made official a few weeks later, when her father officially registered her birth, signing the certificate in his study at Clarence House in the presence of the registrar of Westminster North-East. In return, he was given an identification card and a ration book, plus a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of cod liver oil, for the new baby.
The press expected that the christening of the new royal princess would be delayed until at least October, after the family’s return from their usual holiday at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland. Indeed, the christening ceremony was scheduled for Saturday, October 21, 1950. Prince Philip, still then serving with the navy, had to fly back from his posting in Malta for the occasion. Fittingly, the day of the christening was also the anniversary of the British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of York, Dr. Cyril Garbett, in the white and gold music room at Buckingham Palace. (The palace chapel had been seriously damaged during the Blitz; the King’s Gallery was later constructed in its place, and the private chapel was relocated to a different part of the palace in the 1960s.) The music room was decorated with pink and white flowers for the occasion, as well as sprigs of oak cut from trees that had been grown from acorns planted on Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding day. Though the ceremony took place at three o’clock in the afternoon, the curtains in the room had been drawn and flickering candles provided illumination, part of the King’s wish to have a solemn, religious atmosphere for the occasion. During the half-hour service, two of Princess Elizabeth’s favorite hymns, “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven” and “Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep” were performed by the choir of the Chapel Royal.
Four generations of the royal family were seated on crimson and gold chairs around the Lily Font as the baby was christened. The font and the Honiton lace christening gown worn by Princess Anne were commissioned by Queen Victoria for the christening of her first child, Princess Vicky, in 1841. Queen Elizabeth held her granddaughter throughout most of the service, handing her over to Dr. Garbutt for the actual baptism. Press reports from the day note that Anne “behaved perfectly,” adding that she “seemed to thoroughly enjoy the ceremony, laughing and gurgling” during the proceedings, and laying quietly in the archbishop’s arms as he baptized her. Queen Elizabeth recited the royal baby’s names, and after the archbishop had sprinkled water over her head, the Queen took the baby back into her arms for the rest of the ceremony.
After the service, the 60 guests–including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester–moved to the blue drawing room for tea. The Telegraph reported that the spread included “a one-tier christening cake with a small silver cradle containing a tiny child dressed in ivory lace on the top.” The cake was also adorned with “the crest of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, showing Edinburgh Castle enclosed in the Garter.” Portraits were taken by Baron and by news organizations, and during the session Prince Charles had a burst of toddler energy.
The Sunday People reported, “Prince Charles followed the service with interest and behaved with great composure. But he was almost out of the picture when the Royal Family posed for news photographers. He refused to come into it, and seemed frightened by the arc lights and news-reel cameras. He could be heard protesting when efforts were made to bring him into the room. After he had been persuaded to join the Royal group, he scampered away again, slid on the highly-polished floor and took refuge behind a settee. Finally, the King picked him up and firmly put him back in the picture.”
Here’s peaceful Princess Anne sitting on her mother’s lap during the portrait session. Princess Elizabeth wore a floral-printed dress for the christening with a matching hat and gloves, accessorized with sapphire, pearl, and diamond jewelry. On the bodice of her dress, she fastened the Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch. Elizabeth received the brooch in 1946 when she launched an oil tanker, appropriately named the British Princess. Little Anne was the first British princess born into the family since the birth of Princess Alexandra in 1936–and the only princess born in her generation of the family–so the choice was particularly apt.
Elizabeth paired the brooch with her wedding earrings, pearl and diamond studs that had once belonged to one of King George III’s daughters, Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Elizabeth’s three-row pearl necklace was a gift from her grandfather, King George V, to celebrate his Silver Jubilee in May 1935.
On her right wrist, Elizabeth also wore a special bracelet with sentimental family meaning. In April 1944, her father gave her this lovely sapphire and diamond bracelet to mark her eighteenth birthday. Made by Cartier, the piece features two sapphire and diamond “segments” linked together with diamond clasps.
Queen Elizabeth, seen here helping to wrangle Prince Charles, was particularly glamorous for the christening of her first granddaughter. Her dress was made of a shimmering metallic fabric, and she wore a dramatic feathered headpiece. Her jewelry accessories were set with diamonds, pearls, and emeralds. The three-row pearl necklace she wore is, I believe, actually the two-row Hanoverian Pearl Necklace stacked with a third strand of pearls. (She wore this combination often during her husband’s reign.)
The Queen also added the Greville Emerald Earrings and two diamond and emerald bracelets to her ensemble. Pinned to her dress was a jewelry present from her husband: her Silver Anniversary Flower Brooch, a diamond and emerald jewel given to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary in April 1948. She wore the same brooch in December 1948 for the christening of Prince Charles.
Queen Mary also glittered mightily for the christening of her great-granddaughter. With a lace outfit and matching hat, she wore several pieces of pearl and diamond jewelry. Her diamond and pearl button earrings were a wedding gift from the Ladies of Devonshire in 1893, part of a suite that also included a convertible tiara. The diamond and pearl brooch pinned at her throat was also one of her wedding gifts, presented to her by the Women of Hampshire. And, if you look carefully, you’ll also spot another jewel–a petite diamond and pearl bar brooch–pinned beneath the fabric flower on her bodice. A diamond and pearl hat pin continued the bejeweled theme.
Princess Margaret, who had just celebrated her 20th birthday, also glittered in diamonds and pearls at her niece’s christening. She wore the two-row pearl necklace that King George V had given her in 1935 to mark his Silver Jubilee, as well as a diamond brooch and a diamond bracelet.
Little Princess Anne had five sponsors at her christening. Both of her grandmothers served as godparents, though her paternal grandmother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was abroad. (Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone stood as her proxy for the service.) The Mountbatten family was also represented by Princess Andrew’s brother, Lord Mountbatten, and by her daughter, Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
Along with Queen Elizabeth, the Bowes-Lyon family also had additional godparent representation from the Hon. Andrew Elphinstone, son of the Queen’s sister, Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon. Andrew was ordained as a priest in the Church of England a few weeks after the christening. His wife, Jean, was one of Princess Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting.
There’s another interesting royal coda to this christening story. While the archbishop was baptizing Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace, another family member was being born a few miles away. At the home of his parents in Bayswater, not far from Kensington Palace, a son was born that evening to the Earl and Countess of Harewood. Lord Harewood was the elder son of Princess Mary, daughter of Queen Mary and sister of King George VI.
The little boy was named David Henry George. He was baptized by the Archbishop of York (just like Princess Anne) at Harewood House in December 1950, with both Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth (and, notably, the composer Benjamin Britten) as godparents. David, known from birth as Viscount Lascelles, was Queen Mary’s third great-grandchild, after Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Queen Mary learned of the happy news not long after returning home from the christening celebration. Today, David Lascelles is the 8th Earl of Harewood. He’s pictured above with his cousin, Princess Anne, in 2012.
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