Royal visit

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, together with their baby son Prince George arrived in New Zealand today. They will have a bit over a week of official engagements and sightseeing prior to heading to Australia on Wednesday 16 April (just in time for Easter!)

On Good Friday the Royal couple will visit the Sydney Royal Easter Show and are expected to take Prince George with them. On Easter Sunday they are still in Sydney and will be attending a service at St Andrew's Cathedral after which they will take a family trip to Taronga Zoo. Apparently the bilby enclosure is going to be named after Prince George so he's sure to love that! For more on that story follow the link Taronga helps celebrate the birth of the Royal baby

After a quick trip to Brisbane they will head back to Sydney and then on to Uluru, where they will camp for the night. From there the Royals go to Adelaide and Canberra - where they will attend an ANZAC Day march and commemorative service. They leave Australia later the same day.

Many parallels can be drawn between this Royal visit and that of Charles and Diana in 1983 when they toured Australia and New Zealand with a nine month old Prince William. However, this will surely be a happier trip than that one. Princess Diana had fought hard to bring William with her, a move that even Charles did not support, and apparently William's presence made their trip more difficult. It is hard to believe that in the space of one generation attitudes and perceptions have changed so much.

 The young Prince William was based at a farm in New South Wales so Princess Diana and Prince Charles had to keep returning there every few days, which slowed down their trip considerably. This trip has also been credited as starting "Dianamania", where the Royal couple, and particularly Diana, drew huge crowds. Prince Charles couldn't understand why Diana was so popular and it is alleged by household staff that he resented her popularity. They were both unprepared for the size of the crowds and the large numbers of photographers and Diana found the whole experience quite unsettling.

Courtesy L J Holden

After attending a ceremonial welcome at Government House in Wellington today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a day off tomorrow - presumably to get over any jet lag. They will then go on to attend 25 different engagements during their 20 day visit to New Zealand and Australia.  

We wish them a safe and happy tour down under!

The team at nestling.

Prince George

Photo: Michael Middleton

Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge is to be christened this week and his parents, William and Kate, are expected to again break with tradition in the choice of godparents for the royal nestling. While the identities of the godparents is a closely guarded secret, it is believed that instead of choosing older, titled acquaintances to fill these roles William and Kate will ask untitled, close friends to be George's godparents. There is much speculation about who the godparents will be with some expecting that either Pippa Middleton or Prince Harry, or possibly both, will also be named as godparents. Other royals in the running include William's cousins, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The baptism of Prince George, who will be three months and one day old, will be performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace. This venue was chosen by the young royals over Buckingham Palace, where most senior royal babies have been christened in past decades. The Chapel Royal holds particular sentimental value to Prince William as it is where the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales was held prior to her funeral.

Prince George will be christened in a replica of the lace and satin christening gown made for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria in 1841.  Only close family members and friends will attend the intimate service, with some senior royals such as Princess Anne, Princes Andrew and Edward, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex rumoured to have been left off the guest list.

It is believed that after the christening a photo of the Queen and Princes Charles, William and George (the three future monarchs) will be released. The Royal Mint has also made a range of special coins to mark the christening and this is the first time that commemorative coins have been produced for such an event. One of the new coins is made of one kilogram of solid gold and is worth £50,000! It is one of the largest and most expensive coins the Royal Mint has ever produced.

Whoever is on the guest list and no matter who they choose as godparents, the christening of Prince George is sure to be a day to remember and one which will be well documented. We wish them all the very best for the future.

The team at nestling.