Queen Elizabeth II to attend Royal christening of Princess Zara and Eugenie's children

As she prepares to resume her royal duties, Queen Elizabeth II is faced with a difficult choice before the royal christening ceremony of her great-grandchildren from Princess Zara and Eugenie. Her Royal Highness will have to decide as to who she wants to offer the replica of the Honiton Gown, which is the only traditional lace outfit necessary to wear during the christening ceremony of newly borns.

It is worth the mention that the royal princesses have decided to host a joint christening ceremony of their children in a private church Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor Great Park in Royal Lodge, the Express reported. The event scheduled to be held this weekend will also be graced by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

According to sources quoted by The Sun, the Queen is very keen to be there as she knows how important this is for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The decision was taken after a consultation with her personal doctor. It is to be noted that the Queen will rejoin her royal duties after she was forced to pull out of her appearance last weekend from the Remembrance Sunday service at Cenotaph due to sprained back, Express confirmed.

The little ones to be christened this weekend were welcomed earlier this year by Zara Tindall and Princess Eugenie. The two toddlers are among the Queen's 12 great-grandchildren. While Zara and her husband Mike Tindall welcomed their third child Lucas Philip Tindall on March 21, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank welcomed their first child, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, on February 9.

Royal christening clash

This year, the royal baby christening ceremony comes with an impossible decision to make from the Queen's end, as per Express. Typically at royal ceremonies, the baby to be christened is usually done using the Lily Font and wearing a replica of the Honiton Gown.

However, the clash arises as there are two babies to be christened on Monday. This means that the Queen has to choose which great-grandchild of hers gets to wear the gown. Pertinently, Princess Eugenie's son August was to be christened in July, however, it was rescheduled due to COVID.

The Royal christening

The Honiton Gown was created during the christening of Princess Royal Victoria's daughter in 1841. The inspiration was taken from Queen Victoria's wedding dress with a handwoven silk design and lace overlay. The baptismal font, Lily Font, was also commissioned by Queen Victoria for her daughter.

The original gown was last worn by Lady Louise Windsor for her 2004 christening, with all royal babies wearing a replica of the gown and following her. The replica gown was used last during the christening ceremony of Prince Harry and Megan Markle's firstborn Archie in July 2019.

IMAGE: @Franceinblaise1_Twitter/AP