Prince Louis’ godparents revealed and Meghan Markle is NOT one of them
KATE and William have announced the godparents of Prince Louis ahead of his christening today.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge revealed the chosen six, who will attend the young prince’s ceremony this afternoon.
They asked Guy Pelly, Nicholas van Cutsem, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Lady Laura Meade, Mrs Robert Carter and Lucy Middleton.
But new sister-in-law Meghan Markle, who stood an outside chance of being chosen, was not among them.
Here’s the lowdown on the six family and friends.
Nicholas van Cutsem
Nicholas is a close friend of the royals, and has known both William and Harry their whole lives due to Prince Charles being friends with Nicholas’ father since their days at Cambridge together.
An international business developer, 40-year-old Nicholas is very wealthy and is based in London. He was formerly a major with the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards.
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher
Harry, who works in mergers and acquisitions at the American banking firm J P Morgan, is the son-in-law of Edward Stourton, a cousin of the Radio 4 presenter of the same name.
Like Prince William, he went on to Eton College, where they were members of the Eton Society, which was founded in 1811 as a debating group.
Harry is the son of Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, the 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.
William was an usher when Harry married Louise Stourton, in Boroughbridge, West Yorkshire.
It was the first wedding that William and Kate Middleton attended after they announced their engagement in 2010.
Guy Pelly
Playboy pal Guy Pelly was the impish “court jester” with a wild streak and a reputation for leading his royal drinking companions astray, but whose loyalty and discretion were never in doubt.
Nightclub owner Guy organised Wills’ stag do and is also a pal of Prince Harry and Kate Middleton.
In royal company he was at the centre of several trouser-dropping moments.
Guy bared his bum at a polo match with the princes in 2003 and two years later was seen dancing around in just his boxer shorts during a stay at a posh ski resort.
His mum Lady Carolyn Herbert was chums with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
He once ran London club Mahiki but had to shut another, Public, after complaints about boozy revellers.
Lady Laura Meade
Lady Laura’s father, the Earl of Romney, is a friend of the Prince of Wales.
She is a cousin, several times removed, of the Duchess of Cornwall.
Lady Laura, 28, has been skiing with the Duke and Duchess and is involved in the Tusk Trust, the wildlife conservation charity of which William is patron.
Her husband, James Meade, is one of Charlotte’s godparents and he went to school with William.
Before George and Charlotte were born their parents used to regularly go out partying with Meade, 32, William’s friend from Eton.
Hannah Carter
Mrs Robert Carter is a school friend of the Duchess and both attended Marlborough College, Wilts.
Wills and Kate attended the wedding of Hannah and Robert Carter at Wingfield, near Eye, Suffolk.
They stayed at a £165 a night pub.
Lucy Middleton
Kate’s cousin was part of Andrew Mitchell’s legal team which failed in its libel action over the infamous ‘Plebgate’ affair.
Bristol graduate Lucy, 32, is close to the Duchess, and the pair spent their gap year together in Florence.
Lucy, a solicitor, was studying Italian and had badgered Catherine to join her.
She’s now a senior publishing lawyer at Penguin Random House.
The fifth-in-line to the throne will be christened in front of 20 to 30 people in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.
However, the Queen and Prince Philip will miss their great-grandson’s ceremony.
The 92-year-old monarch and her 97-year-old husband will instead be travelling back from Norfolk,
Eleven-week-old Louis will wear the same gown worn by his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, at their christenings.
He will don the handmade replica of the Royal Christening Robe, made by Angela Kelly.
George, four, and Charlotte, three, will be there for their brother’s big day.
Following the service, Kate and Wills will host a private tea at Clarence House.
It will be the first time the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children have been seen together as a family of five.
The little royal, who was born in April, will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
It comes after it was revealed Prince Harry has paid around £8,000 for a first edition Winnie-The-Pooh for his nephew’s big day.
The 33-year-old newlywed plans to start an exclusive library for the young Prince, in tribute to his late mother, Princess Diana.
A friend said: “One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother.
“She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte and George to enjoy as they get older.”