Princess Diana's Sisters Played a Special Role in Archie's Christening
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor‘s royal christening on Saturday (July 6) was notably intimate compared to those of his royal cousins. New details about the official portraits released from the event suggest that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle handpicked two special guests to pay tribute to Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana, at the private ceremony.
Princess Diana’s sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, were among the tightly edited group of 25 invited to attend Baby Archie’s christening today. They also appeared in the formal group portrait released this afternoon, pictured between Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle’s mother, and Prince William.
The sisters’ appearance is a symbolic gesture to Princess Diana’s role in Archie’s upbringing. Her sisters don’t make appearances as frequently as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but they’ve nonetheless stepped in to fill Princess Diana’s role in absentia. Early reports said that Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale were among the first people to learn of Archie’s birth. It’s fitting that they’re present for a major milestone in the young royal’s life.
Including Princess Diana’s sisters in the christening ceremony is just the latest way that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have acknowledged the late royal in their public lives. On Mother’s Day this year, the Sussexes shared a photo of Baby Archie with Princess Diana’s favorite flower, the forget-me-not. “Paying tribute to all mothers today—past, present, mothers-to-be, and those lost but forever remembered. We honor and celebrate each and every one of you,” they wrote.
Prince Harry has opened up about remembering his mother in recent months. In May, he spoke with veteran Dennis van der Stroon about his loss. “He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security, how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother,” van der Stroon said of Harry. “He said he meets a lot of people in his work who have lost a mother, father, sister, brother, or relatives, and when he hears their story, as he heard my story, he said he doesn’t feel so alone.”
Halie LeSavage is a contributing writer at Glamour. Follow her @halielesavage.