Freddie’s girl is christened in royal robe
ALMOST a year after Princess Charlotte was baptised, her Honiton lace christening robe has been given another outing.
The gown, which is a replica of a lace and satin robe made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841, was worn by Isabella Alexandra May, the second daughter of Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, for her christening at the Kensington Palace chapel last weekend (left).
My exclusive photo shows the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, pouring Holy Water onto the forehead of Isabella above the chapel’s font.
Isabella, who is the eighth child to wear the gown, was watched adoringly by her parents (near left), Lord Freddie and his actress wife Sophie Winkleman, the halfsister of Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia. Also present were the baby’s doting grandparents, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
IT’S one of England’s most famous stately homes and the ancestral seat of Princess Diana’s family, but Althorp has failed to live up to the standards set by Earl Spencer’s latest wife. Canadian divorcee Karen Gordon, who became the third Countess Spencer in 2011, is redecorating Althorp in what is said to be a ‘major overhaul’. ‘This idea of having guests walk across a hallway to use the bathroom isn’t really working for me,’ sniffs Karen. Althorp now boasts a bouncy castle in the state dining room. ‘When I came here as a child with my sister, it was my grandfather’s house . . . we weren’t allowed to touch anything or even speak that much,’ admits Lord Spencer. ‘I think I can hear him right now, quietly revolving in his grave.’