Anne and Sophie left off royal christening guest list

SOME senior members of the Royal Family have not been invited to Prince George’s christening this month because his parents want it to be an ‘intimate, family affair’, the Daily Mail has learnt.

Prince William’s aunts, Princess Anne and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, have been left off the guest list, the Mail was told last night.

Although Buckingham Palace refused to comment, it seems George’s great-uncles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, are also not attending the event on October 23

William and Kate have already chosen to break with recent royal tradition and have their son christened at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace, because it is smaller and ‘more personal’ than Buckingham Palace. Now the Mail has learnt only the couple’s closest family and friends will be attending.

The full guest list will not be confirmed by Kensington Palace until nearer the day but it is likely to include great-grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip, and grandparents Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as uncle Prince Harry.

Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, sister Pippa and brother James are also due to attend. Details of the six chosen godparents are also yet to be released, but possible names include William’s longestserving adviser Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, best friend Thomas van Straubenzee and exroyal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke.

Instead of joining the celebrations, the Countess of Wessex, who is married to Prince Edward, will undertake engagements in the West Country, while Princess Anne is going ahead with an official visit to Canada.

When asked whether either had been invited in the first place, a palace source said: ‘All I can say is that the christening will be an intimate affair.’

Kensington Palace refused to comment last night, saying: ‘We will announce the full guest list in due course when we are ready to do so.’

But a royal source added: ‘The christening will be a small, intimate and personal family affair.’

Prince William, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne were all baptised in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. The Queen was christened in the palace’s private chapel.

William has a deep emotional attachment to St James’s Palace. In 1997, the body of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales lay before the chapel altar so her family and friends could pay their respects in private, before her funeral in Westminster Abbey.