Royal godparents for prince George?

We now know when Prince George will be christened and where and we know there will be a special coin to mark the occasion.  Nearly all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place apart from the names of the godparents.  While the smart money has been on Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton from day one, there's still no confirmation of who will stand sponsor to this future king on the day of his christening.  And if William and Kate want to stick with one royal tradition, they need to find themselves a king and/ or a queen with a spare few hours on October 23rd.

 

The Cambridges broke with tradition for their first official pose with Prince George but will they stick to another habit when it comes to christening their son?

 

Since the day in 1819 when Queen Victoria was baptized, future British monarchs have counted on a king or queen to be their godparent.  Little Vicky, although only fifth in line to the throne at the time, had the Queen of Wurttemburg (admittedly her kingdom had only existed for thirteen years at the time and if she'd been asked earlier she would have been an electress), the Prince Regent (who was just months away from becoming a king) and the Emperor of Russia as godparents as well as her maternal granny who was only a lowly dowager duchess. 

 

She might not have been born to rule but Victoria counted an emperor among her godparents and grew up to be an empress herself

And ever since then, the godparents of those born to be future kings and queens all include at least one crowned head.  Victoria's son and heir, Edward VII, had the King of Prussia as one of his sponsors while his eldest son, Albert Victor, had two kings (Denmark and Belgium) and one queen (Victoria herself) among his godparents.  Of course, Albert Victor died before his father and the role of heir passed to his brother, the future George V.  Even though he hadn't been expected to grow up to be king, this little George still had a monarch among his godparents with the King of Hanover standing sponsor alongside the Crown Prince of Denmark who succeeded to the throne of his country in 1906.

 

  A clatter of kings.  Nine crowned heads gather for the funeral of Edward VII I 1910.  In the centre is King George V and to his left is his godfather, King Frederick VII of Denmark

By the time that George V got round to baptising his first born, the vogue for kings and queens as godparents had reached its zenith.  No less than five of the future Edward VIII's sponsors were monarchs.  Leading them, as always, was Queen Victoria with the King and Queen of Denmark close on her heels followed by the Queen of Greece and the King of Wurttemburg.  George VI's christening, just over a year later, pulled in two empresses as godmothers - Victoria, again, and her daughter, Vicky, who was by then Empress of Germany.

Victoria with her three kings - Edward VII, George V and the future Edward VIII

George VI never expected to be king and when his first daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1926 no one thought she would come close to being queen.  Her godparents included monarchs almost by accident as George VI, then Duke of York, and his wife, Elizabeth, asked their parents meaning that George V and Queen Mary stood sponsor to the little girl who would become the longest serving ruler of the House of Windsor.  Prince Charles' arrival, on the other hand, was very much celebrated as the birth of a king in waiting and the choice of his grandfather, George VI, wasn't just a family tribute but a very royal choice for a very royal baby who also counted the King of Norway and Queen Mary among his sponsors.

A king and a queen consort with their godson, a king in waiting.  George VI, Queen Mary, the then Princess Elizabeth and baby Charles at his christening

 

Charles and Diana chose one king, albeit a former one, for their eldest son when they selected godparents.  Ex-King Constantine of Greece stood sponsor to baby William in 1982, the lowest tally of monarchs since Edward VII a whole 140 years earlier.  If there is no crowned head round the font when the Archbishop of Canterbury pours the waters from the river Jordan on the little head that will one day wear a crown, George of Cambridge will become the first monarch since William IV not to have a monarchical godparent.  Those royal brothers had a smattering of dukes and a dowager princess as their sponsors which is still one up from a cousin you never see and someone your parents were mates with at uni but only send Christmas cards to now.  But there wasn't a king or queen to be seen, not even an heir to the throne.  George III and Queen Charlotte, founders of  the modern idea of the royals as a family, did what ever other family in the land did.  They asked the grumpy uncles and cousins who expected to be asked. 

 

 

Prince William had just one monarch among his godparents -former King Constantine of Greece

 

William and Kate have a lot more leeway.  They are the modern face of this ancient institution so whoever they pick can be explained as either a subtle change to centuries of tradition or a nod to the past from a couple with their eyes on the future.  We'll know who they have chosen soon enough.  The last part of the christening tradition jigsaw is whether the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make a break and give us the first future king in over two hundred years with no crowned head as a godparent.