Prince George, the first child of William and Kate, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, is to be christened at a private ceremony at St James’s Palace in London on Wednesday.
The third-in-line to the throne, who has only appeared in public once, the day after his birth in July, will also be head of the Church of England when he becomes king.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is to perform the ceremony, at which only one official photographer, Jason Bell, will be present.
The photographer is also to capture an image the like of which has not been seen since 1894 — a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and three direct heirs, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
Queen Victoria was on the throne when the last such photo was taken, at the christening of her great-grandson, the future King Edward VIII.
There has been much speculation about who the baby’s godparents will be. Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, and William’s brother, Prince Harry were firm favourites, but rumours last week circulated that the pair had chosen childhood and university friends.
However there are likely to be more than two godparents, as royals traditionally have several — William has six.
Royal watchers have also been speculating furiously about whether Harry’s girlfriend, model Cressida Bonas, will attend the christening. Many believe that if she does appear it could be a sign that the next royal wedding will shortly be announced.
The choice of venue, the chapel at St James’s Palace, is a slightly unusual one, since most royal babies are christened at Buckingham Palace.
But it may have particular meaning for William, since the chapel is where the coffin of his mother, Princess Diana, lay before her funeral in 1997.
George is to be christened in a replica of a lace and satin gown originally made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter Victoria in 1841, and subsequently worn by more than 60 royal babies including William.
The replica was made by the queen’s dressmaker Angela Kelly since the original, last worn by Lady Louise Windsor in 2004, is now too fragile.