Location Of Lilibet's Christening Won't Change Her Spot In Line Of Succession, Notes Royal Expert
Royal experts predict that Lilibet's christening will cause drama for the family, regardless of whether it occurs in the U.K. or in California.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter, Lilibet, turned 4 months old earlier this month, but plans for her christening are still up in the air. Since the Sussexes now live in California, it remains doubtful that they'll return to the U.K. to have a ceremony there, which is where 2-year-old Archie's took place.
However, it's previously been reported that the father-of-two does want to go home for the event so that family members like Queen Elizabeth can be present. Doing so would also give his daughter the same status as her big brother.
"My information from the Church of England yesterday was if [Lilibet] then comes over and joins a Church of England congregation, then she'll be considered Church of England," stated royal expert Camilla Tominey.
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"Also, interestingly, you don't need to be baptized in order to remain in the line of succession. The only bar to the line of succession is to be a Catholic," she noted. "So, actually, it doesn't change much in the terms of the structure of things..."
While some of the royal family will likely be happy if Harry stays away, Tominey added that others will see it as an intentional snub.
"It's just interesting that Harry and Meghan don't have any immediate plans to come to London and as you say, Holly, to see the Queen and introduce her to these great-grandchildren," she said. "She hasn't seen Archie since, I believe, 2019."
Her remark prompted TV commentator Phillip Schofield to point out that they'll ruffle feathers either way.
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"Once again, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't," he stated. "You wonder whether if they had come over, people would say, 'that's unnecessary travel!'"
Royal expert Russell Myers believes the Sussexes will stay put and hold the ceremony within an Episcopal Church of the U.S.
"I don't think there has been any real push to come over, tensions are still very high in that sphere of things," he shared. "Certainly the Oprah Winfrey interview seems to be fresh in the memory for a lot of people, so whether they would be welcomed back with open arms to sit around the Christmas table, I wouldn't bet on that at the moment."
