Prince William looked ‘like he was going into nightclub bouncer mode in christening picture’

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, seventh in line to the Throne, was finally presented to the world yesterday after his private christening. 

Exactly two months after he was born, Archie was pictured sitting on the lap of his mother, the Duchess of Sussex, as she nestled into the shoulder of his father, the Duke of Sussex.

A photograph released by his proud parents Prince Harry, 34, and Meghan Markle, 37, to mark the occasion showed a happy group celebrating their newest addition – even if the godparents were not in the picture in keeping with the Royal couple’s wish for them to remain private, despite the inevitable backlash the secrecy would cause.

The image, shot against the opulence of Windsor Castle’s Green Drawing Room, was one of warmth and family joy.

However some royal fans and body language experts have suggested that there was an element of frostiness or ‘awkwardness’ between those in the official picture. 

Expert Judi James told MailOnline Prince William, who arrived at the christening wearing dark sunglasses, looked like he was going into ‘nightclub bouncer mode’ while Kate’s posture made her appear ‘ready to flee’ in the image.

She also explained how the Cambridges’ poses in the single image released of the group were in stark difference to Archie’s grandparents at the other end of the picture.

Since the arrival of Archie, the country has had only tantalising glimpses of his feet and part of his face. But yesterday afternoon, his proud parents uploaded two photos to mark his baptism to their Instagram account.

In the main picture, Archie is flanked by three of his proud grandparents, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland. 

At the centre of the image the world can, for the first time, see Archie’s face clearly and discover how much he resembles his father at the same age.

Royal fans were quick to suggest which of his parents Archie looked the most like with some even convinced they can detect a hint of ginger in his hair already.

Archie’s uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are in the forefront of the shot with the Duchess wearing a scene-stealing, coral-coloured Stella McCartney dress. 

Its demure pussy cat bow does little to divert attention from her above-the-knee skirt and the ruby-red stiletto heels which match her fashionable satin headband.

Kate completed her stylish outfit with a nod to Princess Diana and wore a pair of her mother-in-law’s pearl drop earrings. Diana is thought to have worn the pair to Harry’s christening in 1984. 

And it is the Cambridges’ who stood out to body language expert Judi James and several people on Twitter after the picture was shared on Saturday.

Judi said Kate’s ‘ready to flee’ pose could show awkwardness, or a desire to ‘lower her status to not upstage’ Harry and Meghan. 

Ms James said: ‘With a very relaxed and jolly-looking Camilla down one end of this pose, Kate sits at the other looking oddly self-diminished and prim, with her arms pulled into her torso and a part-smile on her face. 

‘Given all the rift rumours the rather “ready to flee” tension in her pose could be seen as awkwardness but it could also show a desire to lower her own status signals and not upstage the happy couple.’

Ms James compared Prince William’s pose to a ‘nightclub bouncer’ due to his ‘fig-leaf hand gesture, head tilt and rather evaluating facial expression.’  

She said: ‘William’s pose behind her looks harder to fathom out as it seems to show the prince in nightclub bouncer mode. 

‘The fig-leaf hand gesture, head tilt and rather evaluating facial expression and knowing smile all bear the hallmarks of a man who won’t let you into the venue until you produce some ID. 

‘Harry’s chosen shot of his brother at his wedding did seem to make William look oddly furtive behind him so perhaps there’s a theme emerging here. 

‘The contrast with the proudly-beaming Charles and Doria is acute but again, it could reflect a moment of quiet, contemplative sibling pleasure for William, although it might be interesting to see if he was grinning happily in any of the shots Harry rejected.’ 

Dozens of people on Twitter also questioned Archie’s uncle’s facial expressions with some saying it looked like he was trying ‘not to smirk’. 

Others said: ‘William doesn’t look happy at all!! And Kate has a forced smile on her face.’

While someone else added: ‘Kate doesn’t have a real smile on her face. She looks pained. William looks like he smelled something terrible. They don’t look thrilled to be there.’

For her son’s Christening the Duchess of Sussex chose bespoke Dior, reaching for white, the statement colour she favours. 

New mother Meghan also donned a pair of Cartier earrings and Dior nude pumps yesterday and completed her look with a white fascinator.

The final two members of the formal Green Room line-up are there in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales: they are her sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who Harry sees as equal keepers of his mother’s memory. 

Princess Diana’s older sister Lady Jane Fellowes was one of the first to meet baby Archie, ahead of Prince Charles and Prince William, giving yet another indication of Harry’s dedication to his mother’s side of the family. 

According to The Telegraph, Lady Jane, 62, was one of the first to drop in to meet Baby Sussex, ahead of senior royals including Prince Charles, Camilla and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

Prince Harry has made clear that Diana has been on his mind since the birth of his son, and poignantly included her family in Archie’s official birth announcement.

Prince Harry has remained particularly close to Princess Diana’s family since her death, and invited Lady Jane to give a reading at the royal wedding last May.

And he made sure that Diana’s sisters had met Meghan ahead of their engagement, with the Duchess of Sussex confirming how special they are to Harry in their engagement interview in November 2017.

At the time, she mentioned how important she found meeting Harry’s aunt, as well as Princess Diana’s close friend Julia Fellowes.

Meghan said: ‘I think in being able to meet his aunts, I’m able to, in some way, know a part of her through them and of course through him. And it’s – it’s incredibly special.’ 

However Meghan’s estranged father has spoken of his desire to have been at Archie’s christening as he wished his grandson nothing but ‘health and happiness’.

Thomas Markle, 74, has never met his son-in-law Prince Harry and was not invited to yesterday’s christening at Windsor Castle.

He said he would have enjoyed being at the celebration because he has been a member of the Anglican Church since childhood, describing it as the ‘Queen’s church’.

Speaking from his home in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, the retired Hollywood lighting director told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I have been asked if I would have liked to have gone to Britain to see my new grandson being christened.

‘I was an altar boy at age 12, a confirmed member of the Queen’s church at age 14, and Archie is my new grandson, so of course I would have enjoyed being there for the blessing, wishing Archie and his parents health and happiness.’

Mr Markle missed last year’s Royal Wedding after suffering two heart attacks. He also fell out with his daughter and Harry when he admitted posing for paparazzi pictures in a misguided attempt to change his ‘schlubby’ image.

Mr Markle claimed he only allowed the photographs to be taken because he was left unable to fend for himself against an onslaught of global media attention.

Alongside the two pictures from the event, which only featured close family members, the Sussexes wrote: ‘This morning, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was christened in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle at an intimate service officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. 

‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are so happy to share the joy of this day with members of the public who have been incredibly supportive since the birth of their son. They thank you for your kindness in welcoming their first born and celebrating this special moment.

‘Their Royal Highnesses feel fortunate to have enjoyed this day with family and the godparents of Archie.’

The second christening photograph released by Meghan and Harry is the kind of arty, black-and-white shot on which they have built their Instagram empire of 8.8 million followers.

Taken in the Rose Garden at Windsor moments after the religious ceremony, it is the work of Chris Allerton, the former soldier who was also the couple’s wedding photographer.

Meghan, 37, and Harry, 34, have plumped for black and white pictures on a number of important occasions, including Archie’s christening photographs, official engagement shoot and their first Christmas card.   

However, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said she felt that people were becoming a ‘bit jaded’ by ‘stylised’ pictures of the newest royal. 

‘I think what people want and what people are used to seeing are lovely family images of the baby in the royal Honiton lace christening gown.

‘They won’t want an arty Instagram shot of Archie’s foot three days later if it’s left up to the couple themselves to take pictures and release them,’ she said, referring to a Mother’s Day shot issued by the couple of their son on social media.

Photographer and former soldier Chris Allerton is said to have formed a close bond with the couple, having taken private pictures during Archie’s photocall as well as the royal wedding.  

He is said to have developed his first roll of film at just eight years old and according to his website ‘has been hooked on photography since’. Allerton left the British Army in 2001 and went on to Lichfield Studios in Notting Hill. 

The release of both pictures marks a softening of the stance of the Duke and Duchess, who had hoped to keep details of the day private. They have chosen not to release the names of Archie’s godparents.

However royal commentators including Dickie Arbiter have said that its possible the identities of Archie’s godparents will come out eventually. 

Mr Arbiter told MailOnline that the details of Archie’s godparents’ identities will be put in the royal records which are held at Windsor Castle and will be available to historians in the future. 

Archie will not be taking an HRH title at the request of his parents but he did, however, enjoy all the trappings of a Royal christening.

He was wearing the cascading ivory Honiton lace and satin gown used for all Royal babies’ baptisms since the reign of Queen Victoria. The one Archie wore is a 2008 copy of the 1841 original, and was handmade by the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly.

The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, using the silver gilt Lily Font. Commissioned in 1840 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for the birth of their first child, it is part of the Crown Jewels and had been brought from the Tower of London for the occasion.

The water which filled the font was taken from the River Jordan. The brief service took place in the Queen’s own private chapel in the Upper Ward of Windsor Chapel.  

Prince Harry and Meghan made their way with their son from Frogmore Cottage, their home in the grounds of the Queen’s Windsor estate, shortly before noon for the low-key ceremony.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall had arrived on helicopter of the Queen’s Flight at 10am, while the Cambridges left Kensington Palace and drove themselves, William at the wheel, and in through the back gates of the castle. 

The Queen had wished to attend but was headed to a prior engagement at Sandringham after a trip to Scotland, where she had been celebrating Holyrood Week.

The Royals were joined by guests from the couple’s close circle of friends, including Harry and William’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, Meghan’s old university friend Genevieve Hills, and the Duchess’s great confidante, the fashion designer Misha Nonoo. 

The choir of St George’s Chapel who sang at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, also sang at Archie’s christening, and then the party, believed to number around 25, celebrated with tea and a slice of the couple’s wedding cake – made by fashionable East London baker Claire Ptak – which had been frozen and saved for the occasion.

The Duchess of Cambridge stuns in pink Stella McCartney dress and red headband while wearing Princess Diana’s earrings at her nephew Archie’s christening 

The Duchess of Cambridge looked stunning in pink as she posed alongside other royals after baby Archie’s christening yesterday. 

Kate, 37, wore a gorgeous pink Stella McCartney dress for the private event, which took place in a tiny chapel at Windsor Castle. 

The royal beamed for the camera as she elegantly posed on a chair in front of her husband Prince William. 

Senior royals including Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton were among the 25 guests at the intimate ceremony yesterday. 

Kate was no doubt be feeling emotional as she remembered the christenings of her own children, Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1. 

The mother-of-three looked elegant in her pink knee-length dress, which she is thought to have had since 2009 and last worn to the Queen’s Christmas lunch in 2018.

Kate’s outfit for the event was also reminiscent of the powder blue ensemble by Elie Saab she wore to Ascot last month, which also had a bow on the front.

The Duchess of Cambridge also wore a pussy bow blouse during an engagement in south London in March. This time the garment was purple and from Gucci.

To complete her look for Archie’s christening Kate added a red headband by London milliner Juliette Botterill.

She tied the entire look together by also wearing red shoes and a pair of pearl drop earrings which stood out against her stunning brunette hair.

The christening comes as Meghan and Harry face continued and growing backlash surrounding the event, as they insisted it be kept private. 

The service took place in a tiny chapel inside Windsor Castle, with many of the guests arriving discreetly by a back entrance to the grounds. 

Have Soho House pair who went to Royal Wedding landed key role of godparents to Archie alongside Harry’s cherished nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke?

By Katie Hind, Charlotte Wace and Michael Powell for the Mail On Sunday

They have adopted the Soho House style for their new home. 

And it may be that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have extended the members’ club theme to friends chosen as baby Archie’s godparents.

Sources close to the couple claimed last night that Izzy May, a former publicist for the company, is a godparent.

Friends in the circle also said they would be surprised if Markus Anderson, a Canadian-born Soho House director, had not been made a godfather.

The pair were guests at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. Neither has children, allowing them to lavish Archie with time and attention. 

Anderson, 41, grew close to the Duchess when they lived in Toronto, where he accompanied her to the Invictus Games closing ceremony in 2017.

Last summer they flew to Madrid with friend and fashion designer Misha Nonoo. He also introduced Meghan to Amal and George Clooney and to Jessica Mulroney.

Friends of Miss May, 41, who now works for David Beckham’s company DB Ventures, say she has been chosen for the special role. The London-based publicist got to know Meghan through Soho House, where she worked for the owner Nick Jones for a decade.

When Meghan moved to Britain, the women grew very close but kept their friendship low-key.

Educated at Sussex University, Miss May joined London-based PR agency Freuds in 2001.

Among her clients was Soho House and she quickly became friends with Mr Anderson and Mr Jones.

Harry and Meghan chose a friend they met at one of their favourite haunts, Soho Farmhouse, to provide the flowers yesterday. Willow Crossley, who lives close to where the couple rented their cottage in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, also decorated the evening party for last year’s Royal Wedding.

Meanwhile, Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke proved she is as no-nonsense as ever as she turned up to Archie’s christening in a red dress from high street store Zara – thought to have cost about £40.

She even appeared to be wearing the same pair of pearl earrings and four-string choker – albeit with a different clasp – that she sported in 1993 when she accompanied Harry to Balmoral.

Tiggy’s attendance in Windsor fuelled speculation that she was among the favoured few selected to be godparents. The former nanny – who now goes by her married name Pettifer – was a pillar of support to the princes as they grew up.

She made the brothers godfathers to her two children and it would be no surprise if Harry has returned the gesture.

Harry introduced Meghan to Tiggy shortly after the couple announced their engagement.

It is thought he was particularly keen for the pair to meet, with a source saying at the time: ‘Harry couldn’t wait to introduce Meghan to Tiggy. Although the two women are very different, they got on famously.’

Tiggy went to the same Swiss finishing school – the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Rougemont – as Princess Diana. She worked for the Royal Family between 1993 and 1999 and was there to help care for the boys when Diana died in 1997.

With a role once described as ‘part servant, part sister and part mother,’ she organised treats for the princes such as fairground rides on summer days at Prince Charles’s Highgrove home.

She would load the boys’ ponies on to trailers for polo and hunting and spent hours with them fishing, climbing, go-karting and shooting rabbits. Their sheer adoration for their nanny would often cause tension when Diana was alive, with Tiggy once referring to Harry and William as ‘my babies’.

Diana believed the nanny held too much influence over Charles and the boys, and was disapproving when Tiggy said of her charges: ‘I give them what they need – fresh air, a rifle and a horse. She [Diana] gives them a tennis racket and a bucket of popcorn at the movies.’

Tiggy did not always see eye to eye with Charles either – she was reportedly banished to the roof of St James’s Palace to smoke because he hated the smell.

In 1998, Charles was enraged when Tiggy reportedly let Harry and William abseil from a 160ft dam without helmets or safety lines – a technique usually reserved for crack SAS squads. A three-week investigation was launched, but the princes’ adoration of her saved her job. Friends have described her as mix of surrogate mother and boisterous big sister whose only outlook on life was to ‘turn up the fun dial to over-the-top’.

Appointed to the Royal Victorian Order in the New Year’s Honours in 2001, her relationship with Diana’s sons has long outlived her duties as a nanny.

She has attended every important event in their lives, including the brothers’ weddings and Harry’s graduation as a helicopter pilot. Today, Tiggy’s life is far removed from her Royal duties, which saw her skiing with the princes in Klosters, holidaying on yachts and taking Harry on safari in Botswana.Married with two sons and two stepsons, she and her husband Charles Pettifer have converted their home in the Brecon Beacons into an upmarket, £100-a-night guesthouse. Visitors speak highly of the ‘joyful hostess’ and her ‘wonderful homemade cakes’.

She advertises what she calls ‘the Tiggy experience’, writing on her website: ‘Charlie and I have four boys, three dogs and a menagerie of animals here at Ty’r Chanter and if you decide to come and stay you really are part of our family. Our home is your home for as long as you stay. I have no rules and regulations, as they say!’

Born Alexandra, she was nicknamed Tiggy due to her childhood love of Beatrix Potter’s hedgehog Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.

Her father was the former Deputy Lieutenant of Powys and her mother a long-standing lady-in-waiting to Princess Anne. 

Prince Charles knew the family well and would regularly shoot on their estate in Wales.