The Queen attends christening of two new royal great-grandchildren despite health worries

The Queen ASCOT, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 16: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Queen Elizabeth II attends QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse on October 16, 2021 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
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The Queen attended the joint Christening of two of her new great-grandchildren, August and Lucas, after being forced to cancel royal engagements due to health woes.

The Queen and several members of The Firm attended the double christening of Princess Eugenie's son, August Philip Hawke and Zara Tindall’s son Lucas. It was a historic day for the royal family, as a double royal christening is very rare.

The christening went ahead after Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank were forced to postpone August’s christening earlier in the year, due to Covid restrictions.

Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall welcomed baby Lucas back in March, weeks after Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank welcomed baby August.

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The Queen also became a great-grandmother to two great-granddaughters this year, with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcoming Lilibet Diana in June and Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi welcoming their first child, baby Sienna, in September.

The Queen was thankfully able to attend the double christening of her two new great-grandsons, despite growing fears for her health and suffering from a back sprain.

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It was reported by The Sun that the Queen would decide on the day if she would attend, after hearing advice from doctors on whether she was well enough to go. 

The christening was held at All Saints Chapel in Great Windsor Park, Berkshire, and was an intimate family day, with close members of the family in attendance including Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Her Majesty would not have wanted to miss out on such a historic day as royal commentator Penny Junor remarks that a double royal christening is "unheard of".

She told the Metro, ‘I’ve never heard of two royal babies being christened together like this but it will be wonderful to have the Queen there. It would also send a fantastic message to the world that she is not ready to leave us yet.

Penny added, "She’s very spiritual, a christening is a very important occasion for the head of the Church of England, and being there will be of great importance to her."

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.