Prince Harry and Meghan Markle organized a private christening for their 21-month-old daughter, Lilibet, at their residence in Montecito, California, last Friday. PEOPLE received confirmation of this event from an official spokesperson of the couple, who stated that the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor, performed the ceremony. According to the publication’s sources, the guest list included Prince Harry’s father, King Charles, and other members of the royal family, but they did not attend the event.
Following the accession of their grandfather as monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth in September last year, Archie and Lilibet were given the titles of prince and princess in accordance with the rules established by King George V in 1917. It should be noted that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family in January 2020. Buckingham Palace intends to update its website to reflect the titles of Archie and Lili, who are currently referred to as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.”
The small and intimate gathering on Friday reportedly had around 20-30 guests, including Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, Tyler Perry as Lilibet’s godfather, and an unnamed godmother. After the christening, attendees enjoyed an afternoon of food and dancing, during which Archie had a chance to dance with his little sister!
Tyler Perry was seen arriving in Montecito last week ahead of the christening ceremony. The filmmaker flew in from Atlanta with a 10-person gospel choir that performed two songs at the event, including “Oh Happy Day” and “This Little Light of Mine,” the latter of which was also played at Meghan and Harry’s wedding.
In December, Perry had revealed that he was chosen to be Lilibet’s godfather after her birth in June 2021 in Santa Barbara, California. During the final episode of the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Perry recounted how the couple called him to ask him to accept the role. According to Perry, the conversation was more serious than their usual lighthearted chats.
Perry shared, “They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa.’ I had to take a minute to take that in.” He further added that he was “absolutely honored” to be offered the role.