Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Won't Reveal Who They Chose to Be Archie's Godparents
Names rumored to be in the running for Archie's godparent included George Clooney and Serena Williams — but here's why it's not likely to be either of them.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor's christening was so ultra-private, his parents, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, barely got into the event themselves. OK, so that's not true, but the royals did choose to have a very low-key event at Windsor Castle on July 6 with only about 25 people in attendance, including Archie's new godparents.
Rumors swirled before the christening that stars like George Clooney and Serena Williams were in the running to be godparents, and we thought we might find out the answer at the event, but it looks like we may never know who they selected. But, since the godparents were there, and Serena Williams was not, she can be pretty safely considered out of the running. (George and Amal Clooney were in Lake Como on July 4th ... but could have made it to the U.K. a couple days later with no problems.)
“These are friends, private citizens, not celebrities or public figures,” an unnamed "royal source" explained to PEOPLE. “Meghan and Harry wanted to protect them from the inevitable onslaught: ‘When did you meet them? How?’ That was the driving reason [to keep them private]. It’s a very personal thing to ask somebody to be a godparent."
According to Town & Country, potential "private citizen" godparents could include one of Prince Harry's close friends from school, one of Duchess Meghan's childhood friends, or even Harry's former nanny. Or, since the Duchess was recently baptized, perhaps the godparents are both people with a closer connection to him rather than her, making them less likely to be well-known by the masses?
An anonymous source claiming to have inside knowledge of Prince William, meanwhile, surmises that all of this privacy is just a bit much.
“William thinks his brother is going overboard keeping Archie out of the spotlight,” the source told Us Weekly, and that Prince Harry's brother "blames Meghan."
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan did allow the public to see some wonderful family photos from the day, including a group one with Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, Prince William, Duchess Kate, Prince Charles, Camilla Bowles Parker (Duchess of Cornwall), and aunts Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who are Prince Harry's late mother Princess Diana's sisters.