Charlotte's christening

Princess Charlotte will never meet her paternal grandmother, Diana, but she has some very special links with her. They share a name with William choosing to call his little girl after the mother lost when he was a teenager. And now, just days after what would have been Diana's 54th birthday, he and Kate will take their daughter to be christened at the same font where William's mum was baptised over five decades ago. It is a very special choice.

Princess Charlotte makes her debut on May 2nd 2015 in the arms of her mother. She will be christened at the same church as her paternal grandmother - the late Diana, Princess of Wales

Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge will be christened on July 5th 2015 at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Justin Welby, who also baptised her brother George, said it was 'an extraordinary honour and privilege to help welcome the Princess into the family of the church'. The private ceremony at St Mary Magdalene will be attended by the Royal Family and Charlotte's godparents. No announcement of who they are has been made yet but if William and Kate follow the pattern set with George then their names will stay secret until the day itself. 

There will be another chance to see Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on July 5th when she is christened

Although the service will be held behind closed doors - as with George - there will be a chance to see the Cambridges and the rest of the royals attending as they arrive and leave the church. And there will probably be official photos afterwards although they may not excite as much attention as those taken following George's baptism when the four generations of royalty captured on camera by Jason Bell made headlines around  the world.

The Queen and the three kings who will one day inherit her throne, photographed on the day of George of Cambridge's christening

George's own christening had a special link to Diana - he was baptised in the Chapel of St James' Palace where the Princess's body had lain before her funeral and where her son said some of his final goodbyes to her. The christening of Charlotte, on a sunny day in Norfolk, will have other links to Diana as she is received into the church on the same spot as her grandmother all those years ago.