The christening of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the first child of the Duke (Prince Harry) and Duchess (Meghan Markle) of Sussex, took place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle on July 6, 2019. The Archbishop of Canterbury performed the christening attended by about 25 family members and friends.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were unable to attend the christening due to prior commitments.
Some of the family members who attended the christening appeared in an official christening photo released by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
The portrait (see below) included Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland. Also in the photo were Princess Diana’s sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale.
Princess Diana’s older sisters have lived private lives in the decades after their little sister died. Many royal fans are curious to learn more about Prince Harry’s maternal aunts, especially Lady Jane Fellowes, who was one of the first members of the extended family to meet Archie after he was born.
Lady Jane Fellowes was last in the news when she attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018. She gave a reading at the wedding.
Lady Jane Fellowes gives a reading from the Song of Solomon #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/SQSj692LGT
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018
She also gave a reading of a Henry Van Dyke Jr. poem at the funeral of his sister Princess Diana in 1997. But the media focused more on the heartbreaking eulogy delivered at the funeral by Diana’s little brother, Charles Spencer (9th Earl Spencer).
Who is Lady Jane Fellowes?
Lady Jane Fellowes is the second older sister of Princess Diana. She was born on February 11, 1957, which makes her 62 years old. She is the second child and daughter of Edward John Spencer (Earl of Spencer) and his wife Frances Ruth Burke Roche. Her older sister is Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the first child of their parents, who was born on March 19, 1955.
Lady Jane Fellowes attended West Heath boarding school.
She married Robert Fellowes on April 20, 1978. Robert Fellowes was then the assistant private secretary to the Queen. Princess Diana was the bridesmaid at their wedding which took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple has three children, Laura Jane (born July 19, 1980), Alexander Robert (born March 23, 1983), and Eleanor Ruth (August 20, 1985). The also have four grandchildren.
It is claimed that Prince Charles met and courted Diana when she came to Scotland in the summer of 1980 to help her sister Jane Fellowes after the birth of Laura Jane.
Diana’s older sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale reportedly introduced the couple.
What role did Jane Fellowes play in Archie’s christening?
Lady Jane Fellowes was one of the first members of the extended family to meet Archie was he was born. She was mentioned, along with her sister Sarah, in the official statement released after the birth of Archie on May 6 as one of the members of the extended family who were first informed and expressed their delight about the news of the arrival of the new royal.
Lady Jane Fellowes and her older sister Lady Sarah visited Harry and Meghan and met the newborn even before the Duke (Prince Williams) and Duchess (Kate Middleton) of Cambridge.
Besides the fact that she appeared in the official christening photo, it is not known whether she played any special role in the private ceremony that took place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle.