Behind the scenes of Prince William’s Christening that caused Diana agony: The Queen Mother turned 82 on the same day while Charles and Diana clashed

For most people, a family Christening means wearing your best clothes, piling into the local church for a pompous ceremony and eating finger sandwiches as you chat to the umpteenth distant relative of the day.

But for the heir to the throne, things are much more elaborate.

The Christening for Prince William took place at 11am in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace, a traditional setting for royal Christenings since the birth of Queen Victoria‘s children, on August 4, 1982 – the same day as the Queen Mother‘s 82nd birthday.

Princess Diana held her newborn son, who wore the antique Christening robe that was commissioned by Queen Victoria, as he was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. 

His Godparents reflected his noble heritage: King Constantine II of Greece, Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Duchess of Westminster, Lord Romsey (now Earl Mountbatten of Burma), Lady Susan Hussey and Sir Laurens van der Post.

And while it sounds like a fairytale day, cracks were beginning to show in the glossy exterior of Charles and Diana’s marriage. 

Diana gave an emotional account of the day to her biographer Andrew Morton a decade later in 1992, remembering the event in the context of the breakdown in her marriage.

Later published in a revised edition of his explosive book Diana: Her True Story, Morton included Diana’s recollection that, in the midst of her experiences with post-natal depression, she felt she was treated ‘like nobody’s business’ on August 4.

‘Nobody asked me when it was suitable for William,’ she said. ’11am couldn’t have been worse. Endless pictures of the Queen, Queen Mother, Charles and William. I was excluded totally that day.

‘I felt desperate because I had literally just given birth. William was only six weeks old and it was all decided around me. Hence the ghastly pictures. I wasn’t very well and I just blubbed my eyes out. William started crying too. Well, he just sensed that I wasn’t exactly hunky dory.’

And the conflict continued into their choice of Godparents.

Princess Anne was not asked by the couple to be Godmother despite the Princess Royal asking Charles to do the honours for her first child, Peter Phillips. 

Despite now being thought of as Charles’s right-hand woman, Princess Anne and Charles went through a challenging period in their relationship.

According to the book Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey, Anne’s ‘notorious frostiness seemed to grow a couple of degrees chillier whether the subject of Diana came up’.

Anne appears to have been unreceptive when told that Diana had given birth to William.

The princess had been touring Indian reservations in New Mexico for Save the Children when a reporter asked for her reaction to the good news.

‘I didn’t know she had one,’ the princess snapped.

Another reporter tried with: ‘Do you think everyone is making too much fuss of the baby?’

‘Yes,’ came the curt response.

At the time, says Lacey, Anne was undertaking more than 200 engagements a year compared with Diana’s 50 and only 90-plus for Charles.

Lacey wrote: ‘The Prince did not return the compliment when it came to William – or, rather, according to rumour, he had very much wanted to invite his sister, only to be blocked by his wife.’

When it came to choosing a name for Baby Wales, as he was known for his first few days, Charles and Diana once again struggled to see eye to eye.

Morton wrote: ‘Charles wanted to call his first son Arthur and his second Albert, after Queen Victoria’s consort.

‘William and Harry were Diana’s choices while her husband’s preferences were used in their children’s middle names.’

William’s name was chosen after William the Conqueror, victor of the famed Battle of Hastings in 1066.

He was christened William Arthur Philip Louis.

His second name came from the legendary King of the Round Table, his grandfather inspired third name and the name Louis rounds out the mix – a name he has since passed down to his second son.

However, as William’s due date approached, Charles began to spend more time with Diana and stayed by her side when their first son was born.

In doing so, he became the first male royal to be present at a birth.

In a letter to his Godmother Patricia Knatchbull, Charles said how he was ‘so thankful I was beside Diana’s bedside the whole time’.

Less than two years after William was born, the couple found out they were pregnant with Harry, who was born on September 15, 1984.

The Princess hoped that the birth of a second child would help repair their marriage, according to royal author Katie Nichol.

She wrote in Harry: Life, Loss and Love: ‘The Waleses’ marriage had been in trouble for some time, the fairy tale slowly and painfully descending into a story of dysfunction and heartbreak.

‘By the time of Harry’s birth, Charles was becoming increasingly vexed by their incompatibility.

‘Diana later admitted that Harry’s conception was “if by a miracle” but there had been a brief respite in their attrition just before his birth.’

Though it didn’t last, Princess Diana reportedly did admit at one point that the time leading up to Harry’s birth was actually good for them, and they were closer during that period.

‘As with many couples who believe the birth of a child may repair damage to their relationship, both were looking forward to their new arrival.

‘In fact, despite the fact she knew Harry was going to be a boy and kept it from her husband, Diana said that she felt she and Charles were “very very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born, the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be.”‘

Morton claimed that while Diana was excited to have another boy, she claimed Charles’s reaction was less enthusiastic.

She told Morton that Charles’s first comment on seeing Harry was: ‘Oh God, it’s a boy. And he’s even got red hair.’

Charles’s longing for a girl reportedly lasted until Harry’s Christening when he told Diana’s mother, Frances Kydd: ‘We were so disappointed – we thought it would be a girl.’

Diana recalled: ‘Mummy snapped his head off, saying: “You should realised how lucky you are to have a child that’s normal.”

‘Ever since that day the shutters have come down, and that’s what he does when he gets somebody answering back at him.

Diana’s struggles with her mental health continued after the birth of her two sons and when William was four years old, she fainted during a trip to Canada.

She was battling bulimia at the time and told Charles she thought she was ‘about to disappear’ before passing out during an exhibition.

The Princess received some help from doctors but continued to struggle and her marriage to Charles continued a downward spiral.

They eventually separated in 1992 before divorcing in 1996.

She said to Mr Morton how Charles ‘told a lot of people the reason why the marriage was so wobbly was because I was being sick the whole time.

‘They never questioned what it was doing to me.’