The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen old friends rather than other royals and dignitaries to be godparents to three-month-old Prince George, it was announced today.
Prince William's cousin Zara Tindall is the only member of the royal family to be godparent, while Kate's old schoolfriend Emilia Jardine-Paterson and family friend William van Cutsem have both been asked to take on the role.
The other godparents are the couple's university friend Oliver Baker, William and Harry's Private Secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the Duke of Westminster's son Hugh Grosvenor, and Julia Samuel, an old friend of Princess Diana's.
Oliver Baker, pictured with Prince William at Cheltenham races, went to St Andrew's University with the couple
Trusted: Willam van Cutsem, 34, and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, 52, have both been asked to be godparents
The seven godparents, announced this morning, show how the Cambridges have dispensed with the tradition of picking other royals and foreign dignitaries, choosing instead close friends to guide their first-born son.
Mrs Jardine-Paterson was at Marlborough with Kate and is said to have introduced Kate to William's circles at university. She is reportedly advising the Cambridges on the interior design as they renovate their apartment at Kensington Palace.
William van Cutsem is one of William's oldest friends and his late father, Hugh, was a close friend of the Prince of Wales. Educated at Ampleforth, Mr van Cutsem is a Catholic.
Oliver Baker, 31, was at St Andrew's University with the Cambridges and shared Balgove House with them, a farmhouse they rented on the Strathtyrum Estate near St Andrew's for their final two years.
Godparents: Diana's old friend Julia Samuel, 54, left, and the Duke of Westminster's son Hugh Grosvenor, 22
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, whose son William, 10, was a pageboy at the royal wedding, has been an important figure in William's life since he was appointed private secretary in 2005. A former equerry to the Queen Mother, he is married with four children, he lives in Suffolk.
The friend of Diana: Julia Samuel
The Honourable Mrs Michael Samuel, 54, was a close friend of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. A mother of four who lives in west London, her son Benjamin, now 23, was one of Diana's godsons.Mrs Samuel is a psychotherapist and counsellor at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, where she helps families who have lost a child or baby.
Julia Samuel (nee Guinness), seen with Diana in 1993, met her at a dinner party and they became firm friends
She helped launch Child Bereavement UK, a charity for families who lose a child or for children who are bereaved, in the presence of Diana. William is now one of the charity's patrons.
Born Julia Guiness, her sister Sabrina was a girlfriend of Prince Charles. Mrs Samuel is married to businessman Michael,60, and their children are in their 20s.
The only member of the royal family: Zara Tindall
Married to rugby player Mike Tindall, with whom she is expecting their first baby early next year, Zara,32, is William's first cousin and the only member of the royal family to be asked to be godparent.A down-to-earth event rider who enjoys a drink and is happiest in a pair of scruffy jodhpurs and a fleece, gregarious Zara will help bring a sense of normality into the life of the future King. She won a team silver eventing medal at London's 2012 Olympics.
Zara, pictured with her rugby-playing husband Mike Tindall, will help keep Prince George's feet on the ground
Zara, who is said to be a particular favourite of her grandmother, the Queen, married Mr Tindall not at Westminster Abby but at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in 2011. She pledged to honour, not obey, and kept her maiden name, Phillips, for work.
The obligatory van Cutsem: William van Cutsem
No royal occasion is complete these days without a member of this large Catholic family of Norfolk landowners, and William, 34, is the youngest of the late Hugh and Emilie van Cutsem's four sons.Educated, like his father, who was a close friend of the Prince of Wales, at Ampleforth, William is the only Catholic godparent and a childhood friend of Prince William.
William, seen here in 1995 with the two princes and their former nanny Tiggy Legge Bourke is an old friend
In May this year William married Rosie Ruck-Keene in the village of Ewelme, south Oxfordshire. Prince Wililam, who reportedly dated Rosie in 2007 when he briefly split from Kate, attended the wedding with his heavily-pregnant wife.
Wililam's niece Rose van Custem was a flower girl at the royal wedding and was seen covering her ears when the crowds outside Buckingham Palace roared as Kate and William kissed.
The trusted aide: Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton
The 52-year-old former SAS Major, who has been a private secretary to William and Harry since 2005, has been a constant help and confidant to the young princes.Married with four children and living in a pretty old rectory in Suffolk, Mr Lowther-Pinkerton was the most senior member of William's team until he resigned as from his full-time post last month, becoming a one-day-a-week consultant, instead.
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, seen here with Kate, has been a close confidant for both William and his brother
Trained at Sandhurst, the discreet former Irish Guard was attached to the SAS for two decades and served in the Gulf War, where he gained a reputatuion as a particularly capable officer.
He was equerry to the Queen Mother from 1984-1986, and has also run risk management training courses for journalists and travellers, schooling them in what to do if you are shot at and how to avoid being kidnapped.
The landowner's son who likes to party: Hugh Grosvenor
At 22, Hugh Grosvenor is the youngest of Prince George's godparents
Hugh, Earl Grosvenor, is son and heir of the Duke of Westminster, one of Britain's richest people, and aged just 22, he will be Prince George's youngest godparent.
The Newcastle University student celebrated turning 21 in February last year with a lavish party at his parents' pile Eaton Hall, near Chester, with entertainment from comedian Michael McIntyre and music from hip hop duo, the Rizzle Kicks.
Prince Harry attended the party, which was estimated to have cost several million pounds.
The Duke of Westminster's land covers the most expensive real estate in Britain and includes 100 acres of Mayfair and 200 acres of Belgravia.
Hugh's sister, Lady Tamara, married Wililam van Cutsem's eldest brother Ed, 40, in 2004.
The Marlborough schoolfriend: Emilia Jardine-Paterson
Emilia, whose maiden name was d'Erlanger and who comes from Tiverton in Devon, has known Prince William since she was 19 and Kate for even longer having also attended private school Marlborough College with her.She and the Duchess are extremely close, and they went to Ibiza together when the now-married couple split-up in 2007.
A talented interior designer, she is said to be helping the Cambridges renovate their apartment at Kensington Palace, which would include decorating Prince George's bedroom.
She is married to David Jardine-Paterson, who will also be at the christening today, who is heir to a powerful Scottish land-owning family.
The friend from St Andrew's: Oliver Baker
Oliver Baker, 31, known as Ollie to his closest friends, was part of the couple's trusted inner circle formed when they all studied together at St Andrew's University.George's now-godfather shared accommodation with them in the Scottish university town and was so attached to the area he married his wife Mel there. She will also be at St James's Palace today.
Ollie also lived with the couple in a rural farmhouse in their final year because he was trusted to keep secrets about their private lives.
When Kate moved to London after graduating she then moved into a flat with Ollie's now wife and the couples are still extremely close.
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