Royal baby Archie will be christened in a gold £11,000 font that’s used for all royal newborns
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry's son Archie will be christened tomorrow in a small private ceremony in Windsor Castle.
Although the pair have decided to keep the details of the day largely private - including who they've chosen to be Archie's godparents - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son will be christened in a spectacular £11,000 gold font.
Used in the majority of royal christenings over the past 150 years, the lavish Lily Font will be making an appearance at Archie's baptism on Saturday.
The receptacle is said to be worth a staggering £11,000 and experts have estimated that it could even rack up millions if it was ever put up for auction.
Weighing over 21 lbs, the Lily Font is gilded in silver and decorated with lilies, ivy and cherubs.
The spectacular piece was first designed for royal christenings by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert and has been in the Royal Family since 1840.
THE HISTORY OF THE LILY FONT USED BY THE ROYALS
The Lily Font is a large silver-gilt font used in Royal Christenings.
It has been used in the majority of ceremonies of this kind for over 150 years.
The priceless artefact was designed by Prince Albert back in 1840 and is a gold coloured silver leaf font which features multiple cherubs playing harps.
It is kept at the Jewel House at the Tower of London when it's not being used.
All of of Queen Elizabeth II's children and grandchildren have been baptised with it apart from Princess Eugenie.
The font had never left London until Princess Charlotte's christening in 2015.
The lavish font is worth around £11,000 in today's money, however, it's exact cost is unknown.
Transporting the font to the Chapel Royal is bound to come at a huge cost in itself, as it's a very precious piece of Royal history!
When it was created it cost Prince Albert £189, but if it were to be sold nowadays it would sell for hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of pounds.
The couple decided to create their own christening font as the one available to them at the time had been commissioned by Prince Charles II.
His marriage to Catherine of Braganza was childless, but he had numerous illegitimate children with various mistresses.
The lavish font was used to christen each of Prince William and Kate Middleton's children as well as all of The Queen's children and grandchildren.
However, the Lily Font never left London until Princess Charlotte's christening in 2015 where it was transported to the church of St Mary Magdalene near the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
When not in use the Lily Font is kept at the Jewel House at the Tower of London and transporting the artefact can come at a huge cost to ensure its safety.
The timing of its arrival is only known to a handful of people, and the man responsible for looking after the Lily Font is said to take great care to not be photographed.
A special travelling case is constructed for its transportation and to keep it "rock-solid".
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opted for a private baptism for Archie, they have confirmed they will be sharing images of the day taken by their wedding photographer Chris Allerton.
In more Royal Family news, we revealed how a royal commentator claims Meghan and Harry "need to be more visible" like the Queen.
We also told how a royal author claims Meghan won’t parade Archie on Africa tour to avoid the burden Prince Harry had.
And how it's been claimed the Queen is astonished and very impressed by "Hurricane" Meghan’s work ethic.