Is it customary for a British royal prince to be christened in a handmade lace dress?

Yes, it's a tradition, and a long one, as Queen Victoria's first child, eldest daughter Princess Victoria, was born in a handmade lace dress in 1841. Since then, more than sixty royal babies from the family have been baptized in the same gown.

From the generation of Victoria's children, through Queen Elizabeth II's grandparents, her father, the Queen herself, Crown Prince Charles, and Prince William ...... However, lace and ribbon items still have a shelf life, and to avoid damage to precious antiques, this tiny, delicate christening gown was worn by the Queen's granddaughter in 2004. This little delicate christening gown was retired in 2004 after witnessing the christening of the Queen's granddaughter, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Wessex, Duchess Louise Windsor.

And to continue the tradition, the skilled royal designers have recreated it exactly as shown here, so that future royal babies can be christened in the same style as their ancestors.

In fact, George Jr. wasn't the first to use it - the first to try it out in 2008 was James, Viscount Severn, eldest son of the Earl of Wessex. But of course, it was George Jr. who made the christening gown famous, making the history behind it more widely known.

Why was this christening gown, made for a princess and apparently a lace dress, worn by royal babies of both sexes afterward? It begins with an even older tradition that extends throughout Europe<cross out>s royal family<cross out>: boys were brought up as girls and returned to boy's clothes after the age of three or four.

The tradition was 300-400 years old; exactly when it began and for what purpose is unclear. Some say it is a superstition that a boy disguised as a girl is less likely to have his soul seduced by the devil.

In ancient Europe, babies and children had a low survival rate, and many people believed that they were taken by the devil; others analyzed it from a practical point of view, saying that wearing a skirt was convenient for babies to change.