The Royal Family are some of the most desirable figures to invite to become godparents, but asking them doesn’t always guarantee the role will be filled.
In the past, Queen Victoria had around 58 godchildren, whereas Queen Elizabeth had 29. Other royals also have several godchildren between them. King Charles has 27, Princess Anne has seven and Prince Edward has five.
There was a major change when Prince George's list of godparents was announced as the lineup largely consisted of friends of The Prince and Princess of Wales, rather than just other royals or high-ranking members of the aristocracy. Those selected to take on the prestigious job were Oliver Baker, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Julia Samuel, William van Cutsem, Zara Tindall and The Duke of Westminster.
Prince George was christened in the Chapel Royal of St James’s Palace on October 23, 2013 and is very lucky to have four godfathers and three godmothers. One of Prince George's godmothers, Julia Samuel, was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales and has spoken out about her role and her relationship with her godson several times.
Ms Samuel has revealed the secrets behind her closeness with Prince George and previously detailed how she was carrying on one of Diana's naughty traditions with what she buys the prince for his birthdays and Christmas.
Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist and met Diana, Princess of Wales at a dinner party in 1987. She remained close to the family and was made one of Prince George's godmothers in 2013.
Ms Samuel clearly treasures the role and has given little insights into what Prince George is like. Speaking to The Guardian, Julia said: "Well, I feel lucky I was such a good friend of Princess Diana. And I really love my godson, George. And it's a lovely way of loving her."
She added: “I was angry that she died and shocked and I couldn’t really understand it all. I understand it better now. I understand that people felt they really knew and loved her. But I still feel sad today.”
This isn't the first time Ms Samuel has referenced Prince George as she previously disclosed on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast that she carries on a tradition that Diana started with Julia’s own children - and it would seem that it all has to do with a certain type of present.
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She said of Prince George: “He is amazing. He's funny and feisty and cheeky and God she [Diana] would have loved him so much. That is heartbreaking for all of them.”
She added that she continues a tradition started by Diana, who was godmother to her own son, revealing: “So I do to George what she did to us which is give impossible toys which are really noisy, take a lot of making.”
She explained: “I come in slightly tipped by the size of the present that William then has to spend days putting together.
“And then put all the machinery together and it makes awful tooting noises and lights flashing and all of that. That makes me laugh and it makes George laugh."
While one member of the Royal Family was honoured on Prince George's list of godparents, another of the appointments that created excitement was the very young Duke of Westminster (then Earl Grosvenor) who is ranked as one of the richest billionaires in the world and owns huge portions of London.
Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor was born on January 29, 1991 in London and was the third of four children who were born to the late Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster and his wife, Natalia. After a few years of working for various estate management companies, Hugh succeeded his father and became the 7th Duke of Westminster when the former Duke sadly died from a heart attack at the age of 64.
He is also known by the titles of Marquess of Westminster, Earl Grosvenor, Viscount Belgrave and Baron Grosvenor. Hugh also became the head of The Grosvenor Group upon his father's death which means he owns several huge areas of London, as well as land and over 1,500 buildings all across the world. In London alone, the group owns Park Lane, half of Mayfair and 300 acres of Belgravia.
