Gender, name, and godparent guesses for Guillaume and Stephanie’s first child

[Countessmeout]

For a boy: Prince Philippe Jean Henri Marie Guillaume


for a girl: Princess Marie-Alix Charlotte Teresa Guillemine

While they use Guillaume, they use Wilhemine as the feminine form.

I agree it seems unlikely they wont use Guillaume/Wilhemine for the baby.

My top choices right now:

Princess Marie-Alix Josephine Teresa Wilhemine

Prince Philippe Jean Marie Guillaume


Guillaume and his siblings only had four names. But other family members including Henri have had 5-6 names. If they have more.


Princess Marie-Alix Josephine Claudine Teresa Wilhemine


Prince Philippe Henri Jean Marie Guillaume


Or instead of Christine/Henri, the name of their godparent which is pretty traditional with the family.


still think most likely godparents will be siblings. Not foreign royals.


if boy

Prince Felix of Luxembourg and one of Stephanie's sisters


if a girl


Princess Alexandra and Count Jehan de Lannoy

 

[RJC]

Haven't had a guess yet and I love doing this. They seem to have a rather limited choice and I can only guess for a girl at present

Louise Alix Charlotte Marie
Marie-Louise Alix Charlotte.

So looking forward to the birth and hope all goes well.

 

[QUEENECE29]

I think baby boy

Male
Jean Henri Alexandre Guillaume

Female
Alexandra Alix Marie Teresa

 

[King of the Jungle]

Most of us guessed some of the names, though the name is longer than we predicted.

To Stephanie and Guillaume, born on the morning of 10th May 2020, a son.
Prince Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume.

Very handsome, family names.
He shares the first name of a prominent Earth loving environmentalist, Prince Charles of Britain too.

Good things can happen during Clovid-19 pandemic!
The best of health to baby Charles and his mother, Stephanie.

Who will be the godparents?

 

[carlota]

i had guessed it would be a boy

now i guess we can be more certain in our godparent predictions...!

Guillaume's godparents were Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg and Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg. i think in Charles case they will involve Stephanie's family more, so i see one of her siblings being a godparent, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect Felix or Alexandra to be GP. I also see potentially Philippe or Mathilde as godparents.

 

[Biri]

i had guessed it would be a boy

now i guess we can be more certain in our godparent predictions...!

Guillaume's godparents were Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg and Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg. i think in Charles case they will involve Stephanie's family more, so i see one of her siblings being a godparent, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect Felix or Alexandra to be GP. I also see potentially Philippe or Mathilde as godparents.

I would see rather one of her adult nieces.

 

[Blog Real]

My bet for godparents is this:
Count Jehan Marie Paul Emmanuel Harold de Lannoy (Stephanie's older brother)

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I am hoping that Gui and Stephanie will break the 'one of each" godparent custom and give their first son and heir more than two godparents:

Prince Felix of Luxembourg
Count Jehan de Lannoy or one of his sons

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
Queen Mathilde of Belgium OR Princess Elisabeth Duchess of Brabant

 

[An Ard Ri]

Queen Letizia of Spain has never been selected as a royal godmother,would be a nice first time honour.

 

[Somebody]

I am hoping that Gui and Stephanie will break the 'one of each" godparent custom and give their first son and heir more than two godparents:

Prince Felix of Luxembourg
Count Jehan de Lannoy or one of his sons

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
Queen Mathilde of Belgium OR Princess Elisabeth Duchess of Brabant

I agree it would be wonderful to have two on each side (Belgium/Luxembourg); I would favor the future queen of Belgium over her mother.

I know that Jehan is her eldest brother but she might be closer to one of the brothers that is closer in age (although even with her youngest brother (Olivier) the age gap is 10 years - but her 'third brother (Amaury)'s wife' is even younger than her, and her fourth brother's wife is only 1 year older than Guillaume).

 

[Somebody]

Queen Letizia of Spain has never been selected as a royal godmother,would be a nice first time honour.

I don't think they are particularly close. They seem very different people.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I agree it would be wonderful to have two on each side (Belgium/Luxembourg); I would favor the future queen of Belgium over her mother.

I know that Jehan is her eldest brother but she might be closer to one of the brothers that is closer in age (although even with her youngest brother (Olivier) the age gap is 10 years - but her 'third brother (Amaury)'s wife' is even younger than her, and her fourth brother's wife is only 1 year older than Guillaume).

Yes Jehan's age might rule him out. When he walked Stephanie down the aisle some online viewers thought he might be her young-ish, good looking father instead of her older brother.

When Albert and Charlene baptized their twins they selected Chris LeVine's son as godfather instead of Chris himself(to whom PA is very close) probably due to the same reason...age.

 

[Somebody]

Yes Jehan's age might rule him out. When he walked Stephanie down the aisle some online viewers thought he might be her young-ish, good looking father instead of her older brother.

When Albert and Charlene baptized their twins they selected Chris LeVine's son as godfather instead of Chris himself(to whom PA is very close) probably due to the same reason...age.

At the wedding it made sense for him to 'replace' his father as the eldest son/brother; in selecting a godfather for their child, they might choose differently.

 

[Stefan]

Could also be that from stephanie's side on of her nieces is choosen. The one who acted as bridesmaid perhaps. And then she has younger bothers then Jehan who are closer in age to her.

 

[MsJulie]

I am sure the Grand Dutchess will have a big say as to who the godparents will be. IMO her word is final. That’s an opinion I have made and stand by from comments, reading and observations. Like I said MOO

 

[Countessmeout]

Could also be that from stephanie's side on of her nieces is choosen. The one who acted as bridesmaid perhaps. And then she has younger bothers then Jehan who are closer in age to her.

Five of her nieces served as bridesmaids in her wedding. Three are adults now, and 2 are 17, so they technically all are old enough (though 17 may not be considered quite old enough). One of her nephews also served.

-Countess Caroline de Lannoy (19)-Jehan's
-Countess Louise de Lannoy (17)-Jehan's
-Antonia Hamilton (23)- Nathalie's
-Isaure de la courte (17)-Isabelle's
-Madeleine Hamilton (19)- Nathalie's


I don't see why Jehan is being vetoed. People are making him out to be a senior citizen. He is only 54 years old. Its not uncommon for older godparents, a number of royals have grandparents as godparents. While yes technically old enough to be her dad, as a very young almost teen dad. I also think Jean may have been a nod to him and GD Jean. Lux royals often have a name of their godparent included.


As nice as it might be to see more then 2 godparents, I'd be shocked. Even for heirs, they stick to the two godparents route in Luxembourg. If Guillaume and Henri weren't seen as needing more then 2 as heir, I don't think we will see Charles having more. With the reigning royal catholic families we see they have kept to the two godparent tradition.


I still think we will see one godparent from each side. My top guess:


Count Jehan de Lannoy

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg



They could do something like:

Countess Louise de Lannoy: honor Jehan by using his eldest daughter, and naming the baby in part (as well as GD Jean) for him


Prince Felix of Luxembourg

Or maybe Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg. I do think if they use a foreign royal, it would replace Guillaume's family member though. I do think we will see some de Lannoy (by blood even if not name).

 

[Somebody]

I don't see why Jehan is being vetoed. People are making him out to be a senior citizen. He is only 54 years old. Its not uncommon for older godparents, a number of royals have grandparents as godparents. While yes technically old enough to be her dad, as a very young almost teen dad. I also think Jean may have been a nod to him and GD Jean. Lux royals often have a name of their godparent included.

I don't think he is being vetoed - I was mainly pointing out there are other options than her eldest brother to choose from while looking for a godparent from her family. The fact that he is the eldest and walked her down the aisle doesn't necessarily mean he will be Charles' godparent - but of course he could be.

I also think Jean may have been a nod to him and GD Jean. Lux royals often have a name of their godparent included.

My guess is that Jean primarily is a nod to the former grand duke; it's a nice coincidence that Stephanie's brother is called Jehan. Just like Philippe surely is a nod to Stéphanie's father (both Jean and Philippe passed away last year) but it's a nice coincidence that king Philippe of Belgium (a cousin of Guillaume's father and monarch of one of the Benelux countries) shares this name. I think Joseph primarily is for the former Grand Duchess but there might be other connections that made them pick this name. And Charles is in the first place the name of former Luxembourg rulers but also a traditional name that can be found in both families.

So, while Jehan and Phillipe might be chosen as godparents (as I don't expect cousin Jean (15) will be picked to 'represent' Jean), that would be a great way of things coming together rather than them picking those names to (primarily) honor these two men.

As nice as it might be to see more then 2 godparents, I'd be shocked. Even for heirs, they stick to the two godparents route in Luxembourg. If Guillaume and Henri weren't seen as needing more then 2 as heir, I don't think we will see Charles having more. With the reigning royal catholic families we see they have kept to the two godparent tradition.

I was very surprised that Philippe and Mathilde 'added' Victoria to the mix of godparents for Eleonore; although she officially was only a sponsor or so, as she cannot be a godparent as a non-Catholic if I'm not mistaken. Nonetheless, surprises can happen ?

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I am sure the Grand Dutchess will have a big say as to who the godparents will be. IMO her word is final. That’s an opinion I have made and stand by from comments, reading and observations. Like I said MOO

I agree that she might have some input. But I believe the FINAL decision will be left to the baby's parents.

I sure hope so anyway.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Regarding the number of godparents:

Apparently, the Catholic Church only permits a maximum of one man and one woman in the role of baptismal sponsor. Baptismal sponsors are required to be confirmed Catholics.

Non-Catholics who were baptized as Christians are permitted to serve as witnesses to the baptism.

Code of Canon Law - IntraText

Judging from a quick search, it seems there are arguments amongst Catholics as to if it it is appropriate to label the non-sponsor baptismal witnesses as "godparents" or not. My guess is that this is the reason why some Catholic royals are said to have two "godparents" while others are said to have several.

 

[Somebody]

Regarding the number of godparents:

Thanks. That's helpful! So, we have two sponsors and their might be additional formally appointed witnesses. And it's up for interpretation whether those witnesses are godparents as well.

For example, the Catholic Orleans children have 5 to 6 godparents each; but apparently only 2 of them are 'sponsors' and the other 3 to 4 are witnesses...

 

[SLV]

Apparently, the Catholic Church only permits a maximum of one man and one woman in the role of baptismal sponsor. Baptismal sponsors are required to be confirmed Catholics.

Non-Catholics who were baptized as Christians are permitted to serve as witnesses to the baptism.

Code of Canon Law - IntraText

Judging from a quick search, it seems there are arguments amongst Catholics as to if it it is appropriate to label the non-sponsor baptismal witnesses as "godparents" or not. My guess is that this is the reason why some Catholic royals are said to have two "godparents" while others are said to have several.

But how strickt is this rule?
My husband is catholic and my girls are baptised. We chose the godparents but the priest didn't check if they were catholic too. In each case one of them was, the other wasn't. No problems at all. So, technically they could choose whoever they wanted, as long as the godparents themselves can accept the role.

 

[kathia_sophia]

But how strickt is this rule?
My husband is catholic and my girls are baptised. We chose the godparents but the priest didn't check if they were catholic too. In each case one of them was, the other wasn't. No problems at all. So, technically they could choose whoever they wanted, as long as the godparents themselves can accept the role.

I agree with you. Wasn't that what happened with Crown Princess Victoria on the baptism of Princess Eleonore of Belgium? They had two "sponsors" as godparents, and Victoria was a godparent "witness".



Besides, on a different perspective. Isn't Guillaume a godparent of one of WA and Maxima's daughters? (was it Ariane?). He is catholic and still was a godfather of someone from a different faith. The same with King Felipe and his godchild Prince Vincent.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

But how strickt is this rule?
My husband is catholic and my girls are baptised. We chose the godparents but the priest didn't check if they were catholic too. In each case one of them was, the other wasn't. No problems at all. So, technically they could choose whoever they wanted, as long as the godparents themselves can accept the role.

From what I can see, your choice complied with the Catholic church's rule of choosing either one or two baptismal sponsors (872-873) who are required to be Catholic (874 §1), so naturally there were no problems.

Code of Canon Law - IntraText

Apparently your non-Catholic godparent was either recognized as a "witness of the baptism" (874 §2), if they were a baptized non-Catholic Christian, or not recognized by the Catholic church, if they were not a baptized Christian.

Their rules, strictly speaking, apply to "sponsors" and "witnesses". The term of "godparent" is not in the English translation, so I am assuming that Catholic parents can indeed interpret the term any way they want but godparents who are not sponsors or witnesses will not be given any recognition by their church.

Can. 872 Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Can. 873 There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:

1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;

2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;

3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;

5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

§2. A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism.​

Besides, on a different perspective. Isn't Guillaume a godparent of one of WA and Maxima's daughters? (was it Ariane?). He is catholic and still was a godfather of someone from a different faith. The same with King Felipe and his godchild Prince Vincent.

In those cases, the requirements for godparents were determined by the Calvinist and Lutheran churches respectively, as those were the churches into which those children were being baptized, not by the Catholic church.

 

[sjetajiem]

I agree with you. Wasn't that what happened with Crown Princess Victoria on the baptism of Princess Eleonore of Belgium? They had two "sponsors" as godparents, and Victoria was a godparent "witness".



Besides, on a different perspective. Isn't Guillaume a godparent of one of WA and Maxima's daughters? (was it Ariane?). He is catholic and still was a godfather of someone from a different faith. The same with King Felipe and his godchild Prince Vincent.

King Felipe of Spain is also godparent of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

 

[Somebody]

In those cases, the requirements for godparents were determined by the Calvinist and Lutheran churches respectively, as those were the churches into which those children were being baptized, not by the Catholic church.

Exactly; and for the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, it's rather simple: there is no requirement for baptismal sponsors. The only formally relevant people at the baptism beside the baby itself are the parents; at least one needs to be able to answer the questions asked - to do so that parent needs to be 'confirmed' (a public confession of faith - typically after age 18) but in the Dutch Reformed Church previously the requirement was only being baptized yourself.

Anything else is just personal preference. From my experience, attending christenings in a wide variety of local churches, the (only) honorary role at a christening is typically the one carrying the baby into the church (sometimes at the start of the service and having the baby on your lap the whole service; and sometimes when the child is to be christened). Many protestant children don't even have 'godparents'.

So, Willem-Alexander en Máxima could do as they pleased and only needed to make sure that the local vicar conducting the service was on board with the role they wanted to give some people during the service - but their names most likely weren't registered by the church.

 

[SLV]

From what I can see, your choice complied with the Catholic church's rule of choosing either one or two baptismal sponsors (872-873) who are required to be Catholic (874 §1), so naturally there were no problems.

Code of Canon Law - IntraText

Apparently your non-Catholic godparent was either recognized as a "witness of the baptism" (874 §2), if they were a baptized non-Catholic Christian, or not recognized by the Catholic church, if they were not a baptized Christian.

Their rules, strictly speaking, apply to "sponsors" and "witnesses". The term of "godparent" is not in the English translation, so I am assuming that Catholic parents can indeed interpret the term any way they want but godparents who are not sponsors or witnesses will not be given any recognition by their church.

Can. 872 Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Can. 873 There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:

1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;

2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;

3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;

5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

§2. A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism.​

In those cases, the requirements for godparents were determined by the Calvinist and Lutheran churches respectively, as those were the churches into which those children were being baptized, not by the Catholic church.

There was no difference made. No questions asked about their faith, at all. So in all three cases both godparents were registered as sponsors, not one as sponsor and one as witness.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

There was no difference made. No questions asked about their faith, at all. So in all three cases both godparents were registered as sponsors, not one as sponsor and one as witness.

Interesting, so there are apparently Catholic churches whose registries do not comply with their own church's rules (as I have checked that the above link is indeed the Vatican's official and current code).

 

[Moonmaiden23]

There are a lot of liturgical abuses within individual dioceses. All bishops and priests are not created equal unfortunately.

Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI were trying to address these inconsistencies and abuses, but many of them are too deep rooted.

A sponsor/god parent should ideally be a Catholic. That is the entire point of having a god parent-to be a spiritual father/mother to a baptized person. And at the very very least they should be a practicing Christian.

 

[theroyalfly]

I know this is wishful thinking but I hope Prince Charles' godparents are Leonor, Elisabeth and Amalia.