I've read that the British royals don't typically name close relatives as godparents to their children, as when the relationship is close, such as aunt and uncle, they will already be playing an important mentoring role.
ITA with your sentiments. It's definitely an exciting time for Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan. As Harry said in their engagement interview, "all the stars aligned..." ?
Yes, in recent decades. Now we see them choosing perhaps cousins (like Zara but not siblings).In the past, it was very common to choose close family, including grandparents.
The queen certainly did:
-Charles: 2 great-grandmothers (Mary and Victoria HR), his grandfather the king, 2 great uncles (Prince George of Greece and David Bowes-Lyon), his Aunt Princess Margaret, and 2 cousins (King Haakon and Patricia Knatchbull)
-Anne- both grandmothers (queen mum and Alice), Philip's sister Margarita (her aunt), Philip's Uncle Louis (her great-uncle) and more distant Lord Elphinstone who was a first cousin once removed
-Andrew: only close relative was the Duke of Gloucester (great uncle). He also had 2 1st cousins once removed
-Edward: Princess Sophie (Philip's sister), Antony Armstrong-Jones (Uncle by marriage), Prince Richard and The Duchess of Kent (cousins of the queen)
Half of her grandchildren do:
-Eugenie has her maternal grandfather's second wife (so step-grandmother)
-Zara has Andrew
-Peter has Charles
-Harry has Andrew
Louise, James, William and Beatrice have some relatives but more distant, like 1st cousin once removed and so on.