As royal fans wait to see the first official photographs from Archie Harrison’s special day, images from inside the private chapel where the seventh-in-line to the throne will be christened has been released.
The intimate private chapel had to be entirely rebuilt following the devastating Windsor Castle fire.
Now with a distinctive blue vaulted ceiling and white walls, the tiny place of worship sits in the inner sanctum of the Queen’s favourite home.
Amoung its new features are six stained glass windows designed by Archie’s great-grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.
Philip came up with the inspiration for the windows – which depict a firefighter battling the flames and a workman salvaging a portrait – during the mass restoration of the ancient castle.
More than 200 firefighters from seven counties tackled the inferno, while staff rushed to remove precious works of art from the Royal Collection from the path of the fire, forming a human chain, helped by the Duke of York, who was in the castle at the time.
The fire, which broke out on the Queen and Philip’s 45th wedding anniversary on November 20 1992, started in the original 19th century private chapel when a workman’s spotlight accidentally set a curtain alight.
More than 100 rooms including nine State Rooms and the vast medieval St George’s Hall were destroyed.
The gothic chapel, which was added by Queen Victoria, was irreparably damaged.
It was formed from a music room for the monarch in the 1840s by the architect Edward Blore, and Victoria regularly worshipped there.
Her daughter Princess Helena was married in the tiny chapel and several of her other children were confirmed and christened in the historic setting, which was separated from St George’s Hall by a beautifully carved screen.
It was also where the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal were confirmed, and where royals including the Earl of Wessex and Zara Phillips were christened.
