A man has revealed how he discovered ultra rare footage of King Charles‘ Christening in a thrift shop – for less than £7.
Ronald Baxter Jr, 59, from Charleston, South Carolina, has been collecting since he was 10 years old and has a particular interest in World War Two memorabilia.
In June 2020, Ronald went into his local thrift store and found a brown envelope on sale for $8 (£6.22), curiosity got the better of him so he bought it.
When he got home, he opened the envelope and put the film up to the light and realised the footage was of King Charles’ Christening on December 15, 1948.
The footage shows crowds of people standing outside Buckingham Palace waiting to get a glimpse of the then Prince of Wales.
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Ronald Baxter Jr, 59, from Charleston, South Carolina, snapped up rare footage of King Charles ‘ Christening in a thrift shop – for just $8 (pictured Queen Elizabeth II in 1948)
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The future King Charles III was baptised Charles Philip Arthur George at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday December 15, 1948
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Queen Mary the Queen Mother holds her great grandson Prince Charles after his christening at Buckingham Palace
It also shows monarchs Queen Mary, King George VI, The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and King Charles in one image.
Another snapshot from the footage shows a beaming Queen Elizabeth, who was just 22 when she gave birth to her first son and heir to the throne, Charles. He was born on November 14, 1948.
Charles was only three years old when his mother ascended the throne to become Queen of England on February 6, 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI.
Her coronation took place on June 2, 1953, and she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, serving for 70 years until her death in 2022.
Ronald, an engineer, said: ‘I opened the envelope when I got home and I was like ”wow”.
‘I was shocked to see Queen Elizabeth and young King Charles there. I held the film up to the light and thought ”man, how did that end up there for $8?”.
‘I have never watched the video, I put it back in the envelope and have kept it in a safe space ever since.’
Ronald said he is unsure how much the film might be worth but is hoping to sell it to the highest bidder.
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It also shows monarchs Queen Mary , King George VI , The Queen Mother , Queen Elizabeth II , and King Charles in one image
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In June 2020, Ronald went into his local thrift store and found a brown envelope on sale for $8, curiosity got the better of him so he bought it
The future King Charles III was baptised Charles Philip Arthur George at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday December 15, 1948.
Buckingham Palace released the baby’s names the previous evening and there was much comment in the newspapers about the unusual choice of Charles as first name.
One of the baby’s godparents – Haakon VII, King of Norway had been born Prince Charles of Denmark – and it also no doubt appealed to the alpha male Prince Philip that Charles is old English for a ‘free man’ as well as French for ‘manly.’
Newspapers also pointed out that the future king wouldn’t necessarily reign as King Charles III, since his grandfather, George VI, had been born Prince Albert of York and King Edward VII had also been baptised Albert Edward.
Philip had registered his four-week-old son’s birth on the morning of the christening. Mr John Stanley Clare, Registrar of Births at Caxton Hall, Westminster, travelled to the palace to enter the details. He was accompanied by two women officials from the Ministry of Food who handed the Duke and Princess Elizabeth a child’s green ration book.
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The footage shows crowds of people standing outside Buckingham Palace waiting to get a glimpse of the then Prince of Wales
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The rare footage shows clips of crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace
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The fascinating footage also shows clips of Westminster Abbey on the day of the christening
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Ronald said he is unsure how much the film might be worth but is hoping to sell it to the highest bidder (pictured the Queen Mother with baby Charles)
The ceremony was held in the Music Room overlooking the palace gardens. The palace chapel, where royal christenings, up to and including that of Princess Alexandra in 1937, were often held, had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.
The Music Room was later used for other royal baptisms including those of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and of Prince William who was christened there on the Queen Mother’s 82 birthday – 4 August 1982.
The royal party sat on the front row. The baby had eight ‘sponsors’ as godparents of royal babies were termed.
They were all royal relations: King George VI, (grandfather), Princess Margaret (aunt), Queen Mary (great grandmother), the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (Prince Philip’s grandmother), Lady Brabourne (Philip’s first cousin, later Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and the Hon David Bowes Lyon (the Queen Mother’s younger brother).
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Princess Elizabeth wore a cherry-coloured coat and hat
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The centre pages of the Daily Graphic celebrate the Christening
Prince Philip represented another godparent, his uncle Prince George of Greece, and Queen Mary’s brother, the Earl of Athlone, stood in for the King of Norway.
Baby Charles had his first encounter with the British press at the photo call in the White Drawing Room where photos and news reel footage documented the christening.
Such was the interest across the Atlantic for pictures of the event that American media organisations chartered a 43-seater BOAC air liner at a cost of £10,000, paid in dollars, to transport the one-pound package of photos to New York to catch the early editions of the evening papers.
