A man has revealed how he discovered ultra-rare footage of King Charles’ christening in a second-hand shop – for less than £7.
Ronald Baxter Jr., 59, of Charleston, South Carolina, has been collecting since he was 10 years old and has a particular interest in World War II memorabilia.
In June 2020, Ronald went to his local thrift store and found a brown envelope on sale for $8 (£6.22), curiosity got the better of him and he bought it.
When he got home, he opened the envelope, held the film up to the light and realised that the images were from the christening of King Charles on 15 December 1948.
Images show crowds of people outside Buckingham Palace hoping to catch a glimpse of the then Prince of Wales.
Ronald Baxter Jr, 59, from Charleston, South Carolina, bought rare photos of King Charles’ christening at a second-hand shop for just $8 (pictured is Queen Elizabeth II in 1948)
The future King Charles III was christened Charles Philip Arthur George at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 15 December 1948.
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 still from the video shows a beaming Queen Elizabeth, who was just 22 when she gave birth to her first child and heir to the throne, Charles, who was born on November 14, 1948.
Charles was just three years old when his mother ascended to the throne to become Queen of England on 6 February 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI.
Her coronation took place on 2 June 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 thought, ‘Wow!’
“I was shocked to see Queen Elizabeth and young King Charles there. I held the film up to the light and thought, ‘How could that end up there for $8?'”
“I have never seen the video. I put it back in the envelope and have kept it in a safe place ever since.”
Ronald said he’s not sure how much the film could be worth, but he hopes to sell it to the highest bidder.
A still taken from the rare film footage of King Charles’ baptism from 1948
It also shows the monarchs, Queen Mary, King George VI, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles in one image.
In June 2020, Ronald went to his local thrift store and found a brown envelope on sale for $8, curiosity got the better of him and he bought it.
The future King Charles III was christened Charles Philip Arthur George at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 15 December 1948.
Buckingham Palace announced the baby’s names last night and there was much comment in the newspapers about the unusual choice of Charles as a first name.
One of the baby’s godfathers, Haakon VII, King of Norway, had been born Prince Charles of Denmark, and no doubt the alpha male Prince Philip was also attracted by the fact that Charles means “free man” in Old English and “manly” in French.
The newspapers also noted that the future king would not necessarily reign as King Charles III, as his grandfather, George VI, had been born as Prince Albert of York and King Edward VII had also been baptised as Albert Edward.
Philip had registered the birth of his four-week-old son on the morning of the christening. John Stanley Clare, an officer at the Registrar of Births at Caxton Hall, Westminster, travelled to the palace to record the details. He was accompanied by two officials from the Ministry of Food who presented the Duke and Princess Elizabeth with a green children’s ration card.
Images show a crowd of people standing outside Buckingham Palace hoping to catch a glimpse of the then Prince of Wales.
Rare footage shows clips of crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace.
The fascinating images also show clips of Westminster Abbey on the day of the christening.
Ronald said he is not sure how much the film could be worth, but hopes to sell it to the highest bidder (pictured: The Queen Mother with baby Charles).
The ceremony took place in the music room, overlooking the palace gardens. The palace chapel, where royal baptisms were often held, including that of Princess Alexandra in 1937, had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe during bombing raids.
The Music Room was subsequently used for other royal christenings, including those of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and Prince William, who was christened there on the Queen Mother’s 82nd birthday, 4 August 1982.
The royal entourage sat in the front row. The baby had eight “godparents,” as the godparents of royal babies were called.
They were all royal relatives: 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 Honourable David Bowes Lyon (younger brother of the Queen Mother).
Princess Elizabeth wore a cherry-colored coat and hat.
Daily Graphic centre pages celebrate Baptism
Prince Philip represented another godfather, his uncle, Prince George of Greece, and Queen Mary’s brother, the Earl of Athlone, represented the King of Norway.
Baby Charles had his first encounter with the British press at a photocall in the White Drawing Room, where photos and newsreel footage documented the christening.
Such was the interest across the Atlantic in images of the event that the American media chartered a 43-seater BOAC aircraft at a cost of £10,000, paid for in dollars, to transport the one-pound package of photographs to New York to appear in the early editions of the evening papers.
