It's a glimpse of British history starring the real-life royals who inspired The Crown: a black and white clip from the Associated Press and British Movietone of a baby Prince Charles peacefully sleeping in the arms of his 22-year-old mother Queen Elizabeth – then still a Princess – at his baptism back in 1948.
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The future King was four weeks old at the time and, as seen in the historic footage, was perfectly tranquil cradled in the arm of his young mom. Charles is the Queen and husband Prince Philip's first-born and heir to the throne, and he'd later be followed by his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
Queen Elizabeth – then a Princess – holds 4-week-old Prince Charles at his christening Photo: Getty Images
The footage shows the royal family posing for the cameras and taking different group photos, including a precious one of Queen Mary holding her newborn great grandson Prince Charles. A close-up of Charles' birth certificate, bearing his full name Charles Philip Arthur George, and his parents' signatures can also be seen in the video.
Around 50 people were invited to the ceremony at the Music Room of Buckingham Palace, and while it was a private affair, crowds still gathered outside the palace gates in London in the hope of catching a glimpse of the royals and their guests.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, baptized the sleeping baby using water from the River Jordan, just days before Christmas on December 15. And, although the actual christening was held behind closed doors, the scenes before and after the service were captured on camera.
Four generations pose for a photo – Prince Charles, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI and Queen Mary Photo: Getty Images
The historic four-minute clip is just one of thousands of videos that were released to the public last year, when the Associated Press and British Movietone uploaded the video onto their new YouTube channels.
More than 550,000 video stories dating from 1895 to the present day were uploaded, for educational purposes and sources of inspiration for history enthusiasts and documentary filmmakers.
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