The news can’t stop calling this palace aide who’s resigned “William’s godmother”, like that somehow implicates him in what she said, despite being on a different continent at the time.
Got me thinking, if you were christened once upon a time do you actually know who your godparents are? Have you ever had a relationship with them in that sense?
I think mine are a couple of my aunties and uncles, I know them in that sense obviously, but their godparent-ness hasn’t added anything and I certainly wouldn’t want to take responsibility for anything they said in public.
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Yeah, they were an older couple who worked with my mum. Actually grew up calling them grandma and grandad and only figured out I wasn’t actually related to them when I was old enough to be suspicious that I had 3 sets of grandparents.
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They’re both passed on now unfortunately.
I have a close relationship with my god parents. They became my god parents because they aren’t blood related but treat us like so and couldn’t have kids of their own. I don’t think anyone is responsible for what others say unless you openly defend what they say
Uncle on my father’s side who I rarely see, Aunt on my mother’s side who I see slightly less rarely and do speak to a few times each year
I know I was christened, but don’t recall having been told I had any godparents. IIRC it’s not a part of the Methodist tradition.
However, I do know that my father had agreed to be a godparent for a cousin who was Anglican. My dad said he had been initially reluctant, but eventually agreed. And then he took it so seriously he still made regular trips several hundred miles to visit that particular cousin after their parents had died, even though by then they were married with children of their own. He never made similar commitments for any of our other cousins, so clearly felt he had sworn to undertake a solemn responsibility.
Was basically just a weird tickbox exercise/ye olde tradition. My god parents were a random aunt and uncle who I’ve barely seen across my life and have no relationship with at all. Basically pointless.
Yes, they’re my uncle and aunt (mums brother).
We have a relationship, I wouldn’t say it’s close.
We get invited to all of each others events and have a good chat whenever we run into each other somewhere but we don’t keep in regular contact.
It’s a bit awkward. My godfather is my aunties ex husband. So that aunt is my mum’s sister. Her husband (my uncle) when I was born agreed to be my godfather. My godfather is not biologically related to me in any way. But they got divorced when I was still at school. Haven’t seen him in years.
Nope.
Apparently haven’t seen them since I was 6.
My mum said they moved and didn’t keep in touch, and weren’t really that close to begin with, just a family friend. She didn’t have a lot of friends, so she asked them. She’s not actually religious, but had me baptised as that was just the thing you did back then, and just felt like someone needed to be part of the ceremony so it was never really treated as a responsibility or relationship/
Not a bloody clue.
Me, older sister and younger brother were christened at the same time, so my godfather is either one of my uncles (that married into the family) or “Uncle” Mark, my dads best mate that he has known since school, my godmother is either his ex wife (again dads friend from school) or my mums friend Tracy, or my auntie Donna. Not sure who got who tbh.
Oh yeah. I had a few sets between me and my siblings. They’d frequently babysit us as young kids. Some moved further away but we’d occasionally do things – I particularly remember going to a planetarium – while others we’d just go to their house occasionally. Also we’d still usually see them on Sundays at church even if we didn’t chat every time.
In terms of the God- part my parents did pick church friends so they all are Christian, as were we but I don’t know if they *did* anything special in terms of developing our faith or anything. Just show by example I guess.
Yes I know who they are, two are my aunt and uncle (mother’s siblings) and I have a slight relationship with them. The others were my mother’s friend and her partner. I haven’t seen them since I was a baby.
My godfather is a bit weird and my parents eventually fell out with him. I remember he used to stink of coffee and cheap aftershave, he was the cravat wearing type. His wife used to bathe him and wash his hair for him, he also had a pet rabbit. He was a bit slimy. Thought of himself as the country type but couldn’t even manage a lazy horse.
My godmother on the other hand was really close with my family and then one day disappeared, but she seemed a pretty cool, arty type who wore a massive billowing coat. I’d like to catch up with her.
Mine all a couple of uncles and aunties, but one should have been relegated as he was a drunken
My godfather is a bloke my dad used to drink in the pub with. Shortly after the christening he moved to Australia, got involved in some dodgy dealings, and ended up serving a long prison sentence. I haven’t seen or heard from him since he left the UK. My auntie and uncle are also my godparents, I see them every 5 years or so but we’re not close.
No idea
Two of them are my aunt and uncle, I see them a few times a month.
The other one was one of my Dad’s friends from university. Haven’t seen him this century, and I doubt I’d recognise him.
It’s a class thing.
Especially in light of the role of godparents to shepherd the child into the right moral lifestyle and to keep the church in their daily life.
This compounded by the fact he’s the future king and will take amongst others the title of ‘defender of the faith’ – head of the Church of England.
It’s a way to bring non family into the family and cement wider social bonds with other old families where marriage isn’t appropriate.
My wife’s godmothers are elderly and never married so have elected to leave her their estates and family heirlooms, service medals etc. with the request they’re incorporated into our family and remembered as such.
Yep, my auntie is my godmother and I have the closest relationship with her of all my other aunts/cousins etc. She’s always taken special interest in my life (particularly when I was a kid) and we keep in touch despite living in different countries. Even in my late 30s she still sends me Christmas, Easter and Birthday cards with a nice voucher in. My godfather (uncle) died, but I did have a closer relationship with him than my other uncles although not as close as with my godmother.
Never got christened, so don’t have any. Though I know some people who have randomly decided friends are godparents without bothering with christening.
Off topic but I used to live next door to her and her husband, he was a very nice man to me and my brother when we were little and it’s a shame his name is getting dragged through the mud with her.
I have about 9 of them!
I was a whoops baby after my parents already had a son and a daughter so I think their logic was they might as well let anyone left over have a go of being one.
Among them it includes… my actual auntie & uncle, a man called Spider who used to be good friends with my parents but I haven’t seen him since I was about 6, my dads best friend who I used to chat with every now and then about music online until he passed away a few years ago- his mum and dad who I used to see a lot of when we were little.
That’s 6! I honestly don’t remember the others and I’m not sure my mum remembers either- but there’s truly a silly amount of them so there’s varying levels of continuing relationship with them.
Fun fact- my uncle agreed to be my godfather when him and my auntie had only been together about a year- so that was a big risk that did pay off, they were together 29 years all together before my auntie sadly passed away. Good job that one worked out or there would be another awkward “ex partner of auntie” story.
I’m godmother to my exes niece and nephews. Even tho my ex and I split up, I see them every 2 weeks and I help them out any way I can. They still call my aunty even tho we aren’t blood related because as they have said I have been in their life since they were born pretty much.
some woman in australia, idk who she is
I get confused as to who are my godparents and who are my siblings’, either way we never saw them regularly. There’s Aunts and Uncles who are now divorced from our blood relations, along with people who were friends of my parents at the time of our christenings.
I knew who they were but all have sadly passed on now. As I only saw them once in a blue moon I didnt have a relationship with any of them. All lived some distance away.
I knew them, they dead now.
My godfather, yes. Love him dearly. My godmothers, ironically, are my parents’ sisters (on each side) and don’t really have much of a relationship with either, despite them being the ones who are actually related to me!