A man has revealed how he discovered extremely rare footage of King Charles’ baptism in a charity 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 saw that the footage was of the baptism of King Charles on December 15, 1948.
The footage shows large groups of people waiting outside Buckingham Palace to meet the then Prince of Wales.
Ronald Baxter Jr, 59, of Charleston, South Carolina, bought rare footage of King Charles’ baptism at a thrift store — 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
Also featured in one image are monarchs Queen Mary, King George VI, The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles.
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 on February 6, 1952, becoming Queen of England, 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, reigning for 70 years, until her death in 2022.
Ronald, an engineer, said, “When I got home, I opened the envelope and thought, wow.”
“I was shocked when I saw Queen Elizabeth and the young King Charles there. I held the film up to the light and thought, ‘Man, how did that get there for $8?’”
“I never watched the video again. 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 is worth, but he hopes to sell it to the highest bidder.
A still from the rare footage of King Charles’ 1948 christening film
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, his 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 15 December 1948.
Buckingham Palace announced the baby’s names the night before, and there was much comment in the newspapers about Charles’ unusual choice of first name.
One of the baby’s godparents – Haakon VII, King of Norway, was born Prince Charles of Denmark – and alpha male Prince Philip was no doubt pleased that Charles is both Old English for “free man” and French for “manly.”
Newspapers also pointed out that the future king would not necessarily reign as King Charles III, as his grandfather, George VI, had been born Prince Albert of York and King Edward VII had also been christened Albert Edward.
Philip had registered the birth of his four-week-old son on the morning of the christening. Mr John Stanley Clare, registrar of births, marriages and deaths at Caxton Hall, Westminster, travelled to the palace to complete the details. He was accompanied by two female officials from the Ministry of Food who presented the Duke and Princess Elizabeth with a green children’s ration book.
The footage shows a crowd of people waiting outside Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of the then Prince of Wales
The rare footage shows clips of the crowd gathering outside Buckingham Palace
The fascinating footage also shows fragments of Westminster Abbey on the day of the christening
Ronald said he’s not sure how much the film is worth, but he hopes to sell it to the highest bidder (pictured is the Queen Mother with baby Charles)
The ceremony was held in the Music Hall overlooking the palace gardens. The palace chapel, which had often hosted royal baptisms, including that of Princess Alexandra in 1937, had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.
The Music Room was later used for other royal christenings, including those of Peter Phillips, Princess Anne’s son, and of Prince William, who was christened there on the Queen Mother’s 82nd birthday, 4 August 1982.
The royal party sat in the front row. The baby had eight ‘sponsors’, as godparents of royal babies were called.
They were all relatives of the Royal Family: 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 niece, later Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and the Honourable David Bowes Lyon (the Queen Mother’s younger brother).
Princess Elizabeth wore a cherry red coat and hat
The middle pages of the Daily Graphic celebrate the baptism
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 first met the British press at a photo session in the White Drawing Room, where photographs and newsreel footage recorded the christening.
Such was the interest from across the Atlantic in photographs of the event that American media organisations chartered a 43-seat BOAC aircraft for the sum of £10,000, paid in dollars, to transport the one-pound package of photographs to New York to be previewed in the early editions of the evening papers.