Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie to be christened next Saturday

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son Archie will be christened at a private ceremony on Saturday, a royal source confirmed.

The service will be held at the private chapel at Windsor Castle and is understood to be a "very small gathering", they said.

The ceremony is due to take place on Saturday, exactly two months after Archie was born on May 6.

It is understood that pictures of the ceremony will be released on Sunday through the media and Harry and Meghan's Instagram account.

Royal christenings are usually private affairs, with invitations extending only to close family and friends, and chosen godparents.

But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have let photographers capture pictures of them and their children, family members and guests arriving before holding private services.

Both Prince George and Prince Louis were christened at the Chapel Royal in London.

Princess Charlotte's ceremony was held at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, in Norfolk, where the paddock outside the churchyard was opened to the public.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who married Harry and Meghan, is usually called upon to perform the service.

The decision to hold a private ceremony comes after it emerged £2.4 million of taxpayers' money had been spent renovating the couple's residence Frogmore Cottage.

The property, close to Windsor Castle, underwent major work to turn five properties back into a single residence for the couple and their baby son Archie – with all fixtures and fittings paid for privately by the duke and duchess.

It is likely that they installed a luxury kitchen and bathroom, and it has reportedly been designed by Harry and Meghan with dining and entertaining in mind and with extra bedrooms to accommodate guests, such as the duchess's mother, Doria Ragland.

Royal author Penny Juror slammed the couple's decision calling it as a "mistake" as they came under fire for spending £2.4 million of the public's money on doing up their cottage, claiming they "can't have it both ways".

She told The Times: "They can't have it both ways. Either they are totally private, pay for their own house and disappear out of view or play the game the way it is played.

"Seeing Archie and his godparents arriving at the christening is what people are interested in."

Users on Twitters were in agreement.

One wrote: "Wrong move - if the Sussexes want Archie to be a 'private citizen' then they should have paid for their own house and disappear from public life altogether."

Another tweeted: "All this 'we want privacy but happy to be funded by taxpayers' is doing my head in!"

A third said: "Please explain why the public are paying tax to the Sussexes to continue dictating a private life at our expense?

"If they want a private life we shouldn't be paying for them."