Archbishop of Canterbury hopes Prince George christening will inspire others

Most Rev Justin Welby spoke of the Hugely important baptism of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son in a short video

The Archbishop of Canterbury has met senior representatives from the energy industry to “hear their perspectives on social responsibility” (Getty Images)

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he hopes the baptism of Prince George tomorrow will inspire others to seek the same ceremony.

The Most Rev Justin Welby spoke of the “hugely important” baptism of the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a short film about the meaning of the ceremony.

He said the baby son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would be joining two billion people around the world in the "family of the church" when he baptises him tomorrow at St James's Palace in central London at 3pm in a private ceremony expected to last 45 minutes.

“We celebrate, first of all, the joy of the parents. It's a wonderful thing, having a baby. All babies are unbelievably special, not only royal babies,” he said.

“As a nation we're celebrating the birth of someone who in due course will be the head of state.

"That's extraordinary. It gives you this sense of forward looking, of the forwardness of history as well as the backwardness of history, and what a gift to have this new life and to look forward.“

Mr Welby said he hoped that people would not view baptism as only for a future king or ”special people“, adding that God "doesn't care who we are".

“It's for adults and children. And there may be people wondering: 'I wonder if that's at all possible for me or for my family or for my child or for all of us together?' And the answer is it's not just possible, it's extremely easy.

“God's love is offered without qualification, without price, without cost, to all people in all circumstances always.”

The film comes after the former Archbishop of Canterbury, now Lord Williams of Oystermouth, recorded a video on the significance of marriage before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were wed at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

A Lambeth Palace spokesman said the video on marriage had received 2.15 million views on YouTube.

Video: Memories from Prince William's christening