She’s just 11 years old, and yet Princess Charlotte is already showing the confidence and poise of someone comfortable in the royal life she was born into. It can’t be easy to have thousands of people stare at you whenever you’re out in public, yet Charlotte appears self-assured in the spotlight. Of the three Wales siblings, she is the one who has embraced her role “like a duck to water”, according to
a designer who knows the family.
And a royal writer adds the youngster has already “grasped the rhythm of royal life”.
Palace insiders point out that she’s so adept when in public that she often guides her brothers, Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, eight. For example, they followed her lead when it came to waving to crowds gathered last week for the annual Trooping the Colour.
A natural in the spotlight
“When you watch her in the carriage ride, you can see how poised and switched on she is,” says the royal source.
“Charlotte exuded confidence, and was waving and smiling even when other members of her family weren’t. Whenever she’s at public events, she’s very focused and calm. She takes her role very seriously.”
Charlotte has acclimatised to an extraordinary way of life at a very young age. This is largely due to her natural temperament, as well as the steady guidance and support she has received from her family.
Her mother, the Princess of Wales, is a particularly strong role model, even though she didn’t grow up royal herself.
Calm, confident, and not afraid to lead
“Much of Charlotte’s personality reflects the influence of her mother, Catherine,” says the insider.
“She is very grounded and a strong, independent young lady, like her mum. She has incredible poise and composure for someone so young, and you can see where she got that from – her mother.”
Meanwhile, dad William, 43, says she’s known in the family as “Little Miss Bossy”. Royal watchers say Charlotte is also like her mum in her keenness to follow rules and protocol. Yet she has the self-assuredness to assert herself when necessary.
Childrenswear designer Amaia Arrieta, who has dressed Charlotte since she was a baby, says she’s a “caring and determined” girl who is “sweet but has her own opinions”.
She adds, “She looks very confident, and totally at ease with herself and the environment she is in.”
Echoes of Queen Elizabeth II in the young princess
Meanwhile, royal biographer Robert Hardman sees a strong resemblance between Charlotte and the late Queen Elizabeth II, saying the youngster also has “practical commonsense, not camera-grabbing but solid and responsible”.
Fellow royal writer Phil Dampier agrees. “Winston Churchill once said of the late Queen Elizabeth when she was a child that he had never seen such maturity in someone so young. Charlotte seems to have inherited that trait from her great-grandmother, to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance.”
Charlotte is tipped to be the perfect support to George when he one day becomes king. Observers say she may take on a role similar to Princess Anne’s, who has long been a steadfast presence alongside her brother, King Charles.
“Charlotte will be an ideal Princess Royal, like Anne,” says Robert.
