Monday 1 May 2023

UPDATED: Happy 8th Birthday Princess Charlotte!

Hello, dear readers, it's officially Coronation week!

Before we delve into the packed weekend of historic events, I know you'll join me in wishing Princess Charlotte a very Happy 8th Birthday! To celebrate the occasion, Kensington Palace released a lovely new photo taken by the Princess of Wales in Windsor over the weekend. A smiling Charlotte is pictured in a darling white dress with floral detail. 

Charlotte wore the very summery and pretty Trotters Kids' Francis Willow Dress. The £76 piece is described as: "The best-selling willow sun dress shape is ideal for the warmer weather. Featuring a classic round neckline, complete with large statement willow collar, this sleeveless dress is finished comes in an all-over miniature floral print with textured plumetis detailing. Fininshed with pearlised button fastenings at the back". It's available for 2-11 years at John Lewis, Harrods and Maisonette (in 2-11 years here).

UPDATE: A gorgeous second photo of Charlotte with pet Orla was shared afterwards. Taken by Millie Pilkington, the Princess wraps her arms around the spaniel wearing a Volume Sleeve Texture Sweater by Boden (with thanks to Japanese Ginger via Twitter). 

Charlotte, George and Louis are preparing to celebrate their grandfather's coronation. In a new BBC documentary which aired last night -- Charles R: The Making of a Monarch -- two unseen images of Charles with Charlotte, who appears to be held by Nanny Maria Teresa and sitting with Prince George at a picnic table were released. It's thought they were taken at some point over summer 2016.

It comes as Kate enjoyed a special mother-daughter outing with Charlotte on Saturday. In a pre-birthday treat it appears the Princess brought her daughter and friends to see the Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada's performance of Cinderella. Afterwards, a fellow guest noted Kate met performers and Charlotte joined her on stage. The Princess wore her Ghost Boo blouse with black wide-leg trousers. Below, Kate wearing the blouse in 2020.

Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was born on 2 May 2015. Kate was admitted to St Mary's Hospital in the early stages of labour at 6 am. Princess Charlotte, weighing 8lbs 3oz, was born at 8.34 am.


There was a burst of excitement when it was announced Kate had given birth to a girl. I remember when the Our Queen at Ninety documentary aired in 2016, Kate said Her late Majesty was "thrilled" Charlotte was a girl. Of course, Charlotte's middle names are very fittingly Elizabeth after the Queen and Diana after her grandmother.


The excitement was only matched when these very sweet photos of George holding his little sister were released.


For Charlotte's first birthday, a darling new set of photos was released, taken by the then Duchess of Cambridge at Anmer Hall. We were seeing a pattern of Kate increasingly taking photos of the children around that time, which meant we saw much more informal and natural shots, as the Cambridge kiddies are very much at ease with mum behind the lens.


An adorable new photo taken by Kate at Anmer Hall was released to mark Princess Charlotte's 2nd birthday. Charlotte was looking increasingly grown up and very much resembling her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.


I never realized how much the first photo of Charlotte with little Louis echoed a very similar one of her as a baby with George (shown above) until I looked through the photos some time later. This image marked both Charlotte's third birthday and our first look at the baby of the Cambridge family.


For her fourth birthday, we saw several lovely shots taken of Charlotte enjoying the outdoors.


Amidst the pandemic, Charlotte was photographed by Kate on the Sandringham estate delivering parcels of homemade pasta.

Marking her fifth birthday, a very sweet photo taken by Kate in Norfolk was shared.

Last year, Charlotte, known affectionately as Lottie, was captured by Kate smiling in Norfolk. 

Wishing the Princess a wonderful birthday!

28 comments:

  1. The Princess is a beautiful little girl. Her Mother always takes a very good picture of her. The new pictures with the King are lovely. He looks very happy with his Grandchildren. I hope Princess Charlotte gets some jewelry to wear on Saturday. A small diamond hairband would look great on her. I'm really looking forward to the coronation. Can't believe it's only days away now. 👌. I'm also looking forward to reading your updates on everything Charlotte. S.🙂.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How about the Cartier Bracelet Bandeau for Charlotte? https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2021/04/her-majestys-hidden-tiaras.html

      Delete
    2. I have been waiting for Kate to be gifted those Cartier bracelets. They are just too beautiful to be stored away in a vault. It will be interesting to see what happens on the big day. Maybe there is a diamond or precious stone barrette Charlotte could wear in her hair? Waiting to see...Elle

      Delete
    3. I would be happy with diamonds or pearls. 😂. Saturday won't be long coming around. S.🙂.

      Delete
  2. Kate has taken many beautiful photographs of Charlotte over the years. She is a real cutie.
    I loved the yellow floral and white dress Kate wore when she left the hospital with their infant girl. The dress looked cheery.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, does she ever look like her dad and George!

    While of course her middle names are a reference to the late Queen and Princess Diana, it’s also worth noting that Charlotte is Pippa’s middle name and Elizabeth is Kate’s, so it’s a family name all around. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, plus "Charlotte" honours both /then/Prince /now/King Charles, as well as Carole Middleton! AND, it also happens to be a name of our favourite Blogger! 😉 Zora from Prague

      Delete
  4. This is the first photo I have seen of Princess Charlotte looking more like her father than the late Queen; so, a little Spencer kicking in. Love her dress so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan in Florida2 May 2023 at 01:22

      I agree , she looks like her Dad in this photo, Princess Charlotte is destined to be a beautiful lady.

      Delete
    2. I agree as well. She's still super young. Will be interesting to see if she's more like or Dad or her Grandmother - Princess Diana. I wonder if over time, the comparisons to Princess Diana will continue or dwindle.

      Delete
  5. Wow, does she ever look like her dad she growing so fast anyway happy birthday

    ReplyDelete
  6. Allison in US2 May 2023 at 02:26

    She does indeed look like her father. That is the cutest little dress!

    ReplyDelete
  7. so darling she really looks like her great grandmother HM the Queen!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Charlotte is such a lovely girl! 😍 My favourite picture of her is the one with the pasta but all the picture are sweet. Zora from Prague

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Zora, while all are beautiful, that one has a special feel to it! She's a lovely girl!

      Delete
  9. Happy Birthday to a beautiful little lady.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. P.S. Love the second picture with Orla.

      Delete
    2. Agreed! That photo is darling - and even more looking like Dad. - thanks for adding :-)

      Charlotte, hope everything goes smoothly for you this weekend. Lots to cover and I look forward to reading and learning from your perspective. Elle

      Delete
  10. Wow, Charlotte certainly looks like Daddy's girl. I think I commented recently about the fact that William had seen a close-up photo of himself somewhere and thought it was Charlotte.

    I loved that photo of baby Charlotte in the chair. There's still something extremely appealing about it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely picture & dress. My goodness, they grow so fast, I notice that with my grandchildren. Yes, Charlotte looks more like William all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love seeing all the birthday photos including the most recent.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Darling photos! Sue from IL

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lisa from Washington2 May 2023 at 21:33

    Charlotte is absolutely darling!! I love her! I am very much hoping to see a little tiara on her for the coronation!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. She looks absolutely precious and so very happy!!! To me, she looks like both her parents, but an immediate look, she resembles daddy. ♥️🥰

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes, I see her daddy in her very much, too. Lovely photos that they shared of Princess Charlotte! I remember waiting to hear what they named her and here she is 8 already.. how time flies by!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Agree 👍. Sotheby's has a lovely small tiara for sale at the moment. £10,000 to £15,000. It's beautiful and would be a perfect size on the young Princess for such a important occasion. I understand that the focus of the day should be on the King and his Queen. I just hope not at the cost of the other senior Royal family members wearing their finest clothes and jewels. This is a once in a lifetime occasion. If the Princess of Wales is wearing a hat or flowers in her hair, I'm going to press record and go back to sleep. I'm very curious to know how the new Queen's crown will look. I have a idea but wondering where the heart shaped diamond is going. Maybe on the top. 🤔. S.🙂.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love the look back at Princess Charlotte. I think she is going to be blessed with her mother’s hair. What an exciting week for the Royal Family. My nephew is currently living in London just a couple blocks from Buckingham Palace. His significant other sees King Charles pass by in his car on his way to the palace often when she takes their baby for a walk. The pictures of all the flags are beautiful. They are not interested at all, but indulge my incessant questions and send pictures. They have witnessed the trifecta over the past year or so — the Jubilee, Queens passing, and now the Coronation.

    Hope from USA

    ReplyDelete

Comments are most welcome! Constructive discussion is always encouraged but off topic or hateful remarks will not be published.

We ask you use a name when posting (a pseudonym such as the name of a royal you like or anything you wish). If you do not wish to use the sign in options, simply select the "Name/URL" option on the drop down menu and insert your name, and if you wish the country/state you're from. You can leave the URL blank.

If there are a large number of comments, it is necessary to click the 'Load More' button at the end of the comments section to see the latest additions.