King Charles reveals his hopes that granddaughter Princess Charlotte will ‘look after him’ when he is ‘very old’

The monarch was 'thrilled' when his granddaughter was born

King Charles and Princess Charlotte
(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images and Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

King Charles III has revealed that he hopes his oldest granddaughter Princess Charlotte will ‘look after him’ when he is ‘very old.’


Growing up in the royal line of succession means that, for the most part, your life is mapped out for you. Prince George knows this, with his future as monarch set in stone, and his two younger siblings will experience similar lives as their future titles and positions depend on when their father and then brother take to the throne. 

But it appears that King Charles' wishes for his granddaughter Princess Charlotte do not only concern her royal future, but also his own personal future. 

The Princess is one of King Charles' five grandchildren, all of whom he is reportedly hoping will avoid the same 'mistakes' of the heart that he did, along with her two brothers, Prince George and Princess Louis, and her cousins Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. But when Charlotte was born, she was the King's first granddaughter and fulfilled his long-standing wish to have a daughter in the family. 

Princess Charlotte playing football

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Back in 2015 just after Charlotte was born, during a visit to his model town Poundbury in Dorset, the then Prince Charles spoke with royal fans about the newly-born Princess and said she was 'beautiful.' 

The Express reports that he added, "I am thrilled. I was hoping for a granddaughter – someone to look after me when I am very old," before mentioning that he 'intends to spoil' her rotten.

The monarch has long wished to have his own daughter, something Prince Harry has spoken about candidly after his mother, the late Princess Diana, struggled with Charles' reaction to their second child, Harry, being born a boy. While it has been reported that Charles' wish was somewhat granted when he found the ‘perfect’ daughter ‘he always wanted’ in Kate Middleton, having a granddaughter in Charlotte, and then again in Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter Lilibet, must have been a joyous experience. 

"It's a different part of your life," Charles previously said when asked about his experience of becoming a grandparent, HELLO! Magazine reports. "The great thing is to encourage them. Show them things to take their interest. My grandmother did that. She was wonderful. It is very important to create a bond when they are very young."

The royal family

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

But while King Charles wishes that his granddaughter will care for him in old age, Princess Charlotte may, unfortunately, have other priorities to focus on - and they're not the traditional royal responsibilities you might expect. 

That's because royal expert Jennie Bond believes that she might refuse her expected title of Princess Royal in favour of being a 'working woman' in a chosen career field. 

The expert told OK! Magazine, "I think we will be in a very modern era when the time comes [for Charlotte to receive a title]. I question whether Charlotte will want to be burdened with more titles. She might be a working woman by then. Things could change so much in the next generation.

"The natural option it would seem to me is that she might become Princess Royal. That's the much more traditional route that the eldest daughter becomes Princess Royal so if I was going to put money on it, it would probably be that. But I also think that she might just feel she wants to remain as just Princess Charlotte.

"We've got William and Catherine who quite often tell the public to call them by their first names, so maybe their daughter will follow suit. Perhaps Charlotte will not even use the princess title by the time she's grown up and definitely won't want to be burdened with more titles."

News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.