Princess Charlotte's birthday is coming up and we can't believe how grown-up she is.
The second child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has certainly captured the public’s attention with her confidence in front of the camera - waving to royal crowds and infamously sticking her tongue out on a number of important royal occasions.
The young Princess has also been noted by fans as bearing a resemblance to the Queen, her great-grandmother. Whilst others have claimed the five-year-old looks like Lady Sarah Chatto, Princess Margaret's daughter, when she was the same age.
As fourth in line to the throne, there’s no doubt that Princess Charlotte is an important member of the royal family. Here's when the royal family will be celebrating Princess Charlotte’s birthday this year and the full royal title of the Queen’s fifth great-grandchild.
When is Princess Charlotte’s birthday?
Princess Charlotte’s birthday is May 2. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their adorable little girl into the world in 2015. Kate gave birth at the Lindo Wing a private maternity ward at St Mary’s Hospital in London. Both of Charlotte's brothers, Prince George and Prince Louis, were also born in the Lindo Wing, as was her father, Prince William.
Over the years, Prince William and Kate have often marked the day by sharing official photos for Princess Charlotte’s birthday. Commemorating her fifth birthday last year, the royal couple released four images of Charlotte on their official Instagram account.
Captured by her mother, the images included a portrait of the Princess looking like butter-wouldn’t-melt in a black and white checked dress. Whilst the other three shots showed Charlotte helping to pack and deliver food packages to vulnerable pensioners with her siblings during the pandemic.
Charlotte additionally shares the same birthday month as her cousin - and newest family member - Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Born on May 6 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan's son's birthday is just four days after Princess Charlotte's birthday. This makes May quite the month of celebrations for the House of Windsor.
What is Princess Charlotte’s full name?
The Princess’s full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. As a member of the Royal Family she has the formal title of Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. This name recognises her connection to the crown and takes on her father’s official moniker as the Duke of Cambridge.
Her family name of Cambridge has also become the Princess’s preferred surname at school. According to Cosmopolitan, the young royal is known simply as Charlotte Cambridge to her classmates at Thomas’s Battersea in London. Her brother Prince George, a fellow student at the school, also goes by George Cambridge. This follows the royal tradition of children adopting their parent’s title as a last name whilst studying. Prince William and Prince Harry both used Wales as their surname at school, being the sons of Prince Charles - the Prince of Wales.
In her own royal household, it is believed that Princess Charlotte goes by two nicknames used by her parents. During a royal engagement to Ireland in 2019, Kate called her daughter 'Lottie', when chatting to a fellow mum in the crowd. Lottie is a common abbreviation of the name Charlotte and seems to be favoured by the Duchess. Prince William, on the other hand, was reportedly overheard calling Charlotte “mignonette” in a video at the RHS Chelsea Flower show in 2019. Mignonette is a French word that loosely translates as “little cutie”.
Who is Princess Charlotte named after?
It seems that Prince William and Kate were keen to honour several senior royal family members when naming their daughter.
Her first middle name, Elizabeth, is a clear nod to Charlotte’s great grandmother, the Queen. Whilst her second middle name is a touching tribute to Prince William’s late mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales.
Her first name is also the feminine version of Charles, which is a sweet homage to her grandad Prince Charles. Charlotte is also a special name on Kate’s side of the family too, being the middle name of her sister Pippa Middleton - Princess Charlotte’s aunt.
