What You Don't Know About Princess Charlotte
Prince William and Kate Middleton's middle child and only daughter, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, has won over the hearts of the world. It seems like just yesterday the princess made her first public appearance at 2016's Trooping the Colour, Queen Elizabeth II's annual birthday celebration, per AOL. Since then, the world has been able to get to know Princess Charlotte through other public outings, such as her parents' 2016 royal tour of Canada, her first red carpet appearance, and a cute video released by Kensington Palace in which Charlotte and her brothers, Prince George and Prince Louis, interviewed famous naturalist David Attenborough.
Even in her brief public appearances, Princess Charlotte has become a style icon early on in her young life. Per Vogue Australia, the adorable and stylish clothes that she wears tends to sell out right after she dons them in public — known now as the "Charlotte Effect" on retailers.
But while all of that has been pretty well-known about the Princess of Cambridge, there's still plenty of tidbits you don't know about the young royal.
Princess Charlotte knows her father misses Princess Diana
Though Princess Charlotte was born years after Princess Diana's tragic 1997 death, the young royal honored her grandmother's memory with a sweet letter in March 2021 for the UK's Mother's Day. As posted on the Kensington Palace Instagram, Princess Charlotte made a cute pink card with a heart and stickers, addressed to her "Granny Diana."
On the card, the princess wrote, "I am thinking of you on Mother's Day. I love you very much. Papa is missing you. Lots of love, Charlotte."
Indeed, Prince William has shared many memories of his mother — and how much he misses her — with his children. In the 2017 documentary, "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy" (via People), he said that he shares memories of his mother with his young kids all the time. "We've got more photos up round the house now of her and we talk about her a bit and stuff," he said. "So, I do [when] regularly putting George or Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try and remind them that there are two grandmothers ... and so it's important that they know who she was and that she existed."
In addition, Princess Charlotte has been bonded with her big brother in another way.
Princess Charlotte attends school with her big brother, Prince George
Both Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend Thomas's Battersea, a prestigious school in London, per the royal family's website. She enrolled at the school in September 2019 under the name "Charlotte Cambridge," according to Fox News. The posh private school reportedly costs $24,000 annually and is located a few miles away from Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate Middleton's family home. Before that, Princess Charlotte went to Willcocks Nursery School, per Town and Country.
According to the British royal family's website, family members don't technically have last names. When a surname is required, however, Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip's children have the last name Mountbatten-Windsor. But per People, since Charlotte and George are Prince William's kids, they take their surname from his title: the Duke of Cambridge.
And that's why they are simply the Cambridge kids at school. But at home, Princess Charlotte's parents have cute nicknames for her.
Princess Charlotte's parents have two adorable nicknames for her
Princess Charlotte's full name — Charlotte Elizabeth Diana — honored both Prince William's beloved mother, Princess Diana, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. But it's quite a mouthful to say on a daily basis, so her parents Prince William and Kate Middleton have two very cute nicknames for their young daughter.
In March 2019, the Duchess of Cambridge revealed her nickname for Princess Charlotte in a conversation with a blogger (via Vanity Fair) — it's "Lottie." Per VF, Lottie is a pretty standard nickname for Charlotte, however, Prince William has a less common nickname for his daughter.
A few months later in May 2019, the Kensington Palace Instagram posted a sweet video of the kids playing in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden co-designed by Kate. At one point in the video, Prince William called Charlotte "Mignonette." According to HuffPost, the nickname is French for small, sweet, dainty, and delicate.
But Princess Charlotte's personality is anything but small.
Princess Charlotte has a "feisty" personality
Like most kids, shades of Princess Charlotte's personality have been revealed to the public over the years as she's grown up. In 2016, People reported that Kate Middleton told an attendee at Queen Elizabeth II's birthday celebration that Princess Charlotte was "very cute but she has got quite a feisty side."
Two years later, an unnamed source told People that the young princess was "very sweet and very confident — she's always chatting away." They added that she "is so polite, but also fun and energetic ... She has beautiful manners."
Of course, the public has seen some of Princess Charlotte's feisty and chatty side as she has made headlines for just being herself. In 2018, she unexpectedly spoke to reporters as she and her parents headed into a church for her brother Prince Louis' christening. Princess Charlotte told the British photographers (via Newsweek), "You're not coming."
And the public will likely be able to get to know Princess Charlotte's personality even more as she grows up into a young woman.