Princess Anne continually comes out on top as one of the hardest-working royals due to the number of official engagements she carries out each year. And whilst her great-niece, Princess Charlotte, is only eight years old and has taken part in a handful of royal outings, there already appear to be a number of incredible similarities between the duo.
The eight-year-old is seldom spotted out of place and can often be seen helping her brothers, Prince George, 10, and Prince Louis, four, when to wave and say thank you. Who can forget the moment she reminded her elder brother to bow during Queen Elizabeth's funeral?
"Charlotte knows the rules. She's the one in the middle," confessed parenting expert Jo Frost in an exclusive interview with HELLO!. "She knows how to keep everyone in good stead.
Their reliability aside, it turns out Anne and Charlotte have many other attributes in common from their love for ballet to their close relationships with their respective fathers.
Keep scrolling to see four ways the little Princess takes after her great-aunt, Princess Anne…
Both share a love for ballet
Ballet has been a hobby of members of the royal family for generations. Princess Diana famously practised the elegant dance style and it was also revealed that Queen Camilla still takes part in Silver Swans dance classes at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), but did you know it's also something that Princess Anne and Princess Charlotte have in common?
© Tim GrahamThe Princess Royal's talents were recently rediscovered in 2020 when old ballet records were uncovered by dance curator Jane Pritchard, who was part of the team putting together a museum collection for the RAD. However, due to Princess Anne studying under a competitor dance board, ISTD, the records didn't make the cut for the exhibition.
"Pritchard was thrilled to find the young Princess Anne's ballet exam notes from the 1950s – only to realise that she’d trained with an ISTD teacher and not a RAD one – 'no good at all!'," wrote journalist David Jay in the Dance Gazette, RAD's member's magazine.
Princess Anne has also watched countless performances at the Royal Opera House over the years.
Similarly, the Prince and Princess of Wales have both previously gushed about their daughter's love for ballet. Kate first mentioned Charlotte's adoration for the dance style back in 2017, when she said: "My daughter Charlotte likes dancing, she loves ballet and tap. Keep up the dancing," to a 7-year-old girl who told the Princess of her love for dancing during a visit to a Yorkshire textile mill.
Prince William also confirmed the youngster's hobby, and explained: "Charlotte is running around the kitchen in her dresses and ballet stuff and everything." Princess Charlotte also enjoyed a ballet birthday treat when she and her friends headed to watch the National Ballet of Canada's performance of Cinderella.
Close bond with their fathers
Both Princesses have a famously close bond with their fathers, Prince Philip and Prince William.
Close friends and family have previously been open about Prince Philip's relationship with his children - with many claiming that Anne was his favourite child.
© KeystoneEileen Parker, wife of Philip's close friend Mike Parker, previously revealed via Daily Mail: "[Philip] always had more fun with Anne. Charles is more like the Queen, while Anne is very like Prince Philip."
The Princess Royal also inherited a love of sports from her late father according to journalist, Brian Hoey, who wrote in the Telegraph: "When she [Anne] was growing up she was constantly with her father when he was playing polo. It was Philip who taught Anne to sail, on Loch Muick, on the Balmoral Estate, and it was he who directed her enthusiasms towards sporting rather than academic achievements."
© Max Mumby/IndigoMuch like her great-aunt, Princess Charlotte and her father, Prince William, have also bonded over their love of sport, most recently when the Lionesses made it to the final of the women's football World Cup 2023 and ahead of the match sent a video dedicated to the team.
The Princess and her father couldn't have looked closer, as the future King sat with his arm around his middle child who was holding a football.
Their fashion sense
Princess Anne has had countless iconic fashion moments throughout the years and in a photo from back in 1957, when she was just seven years old, she was spotted wearing a coat very similar to Princess Charlotte's beautiful forest green duffle coat she wore for her Christmas Day celebrations at Sandringham last year.
© Daily Herald ArchiveThe Princess Royal was pictured in the piece as she waited with her grandmother, the Queen Mother, for her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her father Prince Philip, to land from overseas at London Airport.
© Samir HusseinBoth pieces featured adorable sharp collars and were adorned with six buttons.
Both are incredibly passionate about sports
As well as their love for dancing, both Princess Anne and Princess Charlotte have always shown a love for sports, which, as mentioned, came from their fathers but what both Princesses appear to also have in common is a competitive edge.
© Central PressNigel Gillingham OBE, President of the RFU told Town and Country that even Princess Kate attested to this when she took part in a rugby training session last year. "She was telling me that she regularly plays rugby with her children in the back garden—and lots of other sports. Apparently, Charlotte is very much in her mould, very competitive as well apparently," he explained.
Princess Anne also showed a competitive streak from an early age having competed in public equestrian competitions since the tender age of 11, which led her to take part in the 1976 Olympic games.
© Karwai TangIt isn't just the taking part for the duo, as even when they are simply watching from the sidelines they appear to be in their element. We loved looking back at these incredible photos from Wimbledon, where the royal pair were beaming from the royal box as they watched the respective men's finals.
The image of Anne was taken in July 1967 when she watched John Newcombe and Wilhelm Bungert play. Princess Charlotte's was taken last year when Carlos Alcaraz played Novak Djokovic.
