How Princess Charlotte takes after her great-gran the Queen: From horses to football
Princess Charlotte has a royal role model in her great-grandmother, and she's clearly following in Queen Elizabeth's footsteps! On Tuesday night (Oct. 18), the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, revealed that her little girl shares the Queen's passion for horse riding, but the pair's similarities don't end there.
From their physical features to their favourite hobbies, we take a look at just how the adorable little princess is taking after the monarch…
Princess Charlotte is the spitting image of the Queen
Princess Charlotte had royal fans doing a double take when she joined her parents and big brother Prince George at a children's party during the royal tour in Canada. The adorable toddler bore a striking resemblance to the Queen when she was just a few years old herself, with many noting the likeness around the pair's eyes.
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Charlotte also appears to have inherited the monarch's brown hair – and shared the same adorable grin as three-year-old Elizabeth!
They're both huge fans of horse riding
The Queen is notorious for her love of all things horses and still enjoys a spot of horse riding on the grounds of her Windsor Castle home in Berkshire when the weather suits. Every year she also indulges her passion and attends the Royal Ascot and the Royal Windsor Horse Show respectively, to watch a series of events from races to show-jumping.
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While the 90-year-old had her first riding lesson when she was three years old, little Charlotte has started a bit earlier, with the duchess revealing to equestrian champion Natasha Baker that her daughter is already learning the sport. "[The duchess] said Charlotte is really enjoying her riding which is great to hear," Natasha said after speaking to Kate at a reception in Buckingham Palace. "And I said we may see her here on a line-up in 20 years' time."
They were christened in the same gown
Princess Charlotte – and incidentally, her brother George – was christened in a white lace and silk-satin gown, a replica of the one worn by the month-old Princess Elizabeth in 1926.
The gown was commissioned by Queen Victoria for her first child in 1841, and was worn by more than 60 royal babies up until 2004, when it became too fragile to wear. As a result, the Queen commissioned her personal dresser Angela Kelly to create an exact replica – and little Charlotte wore the creation for her big day.
They both love dogs
The Queen is a huge fan of dogs, and her corgis have become an iconic part of the royal household – they even joined Her Majesty in a special portrait released for her 90th birthday. She has a corgi named Willow and two corgi-dachshund crosses Vulcan and Candy – her fourth corgi Holly sadly passed away earlier this year.
Just like her great-grandmother, little Charlotte loves canines. When she was just a few months old the little royal was spotted playing with a toy dog in her first official portraits taken by mum Kate – and nowadays she no doubt also plays with the family's pet dog Lupo. The public had a glimpse of Charlotte's enthusiasm for dogs during the children's party in Canada, where she looked delighted while playing with a St John's Ambulance therapy dog called Moose. Charlotte had a whale of a time bouncing up and down on the golden retriever and poodle cross – leading many to wonder whether Lupo gets the same treatment at home!
They both enjoy football
The Queen is reportedly a fan of the sport and is believed by many to support Arsenal, although she has never spoken out about which team she supports. Meanwhile, little Charlotte has shown "aptitude" for the sport, her father Prince William has revealed.
"Charlotte is the one who shows more aptitude," he told England women's team captain Steph Houghton during a recent visit to the National Football Museum. "George is sort of getting into it slowly, but Charlotte is showing more aptitude."
